Rental Car or Not?

sweetpeakaris

DIS Veteran
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
I have to decide quick if I need a rental car or not for Aulani. It will be our first trip to Hawaii, I plan to do some sight seeing but I'm not sure if its best to do it on our own or book excursions, or Uber? I know for sure I want to Island hop to Maui for a day. Traveling will be Myself, DH, DD 9, DD 17, in early April for 7 nights. If I get the car now with my package its $226 plus taxes for the week. Any advice greatly appreciated!
 
I would say yes for sure if you are DVC because parking is free. Otherwise it is $37 or $39 per night which could get costly. We have always had a car and love being able to travel around the island. Our first trip to Oahu we only left Aulani 3 times out of 10 days. Each trip we have left to do a bit more sightseeing. If money is no issue, then I would say yes for sure. (our friends who came with us one trip just got a car on the days we left the resort)
 
Another yes for sure vote. We are getting a car for our upcoming trip so that we can get groceries and stop and get other things if we need them. Also, we are planning to sight see for three out of our six days.
 


We booked one for 3 days in the middle of our stay. It was really useful for some of the places we went to (such as hiking and Kualoa ranch) but that was plenty of time for us. Do you know what kind of sightseeing you want to do?
 
What’s the average daily rental fee for a car directly from the resort?

The price depends on how far in advance you book it. If you haven’t done so already check the Alamo website to see what the rates are for your dates. If you’re a Costco member, you may be able to get a cheaper rate by booking through them.

If you plan to island hop to Maui, you can either book a tour or do it yourself. If you do it yourself, book your flight through Hawaiian Airlines early to get the cheapest price. You will then have to rent a car on Maui. Plan on leaving early and returning late.

If you decide to rent a car at Aulani, decide how many days you want to book it for and then plan your itinerary around that. You can usually combine 2-3 sites in a day to maximize your time. If you haven’t done so already, google an Oahu attraction map to see where things are and what can be combined. Good luck.
 
I would get the car. Uber is great for travel within the urban core from downtown to Diamond Head. It would be horribly expensive to rely on Uber or Lyft for the entirety of your trip.

I live less than a mile from Diamond Head and Uber is currently (at 9:30pm) quoting me $118 to Aulani for an UberX. That’s without tip.
 


I have an intermediate car booked for the end of May for 7 days (plus some hours for going over the 7 day mark) via Costco (Budget). It is $319 which includes $108 in taxes and fees!
 
I echo what is being said here - If you have the free parking at the Aulani, you’ll save money by renting a car.

The excursions offered by the Aulani are expensive for a family of 4. If you are comfortable doing a little research and exploring without someone holding your hand you can save a good bit of money by driving to most place on your own.
 
A car is a must IMO. You will have to pay for airport transportation without one anyway, and it also gives you the flexibility to stop for groceries, leave Ko Olina for meals, and do your own sightseeing at your own pace and time. We normally hate renting a car on vacation, but won't do Hawaii without one.
 
Yes we have been there twice and both times rented a vehicle it is worth it to be able to explore the island.
 
What’s the average daily rental fee for a car directly from the resort?
So my husband and I will be at Aulani in Feb, 2020. We decided to do a one day car rental from Alamo at the hotel. The fee was $63.00. We did book an excursion that provided transportation, but we wanted to do Peral harbor on our own time, and that way we could go anywhere we wanted once we were done.
 
Does anyone know if you book Aulani using rented DVC points if you still get free parking?
 
We did not rent a car and used Uber/Lyft for our whole trip. It was definitely more expensive than renting a car would have been but I really like not having to worry about navigating and parking. What made it more expensive for us was that we were a party of 6 so needed Uber XL which is quite a bit more expensive than Uber X. And returning from the Dole Plantation there were no Uber XL's available so that we needed to get two Uber X's. The grocery store across the street from Aulani (Island Markets) is in easy walking distance but we did Uber to Foodland in Kapolei one time.
 
We plan to alternate days with one resort day followed by a day exploring oahu. The car is a must to be able to travel to the north shore, Kailua, and Waikiki, which are some locations you must visit if possible. With 7 days, you could explore for 3 and stay at the resort for the remainder; that’s what I would do. Having the car gives you the flexibility. I suggest you go for the smaller SUV or sedan as parking spots in Hawaii tend to be small.
 
Does anyone know if you book Aulani using rented DVC points if you still get free parking?
Yes. Anyone staying on a points reservation receives free parking, even if they are rented points.
 
If you want to do any site seeing on Oahu, a car is a must. Aulani is not really near any of the typical tourist sites. Just be aware of traffic on Oahu. I lived there for four years, and you have to plan around traffic. From 5:30 AM to 8:30 AM heading from West Side to Town is heavy traffic. And likewise heading from Town to West side from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM is heavy traffic.

If it's your first time to Hawaii you need to get out of the resort and go see the many awesome places on Oahu. The resort will be fun for 3 days, but after that you need to get out and experience Hawaii. You will have a great time. West side is best side!
 
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We have been to Aulani without and with a car. We would always rent a car in future. Just the cost of transfers to Aulani was half the cost of the two week rental, and the daily cost to rent at Aulani was around $80 so it was cheaper to rent for the whole trip. That gives you flexibility to get groceries and eat offsite as well as exploring Oahu.
 

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