HNL Airport Car Rental Question

[disney0210]

Hello!

Just looking for some info on which companies will not require a shuttle ride from the airport to their lots as I think I am getting different information.

I booked Alamo for a full size SUV for 10 days for around $1200 but Avis just showed an intermediate SUV for $431 so I wouldn’t mind the smaller vehicle for that much savings, but it’s changing car companies too. Are any of these two companies really on-site?

If you have rented from both, which one would you prefer?

Thanks and Happy Sunday!

 

[southerngirl528]

I booked Alamo for a full size SUV for 10 days for around $1200 but Avis just showed an intermediate SUV for $431 so I wouldn’t mind the smaller vehicle for that much savings, but it’s changing car companies too. Are any of these two companies really on-site?

If you have rented from both, which one would you prefer?

#1 SOME of the car rental companies are on the immediate HNL airport property but they are all super close by and a very short shuttle ride.

#2 Cancel that behemoth SUV unless you really have that many passengers as parking can be very tough on Oahu, and the parking spots are SMALL. We find the parking is tight even for our usual Intermediate cars while in Hawaii.

Either company will be fine. I always encourage folks to stick with the major companies, and both Alamo & Avis are that.

If it was Maui, I would say rent from Alamo. I usually rent from whichever big company is cheapest on Oahu as I find them about the same.

Happy and blessed Sunday to you too!

 

[southerngirl528]

I booked Alamo for a full size SUV for 10 days for around $1200 but Avis just showed an intermediate SUV for $431 so I wouldn’t mind the smaller vehicle for that much savings, but it’s changing car companies too. Are any of these two companies really on-site?

Oh! One tip I forgot, if you don't want to haul your whole family w/bags, some folks will have 1 adult grab the shuttle and go get the rental car while the other(s) wait for baggage. Then the person with the car can swing back and pick up the others and bags. Down side to this? If someone else in the party will be driving, you need to go BACK to the car rental place and have that person take their drivers license in, which could mean another wait.

I find my best rates for Hawaii almost always ( and we go every year) from one of 2 companies:

www.costcotravel.com or

www.discounthawaiicarrental.com

In most (you've got to look at the fine print) cases, you get a 2nd driver free, and it's always unlimited miles.

Your price for the Intermediate SUV isn't bad for 10 days, but I would keep checking regularly, even right up to your departing plane flight as sometimes the rates can go down. Not always by a stretch, but sometimes. Hope this helps! Happy planning!

 

[94bruin]

Our Avis/Budget car rental was on-site. We walked over from the United baggage claim. We were there at the beginning of June. Our rental was booked though Costco.

 

[nkereina]

We booked ours through Alamo and had a good experience. The shuttle was actually a large bus, so everyone fit during the pick-ups at the different terminals at the airport. I was wary about having to take a shuttle to the office, assuming it would be a hassle and time consuming, but it couldn't have been faster or easier. It was less than 5 minute drive and the shuttles were frequent.

The office was well staffed so we waited no more than 5 minutes. We had an intermediate car reserved, which they were out of when we arrived, and they told us we could choose any car in the full size row for no charge. So we opted for a convertible Chevy Camaro! It was a great, unexpected upgrade.

Upon return, it took all of 3 minutes and then we were on our way back. Couldn't have been easier. We also rented from Alamo on Kauai which also was fine, though a smaller office so fewer staff made for a longer wait. No biggie.

 

[disney0210]

Our Avis/Budget car rental was on-site. We walked over from the United baggage claim. We were there at the beginning of June. Our rental was booked though Costco.

When you say on-site, you mean just the rental counter, right?

 

[disney0210]

Upon return, it took all of 3 minutes and then we were on our way back. Couldn't have been easier. We also rented from Alamo on Kauai which also was fine, though a smaller office so fewer staff made for a longer wait. No biggie.

Our flight coming back to LAX leaves HNL 7 am on a Wednesday - so we just drive back to the actual Avis lot and get shuttled back to the airport, correct? Do we have to be at the airport at 5am (which means an earlier drop off at Avis)?

Thanks so much!

 

[nkereina]

Our flight coming back to LAX leaves HNL 7 am on a Wednesday - so we just drive back to the actual Avis lot and get shuttled back to the airport, correct? Do we have to be at the airport at 5am (which means an earlier drop off at Avis)?

Thanks so much!

I'm not sure where Avis is (we used Alamo), but if it's in a similar off-site location and works the same way, then yes - you would pull into the drop-off side of the same lot, and an employee will give you a receipt to confirm it's been returned. You then just hop on the shuttle in front of the office and that was it! Took all of 2 minutes to return it, and everything was well marked.

We left Aulani around 12:30pm on a Friday for our 4:30pm flight. It's a 30 minute drive with no traffic, and we had no idea what to expect that time of day in terms of traffic since we were heading towards the city. We also didn't know what to expect with the rental car return and shuttle. We luckily hit no traffic and no delays at the rental car place. The airport was also not very busy that time of day, so we were through security by 2 I think. We were definitely way too early. For a 7am flight, you're inclined to be ahead of the traffic although security lines at the airport may be a different story. I'd probably leave Aulani around 4am to be safe, but someone else may have a different opinion.

 

[94bruin]

When you say on-site, you mean just the rental counter, right?

I looked up my Costco reservation. We actually reserved through Budget, but I believe that Budget and Avis are the same company. At least, their counter was together.

In any case, I mean the COUNTER and the CAR were both on-site. I just confirmed with DH - no shuttle was involved in either drop-off or pickup. We walked maybe 5 minutes over to the counter from the United Terminal, took an elevator up the garage and walked to the stall where our car was.

For the return, we followed the signs when we got to the airport for rental car return. We drove up and a guy was there ready to check out the car. We actually went to Waikiki after our Aulani stay, so we went to baggage claim to get picked up by a taxi to take us to our next hotel.

Our flight coming back to LAX leaves HNL 7 am on a Wednesday - so we just drive back to the actual Avis lot and get shuttled back to the airport, correct? Do we have to be at the airport at 5am (which means an earlier drop off at Avis)?

Thanks so much!

Budget/Avis were at the airport for us, so we didn't need to get shuttled.

The address on my Costco reservation shows this address for our rental car:

Honolulu Intl Airport

300 Rodgers Boulevard

Honolulu, HI 96819, US

Sorry, I'm no help with what time you should leave for a 7am flight. I would aim to be at the airport by 5am. FYI, if you check-in any bags, you'll need to have them go through the agricultural scan before checking them in. I'm always a nervous nelly on departure day, so I like to be there 2 hours beforehand. You never know if there's going to be a big tour group in front of you/traffic, etc.

 

[94bruin]

To prove I'm not crazy, lol!

http://airports.hawaii.gov/hnl/getting-to-from/ground-transportation/car-rentals/

 

[alohamom]

Here is a general map of the area.

It makes sense to me because I have been there and I can see it in my head but as other posters have said, it is a pretty decent system with quick shuttles that arrive and depart efficiently.

I personally dont think I would pay a premium price for an "on site" car rental agency at this airport but that is just me.

 

[94bruin]

FWIW, I looked up the Costco rental car options for tomorrow. Costco offers Alamo, Avis, Budget & Enterprise. Even though all four say Honolulu shuttle, I mapped the actual addresses provided and exactly what my above link confirms, Alamo is off-site and the other three on are on-site.

When I look at all the vehicle types offered through Costco, Budget consistently wins out as the cheapest. I have no preference for rental car company when I travel. Unless I read something to the contrary, I always choose the cheapest rental. For us, I guess it was a win-win since Budget was the cheapest and it was on-site. However, I've used shuttle services at other airports, and it really isn't a big deal, unless you have a lot of luggage. Then it can be somewhat of a pain to load and unload the shuttle. However, you can avoid this by dropping off the luggage at departures and just have one person return the car and deal with the shuttle. When you arrive, you can also just have one person go and rent the car and just have that person drive to pick up the rest of the passengers and luggage. In the entire scheme of a trip, the rental car shuttle is a very minor detail!

Edited to add: I had no idea that Budget was on-site when I reserved the car. I just chose the cheapest option.

 

[southerngirl528]

To prove I'm not crazy, lol!

http://airports.hawaii.gov/hnl/getting-to-from/ground-transportation/car-rentals/

Hey 94bruin, I have read your posts here with great interest as we go to Hawaii every year, though it's been 2 or 3 since we included Oahu. I'm always trying to keep up with the latest stuff about "my" Hawaii! Last time I flew in there were NO rental cars able to be picked up literally at the airport. After looking at your info and aloha mom's as well as doing research on what I consider an excellent resource for Hawaii info (Tripadvisor's Hawaii forums), it looks like there are a few companies that do at least have counters in the baggage claim area. Here's a link to a very recent thread about this on TA:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTop...Rental_Car_Agency_at_Airport-Oahu_Hawaii.html

What I can advise folks reading here is to ALWAYS book with a major rental company, not some no-name, and for Hawaii book WAY, WAY in advance with a company that requires no prepayment. Then watch, watch and recheck rates over the months. Costco Travel offers all the major companies.

And the "off" airport companies are close enough one COULD walk but it would be a hike, especially on a beautiful, warm Honolulu day, and with baggage. IOW, the shuttle ride is SUPER short!!

I also encourage people to join the loyalty program of whichever company they secure as it can help to beat any lines at the counters.

Lastly, the state of Hawaii got a nice chunk of monies recently to improve their island airports. HNL will be adding a large area to house all the major car companies like so many airports have (like here in MCO/Orlando), Maui has been in construction on theirs for a couple of years. I kind of hate to see those big construction cranes there. It is NOT a usual site. Progress...... a bane and a boon I guess.

Thank you for the updates, 94bruin.

 

[alohamom]

What I can advise folks reading here is to ALWAYS book with a major rental company, not some no-name, and for Hawaii book WAY, WAY in advance with a company that requires no prepayment. Then watch, watch and recheck rates over the months. Costco Travel offers all the major companies.


I also encourage people to join the loyalty program of whichever company they secure as it can help to beat any lines at the counters.

THIS IS EXCELLENT ADVICE

 

[94bruin]

Hey 94bruin, I have read your posts here with great interest as we go to Hawaii every year, though it's been 2 or 3 since we included Oahu. I'm always trying to keep up with the latest stuff about "my" Hawaii! Last time I flew in there were NO rental cars able to be picked up literally at the airport. After looking at your info and aloha mom's as well as doing research on what I consider an excellent resource for Hawaii info (Tripadvisor's Hawaii forums), it looks like there are a few companies that do at least have counters in the baggage claim area. Here's a link to a very recent thread about this on TA:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTop...Rental_Car_Agency_at_Airport-Oahu_Hawaii.html

What I can advise folks reading here is to ALWAYS book with a major rental company, not some no-name, and for Hawaii book WAY, WAY in advance with a company that requires no prepayment. Then watch, watch and recheck rates over the months. Costco Travel offers all the major companies.

And the "off" airport companies are close enough one COULD walk but it would be a hike, especially on a beautiful, warm Honolulu day, and with baggage. IOW, the shuttle ride is SUPER short!!

I also encourage people to join the loyalty program of whichever company they secure as it can help to beat any lines at the counters.

Lastly, the state of Hawaii got a nice chunk of monies recently to improve their island airports. HNL will be adding a large area to house all the major car companies like so many airports have (like here in MCO/Orlando), Maui has been in construction on theirs for a couple of years. I kind of hate to see those big construction cranes there. It is NOT a usual site. Progress...... a bane and a boon I guess.

Thank you for the updates, 94bruin.

I think we're in agreement about all aspects of car rentals. I just thought I was going crazy since you stated that there were no car rental pickups at the airport! Glad to let you know about this update! Have to agree that TripAdviser is a great resource.

 

[southerngirl528]

I think we're in agreement about all aspects of car rentals. I just thought I was going crazy since you stated that there were no car rental pickups at the airport! Glad to let you know about this update! Have to agree that TripAdviser is a great resource.

I appreciate the info you gave! We are returning to Oahu to stay at Aulani next year. Yay!

I do have a couple of questions though, as even after looking at all the new maps, etc., I am still a bit unclear:

1) So Avis/Budget's counter was in the HNL Baggage Claim area?
2) WHERE exactly was you rental vehicle?

Thanks again!

 

[wallawallakids]

We just rented from Enterprise through Costco. It was a shuttle ride, but an easy one. I recommend them a ton. As a side note, for some reason it was cheaper for me to add an extra day on my reservation for a mini van. It didn't make any sense but making our reservation for 9 days instead of 8 dropped the price $350. Enterprise does not charge you for returning the car early and actually, when I did they gave me an extra $100 off for bringing it back before it was due. (So a $450 savings over 8 days!) It was the strangest thing! Anyway, from now on, I always check the prices by adding a few days to the end! Good luck.

 

[94bruin]

I appreciate the info you gave! We are returning to Oahu to stay at Aulani next year. Yay!

I do have a couple of questions though, as even after looking at all the new maps, etc., I am still a bit unclear:

1) So Avis/Budget's counter was in the HNL Baggage Claim area?
2) WHERE exactly was you rental vehicle?

Thanks again!

This is from United. I have no idea how far it is from the other airlines.

You have to exit baggage claim and cross the road (including the median in the middle where taxi pickup is).
There is a small path to the rental counters. After you get your paperwork and are given the key, you take an elevator to the appropriate floor in the parking garage where you find your car. Does that make sense?

I have two kids and each one of us was rolling a suitcase. It took up 5-10 mins to walk over.

 

[southerngirl528]

You have to exit baggage claim and cross the road (including the median in the middle where taxi pickup is).
There is a small path to the rental counters. After you get your paperwork and are given the key, you take an elevator to the appropriate floor in the parking garage where you find your car. Does that make sense?

Actually yes, I know exactly where you are talking about. Thanks!

 

[longboard55]

Alamo is not on site, AVIS is, you can walk there depending on what terminal you land