scdreamer

My husband and I will be traveling to Oahu in a couple weeks - we have rented a low key condo about an hour outside Honolulu and plan on doing some hiking and scenic drives. We will have a rental car - picking it up from the airport when we arrive - but have decided to spend our final three days in Honolulu, so we can visit some of the sights there before we fly back to California.

I am wondering how necessary it is to have a car while in Honolulu. We will want to visit museums, Pearl harbor, restaurants, etc. In looking for a hotel, I am trying to decide if we will require parking. Is it better to have a car, or should we just turn it in a few days before we return home?

Also - any suggestions for hotel, area to stay, etc in Honolulu (Waikiki?) are quite welcome. Thanks!

MichelleY

If I were going to stay in Honolulu, I would pick somewhere right on Waikiki Beach. Look at the Outrigger or others. It all depends on your budget.

i would say you do not need the car in the city, but look at your rental rate. If you were priced for a week and return early, you may be penalized. You would have to compare that to any parking fees you would incur if you had to keep the car.

jamie99

Check pricing on discounthawaiicarrental.com for good rates, also Autoslash and Costco (if a member).

Kathie

You really don't want a car while you are in Honolulu. Not only will you not need a car while you are in Honolulu, your hotel will charge you a lot to park your car. Michelle's thought to check your rental contract to make sure you won't be charged extra if you return your car early is a good one.

I'd recommend that you stay at one of the hotels right on Waikiki - the Surfrider, Royal Hawaiian, Sheraton, Outrigger, etc. There are only about a half a dozen hotels there. It's a good opportunity to use hotel points (all are now affiliated with the Marriott). Staying right on the beach is so much nicer then the hotels across the street (like the Hyatt or the Marriott).

scdreamer

Great advice - I actually found the same car from the same company I had already booked with for quite a bit less through discounthawaiicarrental.com ! No cost to cancel the initial reservation and rebook, so thank you for saving me the cost of a couple dinners out

We ended up deciding we will rent a condo near Waikiki for the last three days of the trip - found a nice one with a designated parking spot included. The condo isn't quite beachfront, but very close with good views, nice pool, and less than the cost of a hotel. Plus, I love having a kitchen for coffee in the morning. We can use the car to get around town - easier than uber or public transportation. Thanks for the great suggestions.

suze

I would stay right in Waikiki. Since you already have the rental car, my opinion is you might as well keep it those last few days, and it will be more convenient than using The Bus (public transportation) for things like Pearl Harbor, Bishop Museum, and getting back to the airport on your last day.

As far as suggestions of where to stay, I can help, I was just in Waikiki for 9 days last month. But what kind of hotel are you looking for? Price range? Amenities? Do you want a pool? Beachfront? View? etc. etc.

scdreamer

Thanks, suze - we have rented a condo in Waikiki with parking included for the extra three days we added to our trip. From the online description and photos, it looks like a highrise with some nice views and a pool. Any restaurant suggestions are welcome - we haven't visited Oahu since 1985, so we're out of the loop. Looking forward to some hiking and scenic drives around the island for the first week and a half, and the final days spent in Waikiki seeing the city sights.

(Hey, maybe we'll cross paths in PV - will be there for a month from mid Feb to mid March I know you are often there)

sf7307

Parts of the drive from Kailua to Haleiwa is jaw-droppingly spectacular (on the H3/H2 - I honestly don't remember where the spectacular part is).

suze

Oh with parking included most definitely keep the car! I went to Iolani Palace on The Bus but ended up skipping Bishop Museum as it looked like it would take an hour by public transportation (also I lucked into weather perfection on my 9 day stay, so some possible indoor activities I skipped). You could do both or either much more easily in a rental car.

One thing you need to reserve in advance if interested is the Doris Duke ShangriLa estate tour, that runs from the Honolulu Art Museum downtown.

I travel budget and solo so didn't eat in restaurants very often. My nicest (b-day) meal was at Arancino de Mare which is an Italian restaurant, although I prefer their location on BeachWalk (but that was full that night). Ruffage (health food-ish) was a great place for dinner to go (shrimp plate) it's on a corner with a poke bowl place and ME Korean BBQ on Kuhio down near Royal Grove Hotel. I ate from the "Farmers Market" that happens on Mon/Tu/Thur 4-8pm at the Bank of Hawaii plaza (corner of Kalakaua Ave & BeachWalk) for takeout like baked goods, green salads, fruit salads, egg rolls, noodles, BBQ meat skewers, etc. Mostly I ate my hotel's free breakfast buffet, then from ABC Stores (which are everywhere) for items like shrimp cocktail, salads, sandwiches, noodles, sushi, beverages and had meals on my lanai overlooking the canal.

Would love to hear about your condo, if you like it. I tried to look for one but wasn't able to find one that worked for me, and ended up at Sand Villa, a hotel I know and love, but interested in branching out for future return trips.

Wow lucky you... Waikiki now, then Puerto Vallarta so soon after!! Hope I can join you but no plans for 2020 yet

(as you noticed out last posts crossed in cyber space, you'd already answered the questions I asked about housing!)

NorthwestMale

Decades ago, I came away from a stay near Waikiki with the impression that it was a case of 5000 rental cars driving around in search of 3000 parking spots on a daily basis.

It simply has to be worse in 2020. (while transportation alternatives have to be better now)

(in my case, I was glad to have been able to see the other side of the island, but you will have already done something similar, so I say ditch the car)

suze

Why get rid of the car when you are staying somewhere with parking included? You don't have to drive it around in central Waikiki looking for a parking space, no reason to do that, but you have to at least return to the airport somehow. MIght as well have the rental car start to finish on Oahu from an airport location. I was most recently there in November

Patty

I would definitely keep the car if parking is included. You won't need it for Waikiki as it's easily walkable but will need transportation to Pearl Harbor and back to the airport plus museums and any restaurants outside of Waikiki. We never miss spending an evening at House Without a Key at the Halekulani Hotel https://www.halekulani.com/dining/house-without-a-key