Recent car renters from Honolulu airport?

[skylynx]

We're plotting an early December trip with four days at Aulani, three on the Big Island, and then another three back at Aulani, so three separate car rentals. We've made very reasonably priced Alamo reservations for all three, but after reading some trip reports, I cannot seem to get a straight answer about whether there are any rental car companies where the cars are AT the terminal, not a shuttle ride away. One report sounded like there were rental car counters for some of the bigger companies like Avis and Hertz in the airport, but you still had to ride a shuttle to the cars, another said you could walk to Hertz with your luggage from the terminal. We're just trying to save some time and avoid shuttles where possible, so will keep our Alamo reservations if you still have to ride a shuttle to and from the cars regardless of which company you use. We would be willing to pay a bit more for the car to be able to skip the shuttle scene, though. I got conflicting information on all sorts of websites about what was actually at the airport or not...so was hoping someone renting a car at the Honolulu airport recently might be able to shed some light on this.

Also, I've been reading reports on "outrageous" and "jaw dropping" gas prices...I know they are very high though higher than Europe? What has someone recently actually paid at the pump for a gallon of gas?

Thanks in advance for helping us plan!

 

[buffettgirl]

Gas is about $2.05 at Costco, and about $2.25 - $2.35 at most other places.

Alamo is not at the termimal. Here is the info on which ones are. However, the location of alamo is literally less than a mile. So it really isn't a huge issue to get there.
http://hawaii.gov/hnl/ground-transportation/car-rentals

 

[skylynx]

Thanks...the site you quoted was one of the ones I found earlier and I still couldn't determine from it if being located "on airport" means there is a counter located there but you still cannot walk to your car without a shuttle, or the cars are physically there." For example, I just made a backup reservation on Budget because I thought it would be worth the time savings if we could avoid shuttle rides both ways, and they are listed as one of the "on airport" companies, but on the reservation confirmation form it says "Rental counter in terminal, shuttle to cars." To me, it makes no difference if there's a rental counter in the airport terminal, the only thing that matters is if we have to lug our stuff on and off of a shuttle bus for however short or long a ride the shuttle bus is. Obviously, a shorter ride is better than a longer ride, but no ride is better than even the shortest ride! Unless they hand you your keys at the on-airport counter, it sounds like you'd have to potentially wait on line at the on airport counter to "check in" and then wait again at the actual car location to get your keys and car location. Maybe just better to wait once?

So has ANYONE rented a car from Honolulu airport who did NOT have to take a shuttle bus to get to your car, or are all cars located off airport property? If all cars require a shuttle ride, then we'll just stay with what we've got.

And thanks for the heads up on gas prices...I was expecting far worse (like UK prices).

 

[jtkboston]

I was there in August, had a short shuttle ride (shorter ride than the one in Las Vegas from terminal to rental facility!). However, looks like things have changed for the better recently: http://hidot.hawaii.gov/blog/2015/1...open-at-honolulu-international-airport-nov-4/

 

[skylynx]

Ah, thanks...so it sounds like Vegas now...one general shuttle goes to a collection of car rental companies. The other companies not included in that collection, like Alamo, still require a ride on an company-specific bus. No walking to any of them though, it appears. Wonder how much of a time saver, if any, it is to go with the new location you mentioned over riding the Alamo shuttle? If Alamo is only a mile away it doesn't seem like a big advantage to pay a higher rental price since there is a still a shuttle ride involved. Can you tell how much I loathe rental car shuttle buses? ;-) We want the freedom of a rental car, though, so we'll suck it up and just ride the bus and remember how lucky we are to be in Hawaii, anyway!

 

[misha-ginger]

I wa there last week. We collected our luggage. Walked across the street to the car rental center which has several car companies. We rented through budget. After filling out the paperwork we walked out of the area with the desks took an elevator to the floor they had told us to go to. There was another desk on that floor where the person told us where to go in the garage to get the car and they handed us the keys. There was no walk around the car or anything. That might have been because we used their insurance though.

 

[skylynx]

Thank you for the clarification...in looking at the map of the terminal at the bottom of the webpage kindly shared by jtkboston an earlier poster, it is clear you can walk to the rental car facility of those select few companies housed in the overseas parking structure. That appears to be a potentially big time saver to avoid factoring in shuttle bus loading/unloading to airport transition times. I think I'll swap our Alamo reservations for Budget reservations for the 2 Honolulu rentals as I'm pretty sure the time saving will cancel out the extra $20 Budget costs over Alamo.

Thank you to everyone who responded!

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

Ah, thanks...so it sounds like Vegas now...one general shuttle goes to a collection of car rental companies. The other companies not included in that collection, like Alamo, still require a ride on an company-specific bus. No walking to any of them though, it appears. Wonder how much of a time saver, if any, it is to go with the new location you mentioned over riding the Alamo shuttle? If Alamo is only a mile away it doesn't seem like a big advantage to pay a higher rental price since there is a still a shuttle ride involved. Can you tell how much I loathe rental car shuttle buses? ;-) We want the freedom of a rental car, though, so we'll suck it up and just ride the bus and remember how lucky we are to be in Hawaii, anyway!

No, that is not the case. All of the rental car companies have their own shuttle. Some of them are for more than one company, bu there is not one generic shuttle that takes you to all of them. And they are ALL off the airport property. The shuttle ride isn't as bad as the line to get your car. Honolulu car rental companies, and I'm pretty sure I've rented from all of them at this point, are sooooo slow!!! I would highly suggest you sign up for the member club that allows you to skip the lines. Alamo allows you to check in online which means you can skip the counter. You just go to the booth to get your keys.

 

[skylynx]

Wow...such discrepancy exists. Misha-ginger walked to the rental car from the terminal last week with no shuttle, and the updated terminal map (link below) shows the rental car pickup to be located on the east side of the overseas parking garage. The state of Hawaii DOT page says this was the situation as of Nov 4, 2015:

"The new facility, located on the eastern half of the Overseas Parking Structure, will consolidate the five existing car rental companies on the airport premises into one location. The facility will house Advantage, Avis, Budget, Hertz, and National car rental companies. It will also feature a new car wash, fueling stations, customer service building and hassle-free car pick-up/return areas. The building is a short walk across the street from the Overseas Terminal and Baggage Claim area."

Here's the map. http://hidot.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/HNL-Interim-Conrac.jpg


While the new facility is completed, the interim one is also in the overseas parking structure. Was the last time you were in Hawaii prior to November?
We changed our reservations from Alamo to Budget to take advantage of the closer car location and it ended up being the same price. We have the member club for most of the rental companies including Budget, and I've found it helps only if it allows you to skip the first check in counter.

Anyone else there since November who was able to walk to the location of their rental car with no shuttle ride?

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

Wow...such discrepancy exists. Misha-ginger walked to the rental car from the terminal last week with no shuttle, and the updated terminal map (link below) shows the rental car pickup to be located on the east side of the overseas parking garage. The state of Hawaii DOT page says this was the situation as of Nov 4, 2015:

"The new facility, located on the eastern half of the Overseas Parking Structure, will consolidate the five existing car rental companies on the airport premises into one location. The facility will house Advantage, Avis, Budget, Hertz, and National car rental companies. It will also feature a new car wash, fueling stations, customer service building and hassle-free car pick-up/return areas. The building is a short walk across the street from the Overseas Terminal and Baggage Claim area."

Here's the map. http://hidot.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/HNL-Interim-Conrac.jpg


While the new facility is completed, the interim one is also in the overseas parking structure. Was the last time you were in Hawaii prior to November?
We changed our reservations from Alamo to Budget to take advantage of the closer car location and it ended up being the same price. We have the member club for most of the rental companies including Budget, and I've found it helps only if it allows you to skip the first check in counter.

Anyone else there since November who was able to walk to the location of their rental car with no shuttle ride?

We ended up using Dollar last month because they had the best rate, and they were no where near walking distance. If in fact you can now walk to Budget, that's a game changer for me! I'll be interested to hear more! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE it if they could improve this process. Before this trip I was last there in April 2015, and everything was still spread out then.

 

[bunnybee]

We just rented at Avis and had to take a shuttle bus. Was not too long of a ride

 

[alohamom]

Thanks so much to all of you who have contributed and big thanks to you skylynx for the topic-I am finding this a very helpful thread

 

[makthompson]

I was there in November for my birthday and it was a very long walk to the car rental area so be prepared for the hike. Also, check with your insurance company to see of you are covered by your insurance. I had received a great price online and while i was waiting with the baggage for my husband to get the car we were charged more than double the price with insurance and fees.. needless to say I was very upset. I hadnt noticed until we had already gone to the other area to pick up the car. if it would hve been at the same place and there wasnt a huge line I would have gone back there and made them redo the paperwork.

 

[automaticsoap]

I wa there last week. We collected our luggage. Walked across the street to the car rental center which has several car companies. We rented through budget. After filling out the paperwork we walked out of the area with the desks took an elevator to the floor they had told us to go to. There was another desk on that floor where the person told us where to go in the garage to get the car and they handed us the keys. There was no walk around the car or anything. That might have been because we used their insurance though.

I rented from Budget at the beginning of this month. I had the same experience - just walked across the street from the terminal. You walk past the car return and over to the rental counters. I filled out paperwork and got the keys, then I went up the elevator and picked up my car without a walkaround. We declined their insurance, so I don't think that makes a difference.

 

[skylynx]

OK now I am so confused...I know you can't walk to Dollar or Alamo because they aren't one of the select companies housed (allegedly) in the east end of the overseas parking structure and are definitely "off-airport." Those companies that are included in the interim rental car area of the overseas parking structure, according to the state of Hawaii DOT page, are Avis, National, Budget, Hertz, and Advantage. The map I reposted the link to a couple posts up shows the rental car pickup spots for those companies in the garage, and that is directly across the street from at least one terminal's baggage claim area. So maybe if you fly in on some airlines you are far enough away in the terminal that a shuttle is available to you, but you can still walk if you are up for a hike. That is the only thing that makes sense here when two recent visitors report opposite experiences regarding access to rental cars. Misha-ginger, if you are still following this conversation, maybe you could tell us which car rental company you used that you were able to walk to.

By the way, according to the same DOT website, we're all paying for this swank new rental car center with a $4.50 charge per day tacked onto our rentals.

 

[Iggipolka]

I thought that Enterprise was also on site, i.e. no shuttle?

 

[skylynx]

Enterprise could be...I was just going by the list on the state of Hawaii Dept. of Transportation site. Maybe they will add even more companies! Wish Alamo and Dollar would join the crowd!

 

[misha-ginger]

OK now I am so confused...I know you can't walk to Dollar or Alamo because they aren't one of the select companies housed (allegedly) in the east end of the overseas parking structure and are definitely "off-airport." Those companies that are included in the interim rental car area of the overseas parking structure, according to the state of Hawaii DOT page, are Avis, National, Budget, Hertz, and Advantage. The map I reposted the link to a couple posts up shows the rental car pickup spots for those companies in the garage, and that is directly across the street from at least one terminal's baggage claim area. So maybe if you fly in on some airlines you are far enough away in the terminal that a shuttle is available to you, but you can still walk if you are up for a hike. That is the only thing that makes sense here when two recent visitors report opposite experiences regarding access to rental cars. Misha-ginger, if you are still following this conversation, maybe you could tell us which car rental company you used that you were able to walk to.

By the way, according to the same DOT website, we're all paying for this swank new rental car center with a $4.50 charge per day tacked onto our rentals.

I used budget. I flew in with delta airlines so it was just a short walk down and across the street from the baggage claim. It was all signed and easy to get to

 

[jtba]

I would highly suggest you sign up for the member club that allows you to skip the lines. Alamo allows you to check in online which means you can skip the counter. You just go to the booth to get your keys.

i took your suggestion and signed up for their insiders club. so when we get off the plane, we should then take the shuttle to alamo, check in online using our smart phone, then head to the booth to get our keys, right? does that mean there are two separate booths then, one for check in and one to get your keys?

 

[Iggipolka]

Whoops. Enterprise's Website says that you do have to take a shuttle. Bummer:
Directions from Terminal

• 
  After picking up your luggage, follow the signs to the shuttle pickup area at the blue and white striped curb.
• 
  The Enterprise shuttles run every 7-10 minutes and picks up at the airport only.
• 
  Self-service kiosks at this location makes your rental transaction quick and easy.
• 
  Or proceed to the Enterprise counter to obtain your rental agreement and keys.