We will be in Oahu from July 17-July 21, for 5 days and 4 nights. We are staying at the Sheraton Waikiki. We would like to rent a car for 2 days to see the rest of the island. Should we do it at the beginning of the trip, middle, or towards the end? And would it be more economical just to rent it for the entire trip because of the hassles of returning the car to the airport and catching a cab back to the hotel?

Thanks!

Visit rental agency web sites to check prices, of course there may be local outfits too.... then decide. Only you can decide what's best because only you know just what it is you really want to do.
Have a great trip.
p.

Find some price quotes and figure out the costs involved. Typically, you're going to get a much better rate by renting at an airport facility than at a hotel location. Make sure to figure out daily parking charges at the hotel as well. There is practically no street parking within the Sheraton Waikiki area so you'll have to garage it. Frankly, I always will just a rent a car for the entire duration of a trip just because I find the cost difference neglible if I'm renting from an aiport location vs. in town and the time savings is worth the little extra I would have to pay for overnight parking.

been there, done that...you will find all kinds of freebie tourist books/flyers at the airport. Also there will be stands on street corners, & in your hotel...sometimes you can find a car rental bargain in them.
Regardless, you should be able to rent a car for the day at the Sheraton...& just perhaps you can park in the car rental lot at the Sheraton & avoid paying for parking. I'm not sure about it, but I'd surely ask.
When to rent...hey, rent when the urge strikes..but not on the weekend.
Have a great time. Aloha, Linda

I would not be on Oahu without a car the entire time. You will save money if you just leave Waikiki for your meals.

If your budget is such that you don't want to spend that I suggest you rent at the begining of your trip so that you see what is out there. If you want to go over to Lanikai or Kailua you can take the bus. Wait till the last day you are going to bang your head against the wall as to why you stayed in Waikiki all the time.

First day drive over the Pali stop at the Pali lookout. Only 20 minutes from Waikiki. Hang out at Kailua, Wamonalo or Lanikai beaches. Perhaps stop at the byodo temple before hitting the beach. At the end of your beach day but before sunset take the 40 minute coast drive back. Here you will pass Makapu lookout and lighthouse, Sandy beach, Blow hole, Hanama bay and Hawaii Kai.

On another day you can check out the wind surfers in the morning on diamond head drive, go to Iolani palace if this on a Friday bring a picnic basket and listen to the royal hawaiian band (forget their actual title)afterwards.

Rentals on the island are significantly more when you rent by the day. Try Alamo and use a code 6T if you don't have price club or AAA membership.

You could also bid for your car which works for a lot of people check out biddingfortravel.com for this info. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and see what bids are winning rentals.

Actually the Pali is only 10 minutes from Waikiki. Kailua and Lanikai are 20 minutes from Waikiki

Try Travelocity.com
I got an Avis Oahu rental for 21.00/day!
They have special rates and snce you are not bound to the rental, you can change your mind if you find something lower.
I do suggest that you go ahead and book it now, though.

Eunice
The cost of a taxi from the airport to Waikiki is often about the same (or even more) than the cost of a one day rental, about $30. Since you may only need a 4 day rental (based on 24 hour periods), renting may prove cheaper than 2 taxi rides and a 2 day rental. Of course, there may be parking charges, which would probably make it more expensive, but the convenience of a car may prove worth it.

I stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki last year and rented a car from this place for a couple of days.

Ferrari Adventures
2025 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815
Phone: (808)942-8725

They're a short walk from the hotel,they were friendly, and we got a good deal on a Toyota. I didn't want to deal with the airport logistics either.

I have been dealing with the same questions for my upcoming trip....we've chosen a 3 day rental from Alamo because we can pick up and drop off at Waikiki IIliki (sp?) Hotel, nr the Hilton, instead of the airport hassle. The rental agency charges $30 drop-off (ripp-off) fee to drop car off at airport and I can get an airport shuttle, return for $10-12 with VIP shuttle service. Having a car the whole time would be great, but the cost of parking and hassle of driving (no wine with dinner!!) isn't worth it for us! We chose the middle of our ten day trip to stock up on cheaper groceries for the condo out of town, and can always rent a car again if we decided we wanted a car again.

We went kind of the same route as Darlene. We were in Ohau for 5 nights. We had our conceirge set up the rental car for the weekend. I think is was Alomo. Their van showed up at our hotel for pick up at a specified time and drove us to another hotel where they had a rental counter. We dropped it off two days later and the shuttle returned us to our hotel. The shuttle van rides are free. The daily rate was $35 including all the taxes and fees etc. It is much easier and probably cheaper than going out to the airport. It all went very smoothly.

Lenore - did the van take a long time to get to the Iliki (sp?) hotel (i.e. did it stop at a dozen other hotels?) We were thinking of walking, but the van may be a good idea afterall.