Navigating through the Hawaiian Islands this winter poses a significant challenge even beyond securing affordable accommodations or airfare. First, Hawaii car rental prices calmed significantly since the car shortages and other problems following Covid. We found that to be true in rentals through most of 2023. But now, finding a reasonably priced Hawaii car rental without hidden catches of some kind is once again proving to be an arduous task.
We ran into the problem for an upcoming visit to Honolulu in mid-February. The cost of Hawaii car rentals went ridiculously high again. We wondered, wasn’t much of that supposed to be over?
Do you think there might still be a shortage of cars? It’s not the reason; we’ll show you how we know. And here’s what we’re doing to fight back.
We started with our tried and true technology and checked all the likely sources. The selection we wanted was a compact car or above from an agency, preferably Hertz or Avis (but willing to consider other majors). We also prefer not to prepay and thus keep our options open.
The places we checked included the following:
- Discount Hawaii Car Rental.
- Kayak.
- Costco Travel.
- Autoslash.
- Priceline.
- Expedia.
Here’s the latest we found for a 4-day rental. Keep in mind these change frequently:
- Avis – $458 – not prepaid; via Priceline. Also $480 via Costco Travel.
- Dollar or Thrifty – $551 – not prepaid; via Kayak.
- Hertz – $659 – not prepaid; via Kayak.
The only cheap deals we could find were from a rental company unknown to us, by the name of Economy. Their rates strangely started as low as $180. However, some independent review checking we did of that rental company entirely slammed the door shut on that possibility.
Ultimately, the most economical choice emerged from Avis via Priceline for a non-paid rental of $458. We snagged that for now and set it up for the tracking of price changes on Autoslash.
Experience tells us to avoid prepaid rentals at almost all costs.
Unfortunately, on our last rental with Thrifty at Honolulu Airport late last year, a daunting, apparently multi-hour line at Thrifty and a seamless albeit more expensive situation at Avis dictated the decision to jettison the Thrifty reservation and head to Avis.
In our Hawaii car rental experience, enrolling in a frequent renter program usually enables customers to bypass long lines or, in some cases, encounter no lines at all. But that didn’t happen with Thrifty because we booked through Priceline and had to use their regular counter instead.
While Thrifty’s line snaked out the door and beyond, Avis provided an immediate and efficient check-in process, highlighting the value of time on time-limited precious Hawaii vacations. The experience underscored the importance of the rules we’ve set out for ourselves for Hawaii car rentals.
Rule 1: First, establish a free frequent renter account with the car rental company before making a reservation to reduce airport wait times significantly. But be aware of the new games car rental companies are playing in that regard below.
Rule 2: Avoid prepaying for car rentals to retain flexibility in making changes, capitalizing on lower prices that arise, and avoiding problems during the car pick-up.
Rule 3: Continuously check for better car options and prices until the last day before the trip. Set up a notification for rental price changes at Autoslash.
Rule 4: Explore multiple sources for the best deals, as the same source may not consistently offer the most favorable rates. We’ll mention Costco Travel as another potential cost-effective option.
Rule 5: Assess the need for a car rental throughout the entire stay, especially in areas like Waikiki, where alternative transportation methods may suffice for shorter distances, reducing overall costs, including parking. Consider the difference between city and airport rentals and leverage public transportation options like TheBus in Honolulu when a car is unnecessary.
How we can see that lack of inventory is not the issue.
To confirm that there was or wasn’t adequate car rental vehicle inventory on at least one island, we headed over to Lihue Airport on Kauai. There, at Ahukini Landing, you can see whatever car rentals are parked in their storage lots. And here’s what we found. In a word, “tons” of cars. This photo is of just one of the lots and it appeared to be full of cars.
On Kauai, for the same period in mid-February, the cheapest major company car rentals are starting at $665. That’s for the least expensive, non prepaid rental.
The latest consumer trickery in Hawaii car rentals.
In recent rentals, we found that companies including Thrifty and Dollar would no longer honor their free club advantages when the reservation came directly through a website other than theirs. Thus, when we booked through Priceline, we could not use the Dollar Express (shorter) line, even though we were Dollar Express members, and the membership number was entered in the reservation. While we haven’t found this to be true across the board yet, it does appear that a move is afoot to only offer express services to those who rent at a higher cost directly on the car rental company’s website.
In navigating the challenges of Hawaiian car rentals, we hope adopting these suggestions may help Hawaii visitors make informed decisions and enhance their overall experience in the islands.
What’s been going on with your Hawaii car rentals lately?
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A 10-day minivan rental in Kona is $2889.41 @ Budget right now for my trip in July and that is the cheapest I could find. Last year the prices were similar until a few weeks before the trip but when I search in June a few weeks out the prices are similar. What is going on? The same rental in Hilo is in the $650 range, so why not drive some vans from Hilo to Kona?? Hopefully the prices eventually drop like usual but I don’t remember the prices ever getting as high as they are right now.
Hi Dave.
On looking, it seems like the issue is just with minivans. Other cars seem to be pretty much normal at Kona in July.
Aloha.
The last time I visited and stayed in Waikiki (April 2023) I didn’t rent a car. I took The Bus! Slow down and enjoy the scenery. No parking, no hassle. Also, I learned my lesson about Priceline and the others. I only deal directly with airlines and hotels. You can get deals and your deserved perks and if you need to make changes it’s waaaaay better.
Thank you for the great newsletter and without the obnoxious adds and popups that make other sites un-readable. Thank you! 🙂
Well, I have not read the other posts. But, Thank You So Much For these reviews. You two do so much work to help us all out. and I For One , appreciatiate all that you do! I’ve learned so much about Hawaiian travel here. It is sad, that this has to be this way to just hop on a plane and fly to an island in paradise. Now, it is so much more than that. So Thank You for all that you do! for us here. I love/hate reading your posts, but always Love your reviews! So very helpful!
Hi Sandi.
Thanks very much. They’re fun for us too.
Aloha.
You’re not kidding prices are skyrocketing! I just checked Enterprise for an update on pricing for the close to three weeks I’m visiting HNL in Dec/Jan. I originally booked on 12 Jan 24 – The lowest cost vehicle was a “Sporty” category Challenger or such – Not my cup of tea in HNL traffic but WAAY lower than the rest. @ $339 a week (fuel costs factor in here I suppose) – $1262 total w tax and fees. Same vehicle today over $1800 a week. Crazy, just… Crazy.
Best Regards
Aloha All… We now live in a dynamic pricing world when it comes to airfare, rental cars and hotel rooms. When casually searching for prices online, always search while “incognito.” Dynamic pricing means that rates and fares are constantly changing and if you using your search engine for specific dates for hotels, cars and flights over and over, these sites keep track of you and they continue to push rates upwards. Search “incognito” whenever you can!
is this still for real? I keep reading that it is not so now in 2024? I will keep trying to go incog though.
I like Enterprise, always use them at HNL, reserving early then keep checking back to check for lower as you guys suggest is the way to go! My rate last week just $640 total for 10 days for a small Mazda SUV for a spur of the moment trip (only about a month’s notice).
My res in May for 12 nights is only $621 total for a Nissan Rogue or equivalent (way back to July 23). Check a couple times a day everyday. You might be surprised at how much you can save. BTW on arrival on 1 Feb, the lot attendant told me folks were fighting over rentals since so few were available. Last minute surge I guess.
Best Regards
Hi Jay.
Thanks. Yes, we’re with you. Rechecking all sources many times will yield the best results. It’s time-consuming though.
Aloha.
Can’t emphasize enough that you have to check, check, and keep checking. We are a group of 8 going to Maui today. I needed to either book 2 cars or an 8 person Suburban. I settled on the Suburban about 6 weeks ago and was okay with the price. $1,000+ for 7 day rental through Avis. Checked again 6 days ago and the price had dropped over $300! Needless to say I canceled and rebooked!
Turo rentals are slashing car owners less In Profits for renting their POV Also
Thanks for this article. It is important to know this. Maybe some one can suggest for me. My trip estimate is May. When should I reserve the car? Right now it is outrageous for 2 weeks so did not reserve anything. I keep checking back, but have not reserved anything. Thanks for your help on this.
Hi Sandi.
Stay with cancellable reservations to the end. Start with the best you can get now, after checking all the sources. Then keep trying to improve your reservation before you travel.
It’s a game. Have fun. And let us know how it goes.
Aloha.
Sandi,
I own a vacation rental on the Big Island that we visit a few times a year. I go into Costco and book the best Jeep pricing from the big 3 companies, our preferred ride, and then I continually check back over the coming months in with Costco and compare it to Turo because if a reputable Turo owner (good reviews and reasonable rules) is offering much lower than Costco then I am jumping ship to them. Normally we end up with our Costco rental because booking far out proves to be a winner for us. I just looked into our rental today as we are coming up on a trip to the island in a few weeks and it looks like a Enterprise is out of Jeep options and the others are around $300 more for 14 days versus our original booking price.
We just booked a week in Kauai and a week in Maui January/Feb 2025. Thought I’d get a jump on car rental, hoping it would be cheaper since I’m so early, but no. I’m looking at $950 all in for LIH rental and return there for 7 days. Checked Costco and Discount Hawaii. That’s even for a compact car. This is the craziest it’s ever been. Not gonna spend that kind of money on a rental car, so not sure what we’ll do. Will not do Turo.
Here’s a helpful tip: When booking a car rental, consider making a reservation for a closer date as a trial. It’s frequently observed that securing a rental well in advance can end up costing more.
Through personal experience, I’ve found that booking a car for a nearer date tends to be less expensive. Consequently, I usually wait until a week or two before my trip to finalize the car rental.
Regarding Turo, I share similar sentiments. The process of coordinating pick-ups and drop-offs, along with other logistics in the sharing economy, can be overly complicated and inconvenient.
Used DHCR for my coming end of March trip to Maui.
Kept checking back frequently and got $403 (all in) for 9 days for a compact SUV with Alamo, one of the better agencies.
I’ve rented local beaters for cheap. Nope, won’t do again.
Turo has too many crazy owners who will charge you extra cleaning fees if there is a single grain of sand in the vehicle.
I keep hoping accommodation will get cheaper and it never does…
We booked our rental car a few months ago via Costco. It was $760 for 18 days in Oahu. Our airline changed our flight so we will arrive in the afternoon instead of evening. If we change our reservation we will have to pay $260 more. We called and they said a car Might be clean and ready when we arrive or we can wait. We are hoping for the best. We will keep checking rates.
Just got back from Oahu about a week ago. The rental experience was one of the most expensive parts of the trip! For one, I paid about $90 a day for a Kia Forte. $10 a day for insurance. My hotel charged $50 a night to park. Gas is roughly $4.50 a gallon and I burned almost a tank. I estimate it was about $170-180 a day to have a rental. If you go by yourself, its pricey. The hotel room wasn’t much more when you include the $30 a night resort fee. At $400 a night for rental and room I can see how tourism should be slowing down. Add in food and whatever you do for entertainment, wow! It adds up.
Thanks S. This is so important for us that have to budget a trip to islands. There is more than just hopping on a plane, Thank you
Turo.
I’ll certainly confirm what you’re saying. I’m still finding the best prices at Discount Hawaii Car Rental. That’s two weeks on Kauai.
Don’t waste your time and money going to Hawaii the place isn’t worth it anymore they hate us mainlanders go spend your money in the Florida keys or the Bahamas way cheaper and way more friendly people not ripoffs like Hawaii is
California. San Diego, for instance.
We don’t hate All mainlanders.
Thanks for all the info. Regarding your 4 day rental at 458.00, does that include taxes? We have a car from Enterprise for 158.55 per week for 3 weeks. With all the taxes the total is 879.00.
Hi JR.
Yes, all the prices shown were inclusive of taxes and fees.
Aloha.