I know a lot of people are averse to renting a car on vacation (it’s so nice to go places where you don’t need to hassle with one!), but alas, Hawaii is a destination where you really need to rent a car.

Hawaii is not an all-inclusive destination where you’ll arrive by shuttle and never leave your resort (I mean you could do that…but it’s pretty expensive just to get to Hawaii so most people want to actually see Hawaii. If you want a cheaper resort only vacation, just go to Mexico).

Do You Need a Rental Car in Hawaii?

The islands are pretty large so unless you’re just going a few miles, taking Ubers and Lyfts isn’t really feasible (you could be talking $100 one way to go to another part of the island and then not be able to get a ride back).

The only exception to this is on Oahu. If you’re staying in Waikiki and planning on mostly just exploring Honolulu and doing the beach, you could get away without a car. There’s also a pretty decent bus system on Oahu. But if you’re planning on leaving Waikiki to see the rest of the island, car is still the best way to go.

So even if you’re staying in a “resort bubble,” you’ll most definitely want a rental car for your stay.

Discount Hawaii Car Rentals

I always book through Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. They’re seriously the only company I ever use. They’ll give you the very best prices, you don’t have to reserve with a credit card or pay until you show up, you can cancel and re-book anytime if you find a better rate, and they usually have a special that adds additional drivers for no fee. It’s a no brainer. Click here to check rates for your trip.

Turo

I’ve started using Turo quite a bit when I travel other places because I love being able to pick out my specific car and not having to wait in a line to pick it up (I don’t find it to be any cheaper once you add the insurance though), but none of the airports in Hawaii let you pick up and drop off at the airport.

So if you do go the Turo route, plan on having to take an Uber/Lyft to and from the airport to your car. I think that’s a bit of a hassle especially on the Big Island and Kauai where things are a little slower and sleepier (especially early in the morning when most flights leave). And it adds a little layer of stress to me the morning of departure.

When to Book

Anyways, I would reserve your rental car as soon as you know your trip dates, but then keep monitoring it to see if you can find a better deal as the trip gets closer.

Rental cars are finite in Hawaii so don’t wait around too long to reserve one or you may end up having to rent a more expensive category than you need.

P.S. One of the reasons I’m able to travel to Hawaii so often is because I get free flights with my Southwest credit card AND I can fly someone with me for free with my Companion Pass.

I have this Southwest Premier Rapid Rewards Visa card through Chase. The current sign up offer is 50,000 points. Depending on where you live and fly from, that’s at least one completely FREE ticket to Hawaii and it could be two depending on the time of year (or more if you catch a crazy sale).

But the real pro travel hack is getting the Southwest Companion Pass.

If you acquire a certain amount of annual points with Southwest (either through flying or credit card spend), you get a companion pass where you can bring someone with you on every flight you take FOR FREE for the entire year. I can’t tell you how many thousands of dollars I save using this every year.

What makes this doable is that the sign up bonuses from Southwest credit cards goes towards the point requirement.

By far the quickest way to qualify for the companion pass is by signing up for a personal AND business card through Southwest.

**Besides being a business owner, if you’re self-employed, a freelancer or contractor, a gig economy worker, if you own rental properties, etc…you qualify for a business card.

And you’ll be most of the way towards qualifying for a Companion Pass PLUS you’ll have 110K points to book flights to Hawaii. That’s enough points to book 3-4 flights to Hawaii! AND you can take someone with you for FREE.

P.P.S. Here’s one more really important thing you need to know before your Hawaii trip…

You’ve got your airfare, hotel, rental car and your big activities booked, so you should be good to go, right? Wrong!

Travel is BOOMING in Hawaii and a lot of state and national parks have instituted reservation systems at some of the island’s most popular spots to help manage the crowds and make things a little more sustainable.

That means that there are now over half a dozen sites (beaches, trailheads, etc.) that require advance reservations. And some sell out well before you arrive on the island so you really need to have some sort of a plan.

I recently saw somebody in a Hawaii travel group post in a panic that they didn’t know they had to make reservations for things in advance…they thought they could just show up and “go with the flow.” I was tempted to say, well, “as long as the flow doesn’t take you somewhere that requires reservations, you can!” ; )

But I don’t want YOU to be that person, so I’ve pulled together a list of all the places you need to reserve entry in advance (plus all the details on booking windows, price, links, etc.) and a handful of popular tourist hotspots that book out really far in advance too.
Get that info >> HERE