Rent a car for week in Honolulu or no?
 

Need advice on whether it is a good idea to have a car for a week in Honolulu.
Traveling with husband and teenage daughter, trying to stay on budget. Does it make sense to walk, and use public transportation, for the first part of the week, staying mostly in around the city and city beaches, then rent a car for the last 3 days to do other touring such as Pearl Harbor, North Shore, Hanauma Bay, etc. ??

Budget is not the only consideration as I wonder if a car is a liability in the city with traffic and problems finding parking when you get to your destination.

Second question: The condo where we are staying at the eastern end of Waikiki charges $12 a day for parking, but we may be able to find on-street parking for free. I read in a guidebook that there is a parking lot at Monsarrat Ave at Kapiolani park that has free parking with no time limit. Does anyone know if this is still true?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

I guess we could get around on buses, but we always rent a car.

Sometimes an expense seems less like a splurge when, for instance, you figure out how much you would save by using public transportation and they compute what percentage the additional expense is as a proportion of your entire vacation cost.

HTTY

Rent a car the entire time. You can see the island much better with a car.

By the time you pay for shuttles, cabs & buses you won't save any $$ by not renting a car. Plus you will have spent hours on or waiting for public transportation.

Pay the $12 for parking at the condo rather than trying to find overnight free parking.

Lots of info including a couple of driving tours:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...trip-to-hi.cfm

We rented a car the whole time & don't regret it one bit!

3 days, unless on a special "weekend rate", is almost the same as a 7-day weekly rental in many places. Add the shuttles and public transportation fees and it's a wash, it'll only cost you the parking fees really.
Find a rate that is inclusive of insurance and fees, as these can really add up for non-US citizens.

Absolutely rent a car!

For one thing, parking is NOT very hard to find anywhere except downtown, and I doubt you'll be going there much. Even in Waikiki, you can get parking easily, though yes, you'll need to pay, but even then, it won't be crazy.

The traffic during rush hour can be bad, but again, nothing you won't see anywhere else.

I can get around on foot, but I travel solo, and only stay in Waikiki. For a family and if you want to do ANYthing outside Waikiki, it becomes cost effective to rent a car. By the time you pay for a taxi or shuttle for 3 people from and back to the airport, you've probably nearly paid off the rental!

Well, it appears to be unanimous! We will rent a car for the week. Thanks everyone, and thanks also for the link to all the great info for the first-time visitor.

To add to "things/places to do on Oahu", Rachel Ray did a tour around the island with her husband (lucky guy, he gets to accompany her, without having to do anything)....they stopped at a lot of local, funky places to eat, beaches, bars, etc. Like her or not, these might be good suggestions:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/rachaels-...ahu/index.html

I would just pay for the overnight parking at your condo than trying to find free parking. The free parking lot you mention is probably the Waikiki Shell. I'm not sure if they allow overnight parking. Finding street parking will be tough.

$12/day parking is a great rates for Waikiki... if that's at your own hotel or condo, I'd grab it!