We will be arriving in Oahu on 2/18 for 1 week and then on to Maui for a week where we have a rental car. I think we can get around Oahu pretty easily without a rental car but my husband thinks we need to rent on there too. What do you think....do we need a rental car on Oahu?

Thanks

Paula, if you do a search on this thread there is a similar question to yours. You do need a car to get around on Oahu. People think everything is in walking distance because we live on an island, but that's not true! It can take you about 20-40 minutes to drive from Waikiki to the Arizona Memorial, depending on how fast you drive and how familiar you are with the directions.

Unless you plan on taking a drive to the North Shore, I would not recommend getting a car! There are shuttles that are reasonable to get you where you want to go from the Airport to your hotel and from your hotel to Pearl Harbor. The one-way streets and amount of traffic in Waikiki are enough to cause stress and arguments!! Not what a vacation is for!! There are car rental offices located right in Waikiki if you want to get a car for a day or two to explore outside of shuttle services! You have got to go to DUKE's Restaurant and have a piece of the "Hula Pie"!!!

Hi - Janet again. One more thing to consider...besides the cost of a rental car for a week, most hotels, I'm assuming you are staying at a hotel in Waikiki, charge a daily parking fee. When we stayed in Waikiki 3-4 years ago it was $7.00/day and the car sat most of the time.

I would suggest you not rent a car for the whole time on Oahu but instead rent one for one or two days when you want to explore areas away from Waikki. The public transportation system is quite good. It can take you anywhere - even around the entire island but that would be very time consuming and tedious. Also, you might want to plan your car activcities for the week-end when the bus system is not nearly as good as there are far fewer buses schedules.
Laurie