Do I need a car in Oahu?
 

First time trip to Hawaii starting Thanksgiving weekend. We (my boyfriend and I) will be staying in Waikiki for 8 days. Right now we're debating between two hotels. We were planning on renting a car for 2-3 days to explore other parts of the island. It looks like most of Waikiki is accessible by foot or bus.
Is the HNL airport the only place to rent cars? If so, should we book ahead of time?

There are various car rental agencies with offices in various hotels in Waikiki. You should be able to pick up/drop off a car right in Waikiki.

Overnight parking in the hotel will run you somewhere between $15-$20 per night. You should compare the cost and convenience factor of renting a car on consecutive days plus the parking fee and renting the car on a daily basis.

Oahu has a good bus system. So you do not need a car.

But, you will still spend hours on or waiting for public transportation.

By the time you pay for shuttles, cabs, buses & tours that you can do on your own, you won't save any money by not renting a car.

You can rent cars in Waikiki.

My advice:

Rent a car the entire time. You will enjoy Oahu a lot more.

I answered your other message about how crowded Oahu will be. So you ought to reserve your car early whether you choose the entire time or just a few days.

I would just rent a car for a couple days. There are a number of "rent a dent" kind of looking local places right in central Waikiki. You'd only need one if you wish to explore further than Waikiki/Honolulu area which is easily done on The Bus.

I agree with Dusty above.
You don't really "need" a car the entire time, but transportation costs will add up by the time you've paid for getting to and from the airport (not a short ride), etc. Plus, some of the buses can be really crowded, so much so that sometimes you can't get a seat the entire trip! Also, the daily cost for renting in Waikiki is usually higher than what you can get in advance at the airport.
On the flip side, you will have to pay daily parking at most hotels.....

wow, you've all given me a lot to think about. thank you so much for all the feedback. i have a couple more questions...
what is the average cab cost from the airport to waikiki?
i've been trying to find a good map of oahu that shows all 'attractions' so i can determine what exactly we need a car for. so far no luck on that.
this is the first time i've ever planned a trip like this in case no one could tell. :)

Several sites on this link have maps:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34812564

You can also buy a copy of 'Oahu Revealed' and/or 'Driving & Discovering Hawaii OAHU Honolulu & Waikiki'

Each is about $10-$15.

'Oahu Revealed' basically pays for itself with restaurant recommendations.

CAB from airport is $30-$35 dollars with tip.

The verdict for car vs no car in Oahu rages on. IMHO I agree with the above who say get a car for all the same reasons. If someone plans on spending all their time sitting on a beach, you don't need a car, just the $50-70 RT + tip for a cab. But since this is your first visit, you've got LOTS of exploring to do. Agree with getting a guide book or log onto the site listed in another post of 101 Things to do on Oahu and you'll see the need for a car.
Yes, public transportation is great, but if you put a dollar value on your vacation time, the time spent waiting for a bus or figuring out which one/where to get on/off ect is worth $ you can spend on your rental.

There are really only 2 drawbacks to rentals, the bad Honolulu traffic and the hotel parking fees. But they're both worth having the freedome of coming and going when you want to.

Also - you'll be there during the HUGE surfing season on the north shore. Don't Miss that! You can take a buss up there, but I can guarantee that you'll want to hang out on the beach and watch the excitement.

I travel solo to Waikiki, and do not get a car. I take the Waikiki hotel shuttle bus to and from the airport (or use a taxi). But I only stay around Waikiki and do maybe a couple things in Honolulu downtown area, so I can get around on The Bus and on foot.

You can get to the North Shore by public transportation, but when I asked about it here while planning my last trip I was advised that it took quite a long time, and for that type of thing I would probably prefer to rent a car.

I mentioned above, the car rental lots I saw near where I stayed, but never did a price comparison for using them for a few days vs. if I had booked one ahead for the entire trip.