Was told not to rent a car because parking is too expensive on Oahu. Is this true?

[fairytalelover]

Is it true that parking is really expensive on the island. We want to go to Pearl Harbor, Polynesian cultural center and take some city tours etc so we were thinking of renting a car. But if parking will be expensive on top of gas and the nightly parking fee at aulani it seems to me that renting a car is going to be really expensive.

And if this is true then what other options do we have to get around? I was told the bus stop is far from aulani so that's not an option I guess

 

[Aaryana]

We rented a car a few days and did not keep it over night. Parking at Aulani was much more expensive than any of the other parking we encountered. Plan strategically and you won't need a car every day. I think we rented a car 3 days out of 7?

 

[poison ivy]

Parking at Pearl Harbor is free. There is a fee to enter Diamond Head but no additional parking fee.

 

[ktlm]

Parking is free at the Polynesian Cultural Center. We did not pay for parking anywhere except for the Aulani fee, which is a ridiculously high $37 a day. Even so, if you plan to leave the resort and go around the island, I would rent a car. We had friends who told us not to rent a car because the traffic was too bad and made it too hard to get around the island and you did not need one (which they had heard from someone else, so they did not rent a car or even leave Aulani to explore), and we were very glad we did not listen to them. We did not find the traffic to be all that bad and had no trouble getting around the island. I will say though, that once we got to Aulani, we did cancel a lot of our plans to go explore the island, as we found ourselves just wanting to be at the resort. I think some of that will depend on how long your stay is though. We were at Aulani 5 nights, but then we jumped to Maui.

 

[ktlm]

Another thought- from your ticker it looks like your trip is not too far away. I would reserve a rental car as soon as possible. In Hawaii, because you are on an island, there is only a limited number and when they are gone, they are gone. We were there in the summer, which might be a more crowded time, but I saw posts and heard from people that waited until the last minute, or until they got there, and could not find a car. I also noted that we got our car on both islands at a decent rate, but I watched the prices (I have rebooked a rental and saved money before), and as the trip got closer the prices went up (I'm guessing because of the demand and fairly full bookings).

 

[alohamom]

Parking at Aulani is ridiculously expensive at $37/night (unless you are staying with/renting DVC points-then it is included), gas is expensive too HOWEVER I feel if you budget that into your plans it wont give you sticker shock in the end and it will give you flexibility to leave the resort whenever you want. A car gives you the chance to get out to stores like Costco, Target, Safeway etc for groceries, snack and even alcohol rather than paying resort prices. It allows you to eat at restaurants outside of the resort area, which can be very expensive. A car lets you tour at your own pace and see things on the spur of the moment or stay longer than a scheduled tour will. There is so much to see and do on Oahu that I think it is honestly worth the extra money. You can get some great rental deals with https://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/ they are a broker of sorts so you use them to get a good price with brand names. Costco Travel is also has some great pricing for Hawaiian island car rentals. I have been to the islands many many times and I honestly think having a rental car can really enhance your experience.

 

[Gorechick]

Are cars usually available and reasonably priced to rent onsite for a day? If you rent for a day, do you pay the parking fees?

 

[alohamom]

Another thought- from your ticker it looks like your trip is not too far away. I would reserve a rental car as soon as possible. In Hawaii, because you are on an island, there is only a limited number and when they are gone, they are gone. .

This is a good point, I looked quickly for you based on your ticker and Advantage has an economy car for $211/taxes and fees included for one week. The prices go up from there.
You asked about a bus stop too. To the best of my knowledge, there is a bus stop up on the highway, probably a 5 -7 minute walk from the gates of Aulani. "The Bus" (as it is literally called) is actually a very good system on Oahu. You can get anywhere for a very very low price but it will take time and some planning, plus you are at the mercy of their schedule. You can take "The Bus" up to the North Shore, into Waikiki, around the island, etc... but I dont think you can bring large suitcases. Here is the info on it http://www.thebus.org/

 

[alohamom]

Are cars usually available and reasonably priced to rent onsite for a day? If you rent for a day, do you pay the parking fees?

i am not sure about the availability (probably hard to get on Presidents day, Christmas etc) but the pricing is pretty expensive to me https://www.alamo.ca/en_US/car-rental/reservation/selectCar.html looks like one day starts around 75 bucks taxes and fees included but Gorechick has a great point in you would not have to pay parking fees on top pf that and if you did that for two days it would be about the same price as a full week but no parking

 

[fairytalelover]

What about other options like renting mopeds?

 

[ktlm]

We priced it, and I want to say that a full size with all the fees tacked on to the rental rate for our time period was about $100 a day at Aulani and the smaller car was not that much cheaper at that time. Without a car, you also have to figure out transportation to and from the airport, which is 20 miles from Aulani. If you rent something smaller than a "full size" car, the cost for a taxi or shuttle to and from the airport alone can be as much as, or more than, renting a car for a week. When we were checking options, the Disney parking was the only thing that made a week long rental cost us more than airport transfers and a one day rental--- we decided we would prefer to pay the parking to have the freedom to come and go as we chose on our time schedule. Also, when we were driving our rental car, we were free to stop along the way at anything that caught our interest. We were not locked into straight travel from point A to point B. We could stop wherever we wanted for as long as we wanted and then more on to the next place. We were glad we rented a car, even though when we were there, we ultimately made the decision to spend more time at Aulani than originally planned. I will say though that if you are ONLY going to Oahu and ONLY staying at Aulani, it is a good idea to branch out and see some other places- we did that later in Maui, so we decided to focus on Aulani. When we got home, DH dubbed Aulani "fake Hawaii"- which is not to say that he doesn't absolutely love it there, because he does and he thinks it is amazing. It is just "disneyfied" Hawaii-- everything is Disney created- right down to the Lagoon- to be as perfect as possible. To see "real" Hawaii, you have to leave the wonderful Disney version and explore. We were very happy in the Disneyfied version and wanted to spend as much time there as possible!

We got a full size rental car for the whole 6 days of our trip using a one week rental including all tacked on fees for right around $300 (and I've seen people get it around $200 at different times and we could have gotten it significantly cheaper if we picked a smaller car). I just looked at the uber estimator and it estimates from the airport to Aulani is between $80 and $113 (I think they have had some issues with the City resulting in restrictions and regulations on picking up people at the airport), which I think is about the same as a cab or shuttle. So if you factor in the cost by taxi to and from the airport (and it doesn't look that different from UBER at least going from the airport- might be cheaper returning to the airport), all we would have saved by having a car for one day instead of our whole trip is the Aulani parking fees. For us, it was worth that to have the freedom to go where we wanted whenever we wanted.

I see OP mentioned the Polynesian Cultural Center-- I was worried it might be a little too cheesy based on some of the reviews, but we enjoyed it. DD (10) absolutely loved it. We did the luau with the ambassador package, and although normally I am a tour on your own without a guide, type person, we loved having the guide and learned a ton about the Polynesian culture.

 

[fairytalelover]

We already have free transportation to and from the airport included in our package so we don't have to worry about that. We also have one day free car rental included at aulani from Alamo. We have never been to Hawaii before so we want to take the tours etc. we love guided tours to learn about the island and history so we need to know if we need a car to get to these site seeing places. Or do some of these guided tours have shuttles that pick you up from the resort? We are planing on getting the Go Oahu card which includes tons of guided tours around the island , Pearl Harbor, luaus poly cultural center etc

 

[poison ivy]

What about other options like renting mopeds?

You aren't near any of the major tourist attractions when staying at Aulani and are going to have to use major highways at many points, so I'm not sure a moped will work.

 

[ktlm]

What about other options like renting mopeds?

Are you adults only? It is typically 18 years old and up with no adult passengers. Also, you can not drive on any roadways where the speed limit exceeds 45 mph. You are not allowed to drive on H-1, H-2, h3 and a few other roadways. So, you are basically taking yourself off all the major roadways that get you to the destinations you mentioned in your above post. I'm not even sure how you would get to your above stated destinations from Aulani on a moped, but I think it would probably take hours. I think if you were staying in Honolulu and wanted to get around to places a moped would work, but I don't see it working from Aulani. Plus, I think you would be looking at around $70 per day for a moped rental, and to get one to aulani is about a $75 delivery fee on top of that, so that would wind up costing more than a one day rental car.

 

[fairytalelover]

Are you adults only? It is typically 18 years old and up with no adult passengers. Also, you can not drive on any roadways where the speed limit exceeds 45 mph. You are not allowed to drive on H-1, H-2, h3 and a few other roadways. So, you are basically taking yourself off all the major roadways that get you to the destinations you mentioned in your above post. I'm not even sure how you would get to your above stated destinations from Aulani on a moped, but I think it would probably take hours. I think if you were staying in Honolulu and wanted to get around to places a moped would work, but I don't see it working from Aulani. Plus, I think you would be looking at around $70 per day for a moped rental, and to get one to aulani is about a $75 delivery fee on top of that, so that would wind up costing more than a one day rental car.

We have a 10 year old. We were not aware of this information. Thank you. My husband's co worker who had been to Hawaii suggested it. But he had not stayed at aulani.

 

[poison ivy]

We already have free transportation to and from the airport included in our package so we don't have to worry about that. We also have one day free car rental included at aulani from Alamo. We have never been to Hawaii before so we want to take the tours etc. we love guided tours to learn about the island and history so we need to know if we need a car to get to these site seeing places. Or do some of these guided tours have shuttles that pick you up from the resort? We are planing on getting the Go Oahu card which includes tons of guided tours around the island , Pearl Harbor, luaus poly cultural center etc

Since you plan to use the Go Oahu card, my advice is try to extend your 1 free day rental for a length of stay at Aulani thru Costco and plan to drive to and from the many places you want to visit.
I see no better affordable way to maximize your time with a busy schedule planned.

I have tons of photos I have to share on this forum from our trip during Thanksgiving week including traffic and the major Highways during off peak and peak times. It's hard to get a clear picture of the island without knowing how remote the Aulani resort is in relation to certain tourist spots.

 

[ktlm]

We already have free transportation to and from the airport included in our package so we don't have to worry about that. We also have one day free car rental included at aulani from Alamo. We have never been to Hawaii before so we want to take the tours etc. we love guided tours to learn about the island and history so we need to know if we need a car to get to these site seeing places. Or do some of these guided tours have shuttles that pick you up from the resort? We are planing on getting the Go Oahu card which includes tons of guided tours around the island , Pearl Harbor, luaus poly cultural center etc

Aulani has excursions you can book -- you might want to check into that before your trip. How many days are you there? Since you already have airport transfers and one day rental, your best bet with the Aulani parking fees might be just to add on another day or two of car rental from Aulani. It doesn't take too long of a time to get anywhere, so you can do a few things in a day. On your PCC day though, I would definitely recommend getting there fairly early. We stopped at the Dole Plantation on the way and spent a little time looking at the North Shore area, and I wish we had skipped Dole (similar to a place we have at home without the Pineapple) and spent more time at the PCC. We did not make it through all the countries. With a 10 year old and a desire to learn about the island and history, I would recommend the package with the guide, they did things like teach us how to try to make fire from sticks, play Island games etc. and DD loved it all.

 

[PlutoFan10]

I agree with the others -- I think those saying parking was expensive may have been talking about resort parking. Loved having a car. We went ll the way to Hawaii -- wanted to see the entire island. If you are not staying on DVC points, perhaps you can rent a car for just a few days.

 

[fairytalelover]

The Go Oahu Car includes over 30 plus attractions for only $500 for the three of us for 4 days (the Costco special price) and here is the list of attractions it includes:
http://www.smartdestinations.com/oa...s/_d_Hio-p1.html?pass=Hio_Prod_Go&allInc=true

 

[buffettgirl]

If you haven't already, take a peek at a map of Oahu. Look at where Aulani is situated in relation to everything else. Honolulu is a major, large city. It's not "east nowhere", and the whole island isn't one giant resort. It's a large, working city.