Car Rental Info for Aulani

[CC&M]

I've been researching car rentals for our upcoming July vacation to Aulani, and am shocked at the prices...we have 6 people, plus luggage so need a large vehicle, but I am seeing quotes in the $700-$1,000 range for just 5 days! We are staying the 1st week of our trip in Waikiki, then switching to Aulani for the last 3 days...so thought we would pick it up a couple days early to drive around the island and sightsee...

Does anyone have any good tips for car rentals in Hawaii that won't break the bank??

Thanks!

 

[ays114]

Try Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. We are renting through them for our June trip and got an excellent price.

 

[drewmisha]

We were at Aulani for spring break back in April. We rented thru Thrifty for $175.00 for eight nites. Prices fluctuate and you should check daily for better deals/rates. We rented a full size and got a Jeep Patriot.

I've been researching car rentals for our upcoming July vacation to Aulani, and am shocked at the prices...we have 6 people, plus luggage so need a large vehicle, but I am seeing quotes in the $700-$1,000 range for just 5 days! We are staying the 1st week of our trip in Waikiki, then switching to Aulani for the last 3 days...so thought we would pick it up a couple days early to drive around the island and sightsee...

Does anyone have any good tips for car rentals in Hawaii that won't break the bank??

Thanks!

 

[nifferearly]

I always end up with great rates through Alamo if I check prices on their website regularly. It's amazing how much the prices fluctuate. carrentalsavers .com lists various coupon codes. The Costco code usually seems to be the best rate. You can use both a discount code and coupon. I write down the codes and check 3 or 4 times per week. The reservations can be canceled, so I'd book something when you see a decent rate and keep checking. In January, we paid $155 including taxes for a full size for 9 days rented at the HNL airport. Good luck!

 

[CC&M]

Thank you all...I will keep trying these websites on a regular basis

 

[mousejunkie98]

Sign up for notifications on Hotwire - last week we got a standard car from Alamo for 8 days for only $120! All taxes and fees included. I got it through a special sale on Hotwire

 

[MinnieInMI]

If you are a Costco member, also check their car rentals.

 

[ewebet]

You should try AutoSlash.com. I read about it on the DIS and signed up about 3 months go. We are booked at Aulani for 10 days and started out at $602 and now have a rental for $270 for a Ford Escape type vehicle. I coudn't believe it. You put in your parameters and they will book the reservation and they will cancel and rebook the reservation for you and email you the change of price. You do absolutely nothing. My rental is with Thrifty buy the way which was booked by AutoSlash.com.
Let me know how you make out. We Leave for Aulani next Sunday!

 

[dis@dills]

Try http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/. I have GREAT rates for our trip in late June.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but I think all the good rates end in June. We, too, are going in July and I am shocked by the cost. I posted about it here on this board also earlier in the week. Someone replied to me that they got THREE days for $76 through Thrifty.....when I went to check it out, it was going to be that much for one day.

I had thought all along, based on what I have read here, that we would rent an Alamo car at HNL airport and drop it at Aulani because we don't plan on using a car for the three days we are there. Then, rent one again on our departure day to take back to the airport and drop it there. Everything I have read indicates it is cheaper to do this than to take a taxi or shuttle. Well, the prices are sky high AND there is a $50 drop off fee at both ends which is a total waste to pay.

*If* we had a car, we would probably check out a couple of sites quickly on our departure day, but it's looking now like we will just find the most inexpensive shuttle to and from the airport, not rent a car, and call it a trip! I can think of worse things than spending every possible minute at Aulani before heading over to Kauai.

 

[izzy]

I went through the same thing. I started off with about $450 for 11 nights for a compact. I kept checking, and about 4 weeks before the trip prices started coming down. (I checked a few times after I made the original reservation, and it was up to almost $800 a few times I checked!)

The best price I got was about 3 weeks before my trip. I ended up getting a standard car from Alamo for 11 days for $211, which included all taxes. I went through Costco to get this deal.

 

[treborq]

Used priceline and bid $45 day for convertible and got confirmation from National, in airport counter, shuttle to car, total with tax $655 for 11 days.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

For non-DVC members parking is $35 a day right? Wow! Is it then cheaper to just rent a car at the resort for a day or two?

 

[actnkidz]

We were just at Aulani last week for 4 days and we rented a car from Alamo from the airport. I had made a reservation through Costco and had my husband take the print out with him to pick up the car, when he picked me and the kids up after getting the car I looked at the receipt and they were charging us $80 more than the reservation I had booked. So I had my DH go right back to the rental office when I went in I happen to get the same lady who helped my DH I asked her why it was higher than the reservation that I had made and she told me that we picked the car up early, which turned out to be only 10 minutes, then she said she asked my husband what time the car was going to be returned and he didn't know since I handled all of the reservations so the lady took it upon herself to change my original reservation to a 4 day rental instead of the 5 days I had booked, of course when she did this I lost my discounts I got through Costco.

After I told her that I wanted to be charged the price I had been quoted she started working in the computer and said we'll take care of it, you know you could have waited until you returned it you didn't have to come right back. In the end we still paid $4 more than what I was quoted and she proceeded to tell my the amount I was quoted was just an estimate. Funny when we picked up our car days earlier on the big island we paid exactly what I was quoted from the Alamo there.

I guess the moral of my story is to double check the price before you leave the Honolulu Alamo since they will arbitrarily make changes to your reservation and hope you don't catch it. Definitely will not use them again!!!

 

[Zoom]

We were just at Aulani last week for 4 days and we rented a car from Alamo from the airport. I had made a reservation through Costco and had my husband take the print out with him to pick up the car, when he picked me and the kids up after getting the car I looked at the receipt and they were charging us $80 more than the reservation I had booked. So I had my DH go right back to the rental office when I went in I happen to get the same lady who helped my DH I asked her why it was higher than the reservation that I had made and she told me that we picked the car up early, which turned out to be only 10 minutes, then she said she asked my husband what time the car was going to be returned and he didn't know since I handled all of the reservations so the lady took it upon herself to change my original reservation to a 4 day rental instead of the 5 days I had booked, of course when she did this I lost my discounts I got through Costco.

After I told her that I wanted to be charged the price I had been quoted she started working in the computer and said we'll take care of it, you know you could have waited until you returned it you didn't have to come right back. In the end we still paid $4 more than what I was quoted and she proceeded to tell my the amount I was quoted was just an estimate. Funny when we picked up our car days earlier on the big island we paid exactly what I was quoted from the Alamo there.

I guess the moral of my story is to double check the price before you leave the Honolulu Alamo since they will arbitrarily make changes to your reservation and hope you don't catch it. Definitely will not use them again!!!

Thanks for posting this, we too booked Alamo through Costco... I will keep an eye on how much they will charge us, we leave next week. Did they ask for your DH's costco card?

 

[CC&M]

I'm thinking there's something to the thought that the prices are going up for summer (July specifically)...the best price I have found for a full size car is $355 for 5 days through Costco at Enterprise. Our problem is that we have 6 people, plus luggage (one large bag and one carry-on per person) and there aren't any cars large enough for us, so will have to rent two cars

Our other issue is that we will be in Waikiki for the first days of our trip, and just want a rental for a couple of days while staying in Waikiki, and then to get us to Aulani, and back to the airport. We are only at Aulani for 3 nights, so want to stay at the resort the entire time!

Thanks everyone for your information!

 

[actnkidz]

No he didn't need his costco card, I had printed out the reservation and just had him take that in with him. Have fun, Aulani is beautiful!