Should I Rent a Car in Oahu?

While US rental car prices have slipped below the all-time highs recorded in July 2021, they are still high. the average rental car price in the USA up 36% in December 2022 compared to December 2019. And one of the places where rental car prices can feel particularly high is Honolulu, Hawaii.

Honolulu rentals are not only expensive, but many resorts charge outrageous parking fees. NerdWallet collected data on more than 100 US hotels for its 2023 Best Of Awards in search of the Best Hotel Rewards Program.

Honolulu’s average hotel parking fee of $46.06 per night is the third highest of any city analyzed by NerdWallet, behind only New York ($50) and Chicago ($56).

And don’t forget petrol. So far in 2023, Hawaii has had the highest average gas prices of any state, regardless of fuel type, according to data from AAA.

Given the high costs of renting cars, gas, and parking, you might consider giving up driving for your next Oahu vacation. But how realistic is it to tour Oahu without a rental car?

For travelers who don’t mind walking, are willing to wait for a bus, and occasionally hail a cab, skipping car rentals in Honolulu can be a great money saver. So you can explore Honolulu and other Oahu destinations without a car.

Redfin, an online residential real estate broker, ranks Honolulu as the 11th best major city for public transit, according to its 2019 Transit Score ranking, its most recent record.

The public bus service on Oahu is called TheBus and costs $3 cash. About 117,000 people, about a third of Honolulu’s population, ride buses on an average weekday, according to data for the third quarter of 2022 from the American Public Transportation Association, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the interests of the public transportation industry.

American tourists are less enthusiastic.

In 2019, less than 9% of out-of-state American tourists used Oahu’s public buses, compared to 27% of Europeans and 18% of Japanese tourists, according to data from the Hawai’i Tourism Authority. Meanwhile, about 60% of Americans rented a car, while only 44% of Europeans and 22% of Japanese tourists did.

Buses can sometimes take about twice as long as the journey due to the number of stops. They are occasionally delayed and – during rush hours – they can be overcrowded. But sometimes the difference is negligible, and some routes lend themselves particularly well to bus travel.

It can take about 25 minutes by express bus to get from the Hilton Waikiki Beach to Iolani Palace, versus 16 or 17 minutes by car. But you’ll have to pay $4 to park at Iolani Palace, where parking is limited so you might spend extra time looking for a parking spot, on top of the $45 you’re likely to pay for the Hilton spent parking.

Google Maps makes navigating bus routes easier and also shows up-to-date information on delays.

If you want to visit several popular tourist attractions near Honolulu such as Diamond Head, Duke Kahanamoku Statue, Chinatown and Punchbowl Crater, the Waikiki Trolley is your best choice. An adult unlimited day pass costs $55, while a 7-day adult pass costs $75. Trolleys run every 20 to 90 minutes, depending on the route.

Routes are curated to tourist-friendly locations, so you’re unlikely to get lost.

The Waikiki Trolley’s newest route is structured around Hawaii’s food scene, with stops at local favorites like Leonard’s Bakery, a cafe credited with popularizing malasada, a donut-like staple of Hawaiian cuisine.

Some hotels and tour operators work with shuttle companies to provide transportation to other key destinations such as the airport. Sometimes the cost of the shuttle is included in the total price, as in the case of Coral Crater Adventure Park. Packages for activities like ATV rides and zipline tours here include transportation to and from your Waikiki hotel.

Sometimes accommodation or activity providers offer a shuttle service as an additional charge. For example, Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, works with Hele Hele Transportation to shuttle guests between the resort and Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport for $25 per person, each way.

Another popular Oahu destination, the Polynesian Cultural Center offers activities like a luau, canoe tours, crafts, games, and classes in skills like javelin throwing and cooking.

The center offers a $26 per person round-trip shuttle ticket in addition to the standard admission fee, saving you the approximately hour-long journey. This will pick travelers up in Waikiki in the morning and drop them off around 12 hours later, leaving plenty of time for all activities.

For those looking for an alternative to the usual apps, there’s also a local ride-sharing company in Hawaii called Holoholo that works very similarly. Riders can request a ride through the Holoholo smartphone app and are usually matched with a driver within minutes. Fares are shown in advance as fixed costs and can be paid for with a credit card via the app.

According to Holoholo’s fare estimator, a trip from Waikiki hotels to the airport typically costs around $45.

Pack good walking shoes as many of the large hotels are in pedestrian-friendly areas. For example, it’s a beautiful 45-minute beach walk from most Waikiki hotels to Diamond Head.

Many sights are close together. For example, the Hawaii State Capitol, Maunakea Marketplace, Hawaii State Art Museum, Hawaii Theater, Iolani Palace, and Foster Botanical Garden are all less than a mile from each other.

While there are traditional bike rentals, a convenient way to hire a bike is through the local bike rental service, Biki. The Company has approximately 1,300 bikes distributed at approximately 130 self-serve “Biki Stops” in downtown Honolulu that can be unlocked through the mobile app. A 30-minute ride costs $4.50, or you can buy a bank of 300 minutes (that’s five hours) for $30.

Public transportation in Hawaii could soon get even better. While the Honolulu Rail Transit Project has been in development for years and test runs began in August 2022, it is slated to open sometime in 2023, though tracks around the airport and downtown aren’t scheduled to open until 2031.

When complete, Honolulu’s rail system will include 21 stations along a 20-mile corridor on Oahu’s South Shore.

But in the future, you’ll be even less likely to need to rent a car on Oahu—and you might not need it now.