lissie45

Its an American thing - every item you buy in NZ has 15% sales tax added to it - you'd never know because its illegal to advertise to consumers without including it. The reason that its illegal - is because its misleading.

In the old days when we used actual cash , it was annoying to go a store expect to pay $9.99 for an item because that was the price and end up having to break a $10 note to pay for it.

suze

I don't see why it's a problem as long as you realize that is how things work.

mrwunrfl

I just popped in to note that you might find car rental prices there to be shocking. Noticed you likely won't do that and will suggest that you look into a tour bus to go to Pearl Harbor to see if that works for you.

Resort fees are misleading, imo. The hotel websites have computers behind them and the info is available given that the fee shows up in the final price.

You can just add 15% occupancy tax to a normal advertised hotel price and you will be in the ballpark. Normal meaning not having a resort fee.

Other taxes, or rather prices that don't include taxes are not misleading. We have federal, state, county, and local taxes that vary by location and change (as in the 1% local tax that popped up one day here). An example of the varying taxes would be a national campaign price like the $5 footlong that Subway offered. Instead of one national ad with the base price they would need at least 51 ads to include taxes in the ad.

mlgb

Just think of it as New York City on a beach and you'll be less shocked.

As far as rates if this is before/after a cruise that can also bump up rates

Waikiki is not very deep in terms of distance from the Ala Wai Canal to the sand (I'm sure you know how to use Google Maps). But my recent impression is that there is a good end (as in higher cost with more security guards) on the west end, and then the east end on the edge of Kapiolani Park is a little sketchier (and therefore cheaper). With normal precautions it should stilll be okay, eg don't leave anything in your car overnight.

As far as thumping bass you do need to be careful with something that is low rise with a pool and bar on site or next door. Usually Tripadvisor (the reviews not the forums) and the websites like Expedia give an indication that there could be a noise problem.

As I mentioned above, try using Expedia, not booking.com to screen for total price without needing to make a fake booking.

There are a few hotels (very few) with free onsite parking. Even those with parking often don't have enough of it for everyone. I saw a lot of GARAGE FULL signs.

Car rentals are reasonable if you pick up at the airport, but less so if you try to get one from a major rental agency in Waikiki.

I wonder if it is worth spending perhaps the first night or two near the airport and to visit Pearl Harbor and do a day of self drive from there. Then you could shuttle to Waikiki for the rest of your stay.

lissie45

Why a tour bus? I was looking at either The Bus transit or uber/lyft/taxi depending on time of day / traffic /price etc

lissie45

LOL I get the NYC comment! I ended up staying in a delightful semi-residential hotel in the middle of Manhatten with shared bathrooms because of the prices!

I loath and hate changing hotels in the same city - its a just a thing with me LOL. I also won't hire the first day back on the wrong side of the road after an overnight flights. I like your idea in principal though. The flights from NZ are currently theoretical - but should arrive fairly early morning. So we could stash our bags at left luggage at the airport - bus/uber over to Pearl Harbour - and then return and get a transfer with luggage later .

For rentals I was considering renting for one day to get out of town and I'd prefer a local agency such as One's . We are also considering getting an overnight flight from Hawaii on to SF so we may hire a car that day to get out of town and then drop it at the airport. I'm really not sure about car hire. I'm perfectly fine with driving on the wrong side of the road - but the parking sounds horrific. I probably need to start a new thread on what to do in Oahu or 4 days!

mrwunrfl

Ok, TheBus will do the job. I would consider a tour. Check in and then get info for the transport that you suggest but I would also consider a tour with hotel pick-up/drop-off with flexible return times, maybe a short, interesting, stop on the way, and in nice coach instead of city bus, and the right price. Might be easy to toss this option right away, but I would check. That's all.

I took a look at costcotravel for a rental car, an "intermediate" car. All-in price of $538 for your four days at HNL. That seems to be quite high to me, but I haven't been there for a good 10-12 years. Also checked Waikiki and the four-day rate is over $800.

Took a look at a one-day rental (still costco, Avis at Sheraton Waikiki) and got a price of $117. That is for the 18th, same price for 8AM-4PM or a 24-hour rental (would be $35 plus tax to park at the Sheraton). I would probably bite the bullet at that price and the parking fee for the convenience and the freedom to go out around the island. One time I did a loop. I drove up to the Pali Lookout for the view, down the other side to a gorgeous beach and a stop in the town (Kailua, IIRC) for a glimpse of non-Waikiki Hawaii, then round to Hanauma Bay to snorkel and then the blow hole, Diamond Head. I would pay the car + parking costs to do that day again.

I was able to get those quotes and, apparently, make those reservations, but could not get a rental at Waikike Sheraton with dropoff at HNL. I think there is normally no additional charge for that but noticed this at the Avis at Sheraton webpage: **Our rental facility is closed until further notice.**

I think I actually did that when I drove to Pearl HarborL pickup at the Sheraton and drop off at HNL, ignoring the warnings about car break-ins.

At Pearl Harbor I took the optional tour to the USS Missouri. That was one of the best guided site-tours that I have ever been on. There were several options and I think chose the Ensign's tour. Loved it.

mlgb

Many of the city car rental offices are closed right now. The few that were open had limited hours on evenings or weekends, or were sold out. So I just did an airport rental.
There is still a Hertz downtown Waikiki at the Hyatt. If you were to reserve now for one day it is pretty reasonable, but the dropoff fee for returning to the airport is an extra $100.

Uber seemed to work pretty well, I used it once to get from the Bishop Museum to the airport to pickup my rental car. I used the bus to get back from the Airport to Waikiki (got off a little early at Fort DeRussy and walked back to hotel).
The bus is by tap card now, you can get them at the ABC Stores.

Another option just for going around the island is the Waikiki Trolley HOHO

https://waikikitrolley.com/

suze

I would never recommend to stay by the airport for a few nights. It's an industrial area and the hotel choices are limited and certainly nothing I would choose as a way to start my Hawaiian vacation. Waikiki is so close by that makes no sense.

Trying to use The Bus to do an island "tour" is going to take a lot longer with a lot more (uninteresting) stops than a normal guided tour, if the point is seeing some highlights without driving yourself.

mlgb

Suze has never rented a car, either. Driving into Waikiki isn't much fun, even with Google Maps. Someone coming from New Zealand in their summer may not have the same needs as someone coming for R&R from a gloomy climate in winter.

The point is, if you want to rent a car for the day, and visit Pearl Harbor, and drive yourself around the island, as opposed to sitting in bars or by a pool,(and dealing with limited $40 to $50/night parking), it may be more convenient to do that part of the itinerary from near the airport. The point is not to base yourself at the airport for your entire visit. I saw the Best Western as I was returning my car and made a note for future visits.

suze

That is why I did not say anything about car rental. Since I have never done it.

But I have used The Bus quite a bit. And would not recommend it as a substitute for an island tour.

mlgb

The point of suggesting the stay near the airport was to make the Pearl Harbor and island drive easier. I wonder if you have done either a visit to Pearl Harbor, or a tour of the island of any sort?

mlgb

Just checked the folio on my recent airport rental in Honolulu, it was about $70 a day, through Auto Club, for two weekend days (12:30 Friday to 12:30 Sunday). I think a nonrefundable rate was not much less. I didn't include their insurance since I have an Amex policy for that.

Expedia for one weekend day in July is nearly twice that.. Not sure if the rate will go down, but for planning purposes you can compare a price of about $150 to $200 a day, by the time you factor in parking, gas and insurance, maybe more!

suze

Who said anything about "sitting in bars"? I've never heard or read anyone recommend staying at the airport to go to Pearl Harbor. This is a first.

lissie45

I'm seeing $75-$100 for a drop off at HNL in July . For that price I'll just return to Waikiki which means the luggage can be stored at our hotel for the day too. Charley's is quoting about $30 o/w to the airport.

To clarify I wasn't considering the The Bus for a whole island tour - but it seemed to have frequent service to both Pearl Harbour and for the area around Iolani Palace.

My partner LOVES battleships. We saw the one in Wilmington and that's probably enough for me- but he will defo want to do the Missouri - I'll leave him to it!

lissie45

That is the sort of thing I was thinking of doing using a combo of The Bus and uber. Saw that its become a card - that makes it so much easier not having to deal with change the whole time (we are almost cashless in NZ will be shock going back to using actual money in the US!)

I saw the HOHO - only runs hourly though and maybe very crowded in mid July??

lissie45

I don't think costco will deal with me as a non-USA resident . Ive used rentacars.com previously in the US because they include all insurances - I'm seeing around US$240 for one day ex HNL which could be worthwhile - and your route sounds exactly like what I'd want to do.

We are now thinking about taking an overrnight flight to SFO leaves about 10pm - so may hire a car that last day to get out of town and then can drop it back around 6/7pm which would work

Songdoc

I took a "Circle the Island" bus tour that was quite good. I felt like I got a good overview. I don't recall the company, but it was one of the major ones. It included a stop at a shrimp truck that was FABULOUS.

FYI, I rarely use cash anywhere in the U.S. Only at farmer's markets and one tiny restaurant on Kauai.

mlgb

The only place I used cash was one farm stand and the final taxi back to Hilo airport. I got out she said cash only! I always have a $20 in my pocket just in case, fortunately.

Lissie do you plan to have all of your luggage in the car your last day? If you leave it at your hotel that could add up to two hours to get in to Waikiki and then back to the airport at rush hour.

There are also a few hotels west of the airport for that final night.

mlgb

The HOHO Trolley is likely to be crowded, yes, but it's open air. And not really that flexible. I don't think it goes around the entire island but I saw the Blue Lline at the east end, and by the time you pay two fares for the longer circuits probably not worth it for you if comfortable with the public bus.

I found the public buses to usually run late (like up to half an hour late). I was fooled when the first one showed up 5 minutes early. There is an ap where you can track them in real time.

The fare rules are interesting and have changed since they went to the Tap Cards. Now when you tap once, you have something like 1.5 hours to use it again for free (even a return trip). This is instead of asking for a free transfer. If you use it another time after that window, then you get charged another fee, but you essentially have a day pass at that point, use it as much as you want. You can still pay with cash, but there are no more paper passes. Oh and they were hacked so there are some disruptions now with their call center, although hopefully they are back in operation before July!

The fare is now $2.75 per ride.
https://www.holocard.net/help/