Renting a car in Hawaii

[Mackysmycat]

Where is everyone getting their car rentals from? I'm in Canada, if that makes a difference, but I haven't found anything lower than $550 for 11 days.

 

[automaticsoap]

I'm going to Hawaii in January, and my friends recommended this website: http://www.carrentalhawaii.com.

 

[amym2]

We're going to Oahu and Kauai next month and when I first booked with Budget (through Discount Hawaii Car Rentals), the rates were $260 for 5 nights on each island. Now I'm down to $175 (inc taxes and fees) for 5 nights on Oahu and $125 for 5 nights on Kauai. I'm using the Entertainment Book rate through the Enterprise website. Rates started dropping about 2 months before our trip.

ETA: That's for a full-size car.

 

[Mackysmycat]

What do you mean the price is down? How does that work? Isn't the price what it says, when you book it?

Costco is showing me a super low price. Less than half of what it was through Budget or Alamo, so I'm thinking something has to be wrong here....

 

[DVCismyhappyplace]

Costco has great car rental rates. I've used them a number of times. You can always book it and cancel it, you're not charged until you pick up the car.

 

[wdrl]

Be advised that car rental prices in Hawaii seem to fluctuate greatly. We rented a car for our trip to Aulani last September. Seven months before our trip we made a reservation with Alamo Car Rental for about $450 for an 8-day period. As our trip got closer, I kept checking car rental sites for a cheaper rate. About 45 days before our trip, Alamo offered a rate of $130 for the same 8-day period. Since my original reservation had no cancelation fee, I canceled it and booked the cheaper rate in its place.

If you can find a rental company that doesn't charge a deposit or cancelation fee, I suggest you reserve a rental car now. Then, check back weekly to see if the rates change.

 

[wiigirl]

I'm going to Hawaii in January, and my friends recommended this website: http://www.carrentalhawaii.com.

 

[ludari]

Costco has great car rental rates. I've used them a number of times. You can always book it and cancel it, you're not charged until you pick up the car.

I agree with the quote above. I was going to use my corporate discount but Costco had a much better price.

 

[skierrob]

Just got back from Hawaii. Had an awesome time on the big island and at Aulani on Oahu.

Six months before my trip, I made a reservation for the cheapest price I could find which was about $350 for a six day rental on the Big Island and another $300 for a four day rental on Oahu - this was through Costco.

Kept checking pricing on major sites using discount codes along with using costcotravel.com and eventually, FIVE DAYS before my trip, was able to get a new reservation for $79 for the six day rental on the big island and $51 for the four day rental on Oahu.

I strongly recommend looking for discount codes, using Costco if you have it, and also getting an Entertainment Book for the car rental codes in there.

The best rates seemed to always be with Alamo, Budget and Avis. The others were generally higher for when I was looking.

 

[amym2]

What do you mean the price is down? How does that work? Isn't the price what it says, when you book it?

Costco is showing me a super low price. Less than half of what it was through Budget or Alamo, so I'm thinking something has to be wrong here....

As others have said, most companies don't charge until you pick up the car, so you can cancel and book at a lower fare. I've canceled two reservations on each island already.

 

[Mackysmycat]

Ok I realized I was on the wrong site. I was at costco.com, not costco.ca. Now the price is a little higher - so I think I will probably just book through there, as I have a Costco card.

 

[Cinderpamela]

Ok I realized I was on the wrong site. I was at costco.com, not costco.ca. Now the price is a little higher - so I think I will probably just book through there, as I have a Costco card.

....and the beauty of the Costco reservation... you dont have to put any money down, so you can keep checking back, and if the price goes down ... book the lower price and just cancel the higher priced reservation. I have done that on multiple occasions.

Love the Costco Travel site for car rental deals!

 

[JessLCH]

About a year and a half ago there was a great Budget code posted on the transportation board. We always need a minivan and I have found amazing rates throughout the country using Budget BDC code X474200. I am not sure if the savings on a standard car are as significant but it is worth a look.
We are taking a 3 week, 3 island Hawaii vacation next August and I have already booked my vehicles on all three islands with this code.

 

[Mamiamjo]

Where is everyone getting their car rentals from? I'm in Canada, if that makes a difference, but I haven't found anything lower than $550 for 11 days.

Just got back. We used discount Hawaii car rental. We needed a vehicle that seats at least 5 plus lots of luggage. We were able to rent a Grand Caravan Mini Van for $280 for the week. I had first made the reservation for $450, but checked back about 10 days out and the rate had dropped to $280, so I dropped the original reservation and re-booked. Im not sure what 11 days would run, but you can check their website. Everything worked great for us.
Good luck

 

[amym2]

The rates are definitely variable. While I was able to get great rates for our October trip last week, they are way higher this week. It's a pain, but try to check every few days. Seems like the rates were better whenever I checked on weekends, but that could just be coincidence.

 

[Mackysmycat]

I got a great rate of $153 today plus taxes and fees will be under $300 for the 11 days. My Travel agent got it directly through Alamo.

Thanks for all of your help!