Is Budget car rental on site at Honolulu airport?

[krybandt]

I'm reading about the Conrac car rental center on site at the Honolulu airport and it lists 10 rental companies operating out of it, including Budget. It sounds like a short walk from baggage claim to get to the center, but are the cars on site too or would we have to take a shuttle off site? If anyone has any recent experience picking up a car with Budget or Alamo in particular, would love to hear about it. Thanks!

 

[MinnieInVA]

I'm reading about the Conrac car rental center on site at the Honolulu airport and it lists 10 rental companies operating out of it, including Budget. It sounds like a short walk from baggage claim to get to the center, but are the cars on site too or would we have to take a shuttle off site? If anyone has any recent experience picking up a car with Budget or Alamo in particular, would love to hear about it. Thanks!

I rented a car from Alamo just last week, the cars are there on site. No shuttle to the rental center is required if you’re coming from terminal 2. I think there’s a shuttle available from Terminal 1 (Hawaiian Airlines), but only because it’s a little further away.

 

[Proud Cheapskate]

There is a consolidated rental car facility across from terminal 2 but depending on your airline, it could still be a hike. Car companies there were Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Payless, Thrifty and Sixt.

 

[Paul Stupin]

I'm reading about the Conrac car rental center on site at the Honolulu airport and it lists 10 rental companies operating out of it, including Budget. It sounds like a short walk from baggage claim to get to the center, but are the cars on site too or would we have to take a shuttle off site? If anyone has any recent experience picking up a car with Budget or Alamo in particular, would love to hear about it. Thanks!

There’s a shuttle from baggage pickup to the car rental center, which takes about 2 minutes and is right at the airport in a large parking garage. All the rental cars are right there.
For what it’s worth, we use Budget. They’re at best OK. I always ask for a small economy car, usually never get it, and wind up with some kind of a midsize or a two person jeep, neither of which I really want but whatever.

 

[Proud Cheapskate]

We used Dollar and the cheapest option was the manager's special which is compact or better. So naturally the counter guy tried to get me to upgrade (for a fee) because I was "DEFINITELY getting a compact car and may have to wait and since we were 3 people and had 3 bags it might not all fit". I knew that was a bunch of crap so I held my ground. I got to the garage and there was a GMC Yukon XL waiting for me. Other than a Uhaul one time, I had never driven a vehicle that big in my life. Absolutely hated every second of driving that monstrosity. Really fun to park in the Aulani garage too.

To be fair, we only paid $425 for a 9-day rental so I can't really complain, but I really would've preferred to drive a human sized car.

 

[Paul Stupin]

We used Dollar and the cheapest option was the manager's special which is compact or better. So naturally the counter guy tried to get me to upgrade (for a fee) because I was "DEFINITELY getting a compact car and may have to wait and since we were 3 people and had 3 bags it might not all fit". I knew that was a bunch of crap so I held my ground. I got to the garage and there was a GMC Yukon XL waiting for me. Other than a Uhaul one time, I had never driven a vehicle that big in my life. Absolutely hated every second of driving that monstrosity. Really fun to park in the Aulani garage too.

To be fair, we only paid $425 for a 9-day rental so I can't really complain, but I really would've preferred to drive a human sized car.

There must be a shortage of economy cars to rent in Oahu. I reserve them months in advance and I never get the small, easy to drive car I want!

 

[Lilsia]

What I do is to look at the car rental companies that say that they are at the airport and then Google map the address so that you can see exactly where it is. Google maps is your best friend when vacation planning.

 

[Paul Stupin]

What I do is to look at the car rental companies that say that they are at the airport and then Google map the address so that you can see exactly where it is. Google maps is your best friend when vacation planning.

There’s a car rental hub right there at the airport. All the big agencies are right next to each other in the same building, about a two minute shuttle ride from baggage claim. Not sure a whole google search is necessary.

 

[Lilsia]

There’s a car rental hub right there at the airport. All the big agencies are right next to each other in the same building, about a two minute shuttle ride from baggage claim. Not sure a whole google search is necessary.

Right, but as someone who travels a lot, I have seen where the rental companies claim to be at the airport but are actually off site. Or, the company has several locations in the area and you accidently click the wrong one. That is why I always double check by Googling the address. If you like to live on the edge, go for it. LOL I like to double check and make sure that I know exactly where I am going. Doing your due diligence when planning saves a lot of hassle while on your trip.

 

[ten822]

I am hearing that the wait for a rental car is normally 2-3 hours long! After my 11 hr flight I can't imagine this. Has anyone encountered this?

 

[Proud Cheapskate]

I was there last month and while the line at the counter probably took 20 minutes, I didn't have to wait for a car at all.

 

[ten822]

I was there last month and while the line at the counter probably took 20 minutes, I didn't have to wait for a car at all.

Thanks. Can I ask which rental company? I'm using thrifty which has horrible reviews!!

 

[Lilsia]

I am hearing that the wait for a rental car is normally 2-3 hours long! After my 11 hr flight I can't imagine this. Has anyone encountered this?

It is possible, is it usual, probably not. We have not had the issue with long lines in Honolulu but have in other places like Denver and Chicago. This is the case where it is not location specific but how many flights have landed in the same time frame. You can't predict it and there is nothing that you can do about it. This is one of the joys of traveling. I don't even worry about this kind of stuff because it is out of my control and I refuse to let something like this bother me. Life is too short.

 

[Proud Cheapskate]

I rented from Dollar.

 

[Paul Stupin]

I am hearing that the wait for a rental car is normally 2-3 hours long! After my 11 hr flight I can't imagine this. Has anyone encountered this?

Absolutely not! Usually it takes 15 minutes or less.

 

[Paul Stupin]

Thanks. Can I ask which rental company? I'm using thrifty which has horrible reviews!!

I always use Budget and they’re pretty fast. My only complaint, and it happens frequently, is that they‘re often out of economy cars and bump me up to something a little larger, which is an annoyance.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

I really liked almo. We booked through Costco so got a good deal. Then we used thr almo app to pre register so we could just walk up and pick our mini van. It was a super easy process.