Should You Rent a Car During Your Hawaii Vacation?

on May 23, 2019 at 6:34 am

To Car or Not to Car, That Is The Question

If you’re wondering if you should rent a car during your vacation or honeymoon in Hawaii, the simple answer is YES. The islands are rather large, and if you want to make the most out of every minute of your stay here, you’ll want a car. Oahu, itself, is a rather large city. You may not know this, but the jurisdiction of Honolulu is the entire island, which is close to 600 square miles. We have one police force here, one Mayor, and one City and County for the entire island. Square footage wise, that makes the city of Honolulu one of the largest cities in America. Los Angeles is only 503 square miles, Dallas is 385 square miles. I wrote an entire article address this just so you won’t get a culture shock when strut off the plane.

When you do rent a car, there are three rules you need to follow, and they should not be broken. They are as follows:

Do not leave any valuables in the car
Do not leave any valuables in the car
Do not leave any valuables in the car

Tourist cars are targeted by the non-local criminal homeless population here, and if they see anything they can steal quickly, they will do it. It’s literally called “smash and dash.” They smash your window, grab a purse, hop on the moped, and scoot on out. There are no exceptions to these rule, even if you are going to the mall or on a resort, do not leave any valuables in the car, not even for a second. It’s not as though it’s a huge problem here in Hawaii, but it’s big enough that it’s not worth the risk.

If you’re tying the knot in Hawaii, getting a car will make everything easier. You’ll need to get your marriage license, get to your hair and make-up appointment, and if you are not renting a limo, you’ll be driving to the wedding location. By the way, if you’re on a budget, I suggest you rent a car rather than a limo for the day, as it’s just cheaper. A limo can run $300. A rental car for a week can run $200.

How long should you rent a car? That’s a good question.

You may not need a car for your entire stay. We do have Uber here, and I’m sure you’ll be partying so no one will want to drive. If you’re getting married in Hawaii, I would recommend renting a car for the days you plan to get married and the days you want to spend galavanting to the North Shore. If you’re just here for a vacation, just rent it for the days you want to head to the North Shore. If your hotel has no charge for parking, it’s safe to rent a car for every single day of the trip. The hotels are going nuts with parking charges, by the way. In many cases, it cost more to park a rental car than it does to drive it.

NAVIGATION TIP!

Download Google Maps and use it, especially the traffic feature! Traffic in Hawaii can be bad, especially on Oahu – especially during rush hour. If you travel on the roads on off-hours, 9am to 2pm, and then anytime after 7pm, you’ll be fine.

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!