Excursions without a rental car

[JsJk2014]

Hello!
Wondering if anyone had suggestions for excursions that do not require a rental car (i.e. will pick you up from Aulani) besides Pearl Harbor?
Thanks!

 

[GoingSince1990]

We did a trip in 2019 with no rental car and used Uber XL for everything (Waikiki, Diamond Head, Dole plantation, etc.) with no problems. Also our kids did a surf lesson for which they picked us up from the hotel.

 

[JsJk2014]

We did a trip in 2019 with no rental car and used Uber XL for everything (Waikiki, Diamond Head, Dole plantation, etc.) with no problems. Also our kids did a surf lesson for which they picked us up from the hotel.

Thanks! I wonder which is more cost effective - renting a car for a day or using Uber? Does anyone know what Uber rates are like on the island?

 

[Lilsia]

Definitely rent a car. Uber is not cheap and pretty much going anywhere from Aulani is going to be $40-$50 and more each way since Aulani is not close to any of the typical areas that you would go on excursions to and is at least a 30-45 minute drive anywhere. By the time that you add up your round trip airport transportation and using ride share for your excursions, it will cost you more than a rental car for your entire stay. Plus that way you can go at your own convenience and not have to wait around for a ride share and you will have a car at your disposal to even just go to Kapolei and get some food. Food at the resort is limited and pretty expensive. People have also reported getting "stuck" somewhere on the Island because no ride share wanted to drive all the way to Aulani from across the Island. If you have the Uber app, you can easily see how much the rides would cost, just plug in the destinations. Sadly, a lot of the excursion companies went under because of Covid and the ones that are left usually only provide transportation from the Waikiki area.

 

[krybandt]

We looked into excursions and wound up booking a car rental. You can rent from the Enterprise location on site at Aulani. There is a link to it on the Aulani website and it gives a discount. That might be an option if you only want a car for a couple of days.

 

[tankin]

I did the math on our first trip 5 years ago... We came out way ahead renting a car and going places on our own instead of doing excursions.

You might want to check if that's true for you

 

[Anal Annie]

Try renting a car thru discounthawaiicarrental.com They have the best rates I've been able to find anywhere - book now, free cancelation & pay at pick-up. We have a std (mid) size SUV booked thru Thrifty for our trip in April for $550.59 for 8 days with 2 drivers. (We used them on our last trip several years ago too w/o any problems.) I re-check the rates periodically to see if I can do better - I've canceled and re-booked 2x to get to this price. (I also keep tabs on rates thru our Cap One credit card, Priceline & Costco.) When I last checked they had smaller cars available for under $400!!

 

[abdgeek]

Hello!
Wondering if anyone had suggestions for excursions that do not require a rental car (i.e. will pick you up from Aulani) besides Pearl Harbor?
Thanks!

Whenever I don’t rent a car and want to do excursions from Aulani, I book the excursions they offer because most of them pick up at the resort. Sometimes you can call the vendors yourself and book the same excursion, but most require minimum numbers to go. The excursion desk at Aulani can tell you the minimum number for each and what the likelihood is that it will run. Keep in mind that most tours pick up in Waikiki, but very few pick up in Ko Olina which is where Aulani is. If you‘re planning to go to a lot of places that don’t offer tours or don’t pick up at Aulani, you’re better off renting a car. To find out Uber prices, go to the Uber estimate website and put in where you want to go and it should give you an idea of what it will cost. Good luck.

 

[Lilsia]

Whenever I don’t rent a car and want to do excursions from Aulani, I book the excursions they offer because most of them pick up at the resort. Sometimes you can call the vendors yourself and book the same excursion, but most require minimum numbers to go. The excursion desk at Aulani can tell you the minimum number for each and what the likelihood is that it will run. Keep in mind that most tours pick up in Waikiki, but very few pick up in Ko Olina which is where Aulani is. If you‘re planning to go to a lot of places that don’t offer tours or don’t pick up at Aulani, you’re better off renting a car. To find out Uber prices, go to the Uber estimate website and put in where you want to go and it should give you an idea of what it will cost. Good luck.

Sadly, since reopening, many of the tours no longer provide the transportation. They are basically just booking it for you.