Car rental from honolulu airport?

[amystevekai&bump]

Hi again!

I've been looking in to car rental in honolulu, and it's been a nightmare! . Prices vary wildly, although easily the cheapest are dollar.

However, I've read a huge number of negative reviews on them which has made me nervous and might possibly explain why they are the cheapest?!

The next cheapest is enterprise, and I've read some good things about them - but for a similar price with Dollar, I can get a much better car.

Can anyone recommend either enterprise or dollar?

Many thanks for any help

 

[Sir William]

Enterprise is my rental agency of choice when I travel. Generally service is good, but it varies from place to place. Used Enterprise the last time I went to Aulani and to Kauai, and had no complaints about picking up or dropping off the car, the car was clean and ready when I arrived.

I don't rent from Dollar or Thrifty unless they are the only car rental in town. Had bad experiences with both. Dollar in Orlando didn't have my size car available when I arrived, so wanted to charge me for the upgrade. Both also had a number of hidden but required fees.

 

[dreaming4disney]

We used Alamo this past summer. They had a shuttle for us at airport. They were very busy-maybe waited 20-30 minutes to get car but they were friendly. I think we paid about $350 for Jeep 4 door for 10 days.

 

[stings]

We have used "discounthawaiicarrental" for both of our stays at Aulani. They are a broker company that use many different car rental companies. We always got the cheapest rate through them hands down. Used dollar the first trip and I think Alamo the second time. Both times they handled the booking and it was done properly and without problems.

 

[luv2sleep]

I've always used Thrifty. No issues. Sign up to be a Blue Chip member. Make check in and check out a breeze.

 

[alohamom]

We have used "discounthawaiicarrental" for both of our stays at Aulani. They are a broker company that use many different car rental companies. We always got the cheapest rate through them hands down. Used dollar the first trip and I think Alamo the second time. Both times they handled the booking and it was done properly and without problems.

HIGHLY suggest http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/
They are the best and use reputable chains, the quote is free and they will cancel a reservation without penalty so I always suggest people reserve thru them and if you find a better rate just cancel...

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Thank you everyone

I've tried to look up the discounted site mentioned above, but don't seem to find any good deals - perhaps it's because Im in the UK?

Glad to hear that enterprise are good, and think I will avoid Dollar - now you've mentioned the hidden charges, I'm wondering if that explains why they are so cheap?

Many thanks for all of your posts, they've been really helpful

 

[Halle]

We always use Dollar and never had a bad car until we rented at Honolulu. The car was old and the seats in the back had no spring life left. Dh was upset because I booked the City Special, which I have done before and after with perfectly fine cars.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'd reserve something now but make certain it's something you can cancel. I can't think of a time that I haven't found better prices closer to the trip although I have not ever traveled to Hawaii during the summer.

 

[tikilyn]

I just booked a car rental for Jun 3rd for a week. The prices are high, especially with all those fees. The base rental was 147.49 and all the added fees were 118.42. I think I will probably try price line right before our trip to see if I can get a car cheaper.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

We always use Dollar and never had a bad car until we rented at Honolulu. The car was old and the seats in the back had no spring life left. Dh was upset because I booked the City Special, which I have done before and after with perfectly fine cars.

We regukarly use Dollar in orlando without any problems, but there definitely seems to be something amiss with them in honolulu, as I've read lots of reviews similar to yours about them

I just booked a car rental for Jun 3rd for a week. The prices are high, especially with all those fees. The base rental was 147.49 and all the added fees were 118.42. I think I will probably try price line right before our trip to see if I can get a car cheaper.

I'd reserve something now but make certain it's something you can cancel. I can't think of a time that I haven't found better prices closer to the trip although I have not ever traveled to Hawaii during the summer.

Thank you both I will definitely check the conditions of the enterprise quote before booking - if it's better to wait a while longer then I can definitely do that

 

[DVCismyhappyplace]

The best rates I get for our Hawaii trips always come through Costco. If you're a Costco member, look there.

Discount Hawaii Car Rentals (someone earlier provided the link) also has good prices, but Costco usually beats them by a few dollars.

Remember, if you are booking through Costco or through the car rental agencies themselves to keep checking back after you book - if the price drops you can usually cancel and rebook without penalty (as long as you didn't prepay)

 

[Anal Annie]

Summer is a very pricey time to go. But I think you may find that if you hawk all the rental sites on a regular basis that the rates may drop. I iniitally booked cars for Oahu and Maui thru the discounthawaiicarrental place already mentioned but continuously checked other sites afterward. When we got closer (I think maybe about 3 months out) the rates dropped BRIEFLY at Costco for Alamo rentals so I snagged reservations thru them and canceled the other ones. Saved me a good bit. The rates didn't STAY low tho and went back up a week or two after I switched. We had no problems or long lines with the Alamo rentals on either island. I know it's a PAIN but I think you will need to make the rounds checking all the sites a few times a week. But I really think you'll need to wait until your dates get closer to find the BEST deals...

 

[amystevekai&bump]

The best rates I get for our Hawaii trips always come through Costco. If you're a Costco member, look there.

Discount Hawaii Car Rentals (someone earlier provided the link) also has good prices, but Costco usually beats them by a few dollars.

Remember, if you are booking through Costco or through the car rental agencies themselves to keep checking back after you book - if the price drops you can usually cancel and rebook without penalty (as long as you didn't prepay)

Summer is a very pricey time to go. But I think you may find that if you hawk all the rental sites on a regular basis that the rates may drop. I iniitally booked cars for Oahu and Maui thru the discounthawaiicarrental place already mentioned but continuously checked other sites afterward. When we got closer (I think maybe about 3 months out) the rates dropped BRIEFLY at Costco for Alamo rentals so I snagged reservations thru them and canceled the other ones. Saved me a good bit. The rates didn't STAY low tho and went back up a week or two after I switched. We had no problems or long lines with the Alamo rentals on either island. I know it's a PAIN but I think you will need to make the rounds checking all the sites a few times a week. But I really think you'll need to wait until your dates get closer to find the BEST deals...

Thank you both . I will definitely keep looking, the exchange rate is really poor from the UK at the moment, so that is adding to the expense!

As I'm british, I take it I couldn't get Costco membership?

 

[kyton]

We have rented from Dollar the last 9 times we have been to Oahu without any issues at all. Cars always clean and well kept plus the staff is always friendly.

For rentals try www.rentalcars.com - they include all necessary insurances and taxes that non-US residents require. We only use them these days as we want to make sure that everything is covered insurance-wise - we travel to the U.S. at least 1-2 times a year from Australia and they are the cheapest for us I have found.

 

[DenLo]

I'd reserve something now but make certain it's something you can cancel. I can't think of a time that I haven't found better prices closer to the trip although I have not ever traveled to Hawaii during the summer.

So true, we always book one early and then about 4 - 6 weeks from check in find a much cheaper rate for the same size car. So far we have used Alamo for both of our trips as they had the cheaper rate at the later date. It saved us $200+ each time.

 

[wdrl]

I'd reserve something now but make certain it's something you can cancel. I can't think of a time that I haven't found better prices closer to the trip although I have not ever traveled to Hawaii during the summer.

I totally agree with this strategy. We have made two trips to Aulani and in both cases we reserved a rental car at least 7 months in advance. Then, every few weeks we would shop around to see if there were better deals. For our first trip, we were able to change a reservation with Alamo from the initial $400+ price to about $130 about a month before our trip. And it was for a larger car than the initial reservation. We also had success employing this strategy on our most recent trip to Aulani.

 

[Billinaz]

I just rented a minivan for a week in March for $260 from Alamo. I used the codes from costcotravel.com.

That includes all fees and taxes, and no extra cost to add an extra driver.

Best deal I could find.

Smaller vehicles were much less. And there was a free upgrade on most of the classes.

 

[Pooh2]

We used Budget on our Aulani Trip. We kept checking for prices and and changed rental companies several times before our trip. Budget was a bit pushy with the extras when we picked up the car but otherwise it worked out well. Car was very clean and drop off went well.

 

[jjbescher]

Just saved $60, plus extra driver fee by renting from HawaiiDiscountCarRental.com for my trip in April. Will look closer to the trip to see if I can get even cheaper. Puts the rental at $250.