Rental Cars on Oahu

Our agency offers excellent rates on Oahu vehicle rentals with Avis Rental Car; they are located at the Honolulu International Airport (HNL). While this page is intended to provide information on Oahu rental cars, you may also use the form to the right to reserve a rental car on Maui, Kauai, or the Big Island as well.

LOW SEASON rates are in effect from January 1 to February 11, April 5 to June 30, and September 7 to December 14

HIGH SEASON rates are in effect from February 12 to April 4 and July 1 to September 6

HOLIDAY SEASON rates that are much higher are in effect from December 15 to December 31; these rates will be posted soon.

Prices listed above are base rates which do not include rental car tax and facility surcharges.

Compact: Ford Focus or similar Seats 4; holds 1 large & 2 small suitcases

Intermediate: Pontiac G6 or similar Seats 5; holds 1 large & 2 small suitcases

Full-sized: Chevrolet Impala or similar Seats 5; holds 2 large & 2 small suitcases

Convertible: Chrysler Sebring or similar Seats 4; holds 1 large & 1 small suitcases

Luxury: Cadillac DTS or similar Seats 5; holds 3 large & 2 small suitcases

Minivan: Chevrolet Uplander or similar Seats 7; holds 5+ large suitcases

Our recommendations on car sizes; parties of 2 adults and 2 children can comfortably be accommodated in one of the compacts. Midsized is fine for 4 adults. Parties of 5 should request a full-sized car. Minivans will hold a maximum of 7. Convertibles will only hold 4 people.

Some fine print ... which we will leave regular size type so you can really read it ... 

• While the cost of the rental is paid directly to Avis, our office requires a credit card on file to guarantee the reservation.
• The driver must be 25 years old or older with a major credit card in his/her name. Drivers 21-25 may also rent, but will need to pay an underage driver charge of $27 per day.
• Daily rates are for a 24 hour rental period and includes unlimited mileage.
• You are responsible for whatever liability and vehicle damage insurance you decide to take out on the vehicle, as well as the gasoline consumption, and any GPS units or car seats that you rent from Avis.
• 48 hours notice required for changes / cancellations of existing reservation

If you are a cruise ship passenger arriving for the day at Honolulu Harbor, please note that Avis does not provide shuttle service to and from their Honolulu Airport location. Public transportation to the airport is readily available in the form of city bus and taxi. Either bus 19 or 20 will take you to and from the airport and Honolulu Harbor; the bus stop is at the intersection of Alakea and and King Street. Here are links to the Route 19 schedule and the Route 20 schedule. The westbound routes will take you from downtown to the airport. After returning your car at the airport, you want to catch the eastbound bus back to downtown Honolulu and the cruise ship pier.

If you are a cruise ship passenger on the NCL Pride of America, you might want to rent a car before and/or after your cruise, especially if you are spending some extra nights in Honolulu. If you rent before your cruise, you will pick up the rental car when you arrive at the Honolulu International Airport. On your day of boarding the cruise, drop off the other members of your party along with your luggage at the cruise ship dock in downtown Honolulu, then return the rental car at the airport. Catch either bus 19 or bus 20 heading eastbound; in case you missed it in the previous paragraph here are links to the Route 19 schedule and the Route 20 schedule. If you would like a rental car at the conclusion of your cruise, same process in reverse. Take bus 19 or 20 westbound to the airport, pick up the car, then go back to the dock and pick up your party and luggage. You will return the car at the Honolulu Airport just before checking in for your departing flight, which will be one of the longest and saddest flights of your life. It's always a bummer to leave Hawaii.

For the record, shuttle pickup IS available on Maui at the Kahului dock where the NCL Pride of America arrives (request Maui-Kahului) as well as the Lahaina dock where most other ships arrive (request Maui-Lahaina). Shuttle service is also available on Kauai at the Nawiliwili dock and in Hilo on the Big Island. The Kona dock on the BIg Island is not serviced by Avis rental car shuttle due to the distance from the harbor to the airport.

CAB FARE ADDS UP QUICKLY!!! Rental cars open up the possibility for cruise ship passengers to arrange their own tours and activities independently rather than using excursions arranged by the ship. This will often save you a LOT of money as the cruise lines tend to mark up the cost for shore excursions or offer ones that are done in large buses instead of smaller groups. We don't know of a better way to improve your Hawaii cruise vacation than to gain some independence from the cruise ship during the time that you are in port.

Activity Tips

For those spending part of their vacation on the island of Oahu, the answer to the question "Do I need a rental car in Honolulu?" is a resounding, definitive "MAYBE." Oahu is the one island that has LOTS of public transportation. Taxis are everywhere. The Bus works well, it's cheap, and it will save you having to pay $$ a day in parking charges at your Waikiki hotel. Parking at all those hotels costs in the range of $20 or so per night. Many tours on Oahu pick up in the Waikiki area, so a rental car is less needed on Oahu.

Unless ... unless you aren't staying in the Waikiki area. If you are in a B&B in Kailua, a north shore surfing hostel, or a west side property like the Marriott in Ko Olina, then we'd suggest a rental car as tour pickups are oriented toward the Waikiki hotels. And if you are the kind of person who just can't stand the thought of waiting 20 minutes for a public bus, or if you aren't interested in experiencing the slice of Hawaii civilization that relies on the bus for their day-to-day transportation needs, then by all means a rental car is for you!.

Rental Car Reservations

Upon submitting your activity reservation for processing, we will make reservations for you and send an e-mail confirming all of the details. These confirmations are often sent a few minutes after your reservation, but some activities take longer to confirm than others. You will receive an e-mail confirmation by the end of the next business day at the latest. There are no tickets that you need to pick up prior to your event. Your e-mail confirmation will have all the details you need to check in and enjoy your selected activity. This saves you precious time when you arrive in Hawaii. 

Please be sure that you have typed your email address perfectly; an incorrect address will prevent you from getting your confirmation details, and we will have no way of knowing that you never received your confirmation. We cannot be responsible for errors that clients make which causes them to miss their tour. If you do not see your email confirmation within 24 hours please call us right away to check on the status of your order.

A credit card is required to guarantee payment for your reservations, but the activities on this page ARE NOT CHARGED when your order is placed. These activities are operated by vendors who charge you at the time of check-in for your activity. Adventureinhawaii.com will provide this vendor with your billing information so that your space is reserved. Even though your credit card is not charged in advance, it is import to realize that you are making a confirmed reservation. No-shows will be charged in full by the activity provider on the credit card used to secure the reservation .

After making reservations, you may reschedule or cancel your activity up until 48 hours prior to its start (a few activities have 72 hour cancellation policies ... see your confirmation e-mail for details). Within 48 hours of the start of your activity all reservations are final and non-refundable (unless the event is cancelled by the vendor due to weather or other factors ... in which case you are refunded in full). Due to our incredible climate here, weather cancellations are rare.  No-shows and cancellations without adequate notice are charged in full on the credit card used to secure the reservation and are non-refundable.