A Guide to Hawaii, Maui Car Rentals for Vacation Trips

It is vacation time once again. You’ve been dreaming of going to Hawaii, to Maui and have the vacation of a lifetime. You probably have spent days planning, setting up all the reservations, checking up all the sights, the possible tours and even writing down an itinerary in order to maximize your tropical vacation.

Everything’s set except for one: your car rental. Renting a car in your Hawaii, Maui vacation can be least of your priorities, but knowing what to expect is also part of the planning. So here’s a short basic guide on what to expect with Hawaii, Maui car rentals for your vacation.

Car rental prices in Hawaii vary, not only due to the make and model of the car but are also dependent on which time of the year you intend to travel, the number of days you’ll be vacationing in the islands, the time of pick-up and drop-off, and the rental company, to name a few.

June to August and the month of December are usually the months where car rentals rates goes up. These are summer months and December is the holiday season so a lot of tourists come to the islands to spend their days in the beach. In order to avoid the high rental rates in these months, you should decide early on if you would like to rent a car during your stay in Hawaii. Placing a reservation three months in advance would be ideal in this situation.

Ordinarily, the longer you rent the car for your vacation the better chance you get a discount on the rental charge. A week long vacation on the islands will usually get you the last day or the last two days of your car rental for free. A number of car rental agencies do this as their selling point.

Also, it is good to note that car rental agencies in Hawaii charge additional hour rates. This is aside from the daily or weekly rates that you will be paying. So it is would be best to schedule your activities, drop off and pick ups within the designated day rates to avoid paying additional hourly rates. You’ll be able to save more money this way.

Convertibles and Jeep Wranglers fetch a higher rental rate because they are quite in demand. Likewise, rental charges for SUVs and various luxury cars are higher since the base costs of these vehicles are quite high in the first place. However, also take note that cars that have more seats for people such as minivans are more expensive as well.

The good thing in making car rental reservations in Hawaii is that most agencies will not charge you any cancellation fees. So you can make reservation during your early planning sessions and have it cancelled if needed. During the slow months, you can even see car rental companies slashing off their rates to attract last minute travelers.

However, it is still ideal to make plans and reserve a vehicle early. Car rental companies don’t have an unlimited stock of cars. The cost of acquiring cars for this kind of business is rather high. So you might have difficulties finding a rental a week before your vacation. Make reservations months ahead. Anyways, nowadays, reservations are made easy through online.

It is also good to know that rental companies located on airport ground are charged a concession fee by the airport which they pass on to consumers like ourselves. If you want to save a few dollars, you best to rental agencies that are situated outside the airport grounds.

As I mentioned earlier, these are just basic Hawaii, Maui car rental vacation tips. You can browse online to see more tips or ask your friends you have been in Hawaii for the best ways to plan your vacation. Take the extra effort, it’s worth it.

Auto Rental When in a Maui Hawaii Vacation

You have the travel tickets and you have the accommodation. The problem is how you will get to the hotel from the airport and how you will get to the beach from the hotel. Well, you forgot something when planning a Maui Hawaii vacation, a auto rental.
Actually, you are not alone.

Most people who plan their vacations, whether in Hawaii or anywhere else in the world, always forget this small detail. Some do not even bother at all, rationalizing that the hotel can provide car service for them or that there are hundreds of cabs that can accommodate them. The problem with these two is the fact that they are limited in some ways.

Hiring a cab for example will never be as convenient as having a transportation that is all your own. If you rent an automobile, you can go whenever you want, wherever you want. You just need to start the engine. You don’t have to wait for a cab in the middle of nowhere. Hotel car service, on the other hand, can be pretty expensive, not to mention very hard to get by.

You see most people in the hotel will probably need a car service. And you have got to be at the first in line if you want to leave first. Otherwise, you have to wait for the other people to come back before you can leave or at the very least have the hotel tell you that there is no more cars available.

One down side though with having your own car while on vacation is the directions. This is especially true if this is the first time that you have visited Maui or Hawaii. And even if you have a map, nothing beats having a driver who already knows the way.

You can solve this problem by getting a car rental service that comes with a driver. Most auto car rentals will offer this because they know that tourists don’t have the patience to look at maps and follow road signs.

After all, this vacation is all about relaxing and not stressing over which way to turn to get to the beach! Having a driver is however more expensive than hiring just the car. So make sure first that you have the budget for it.
When you sum it up, renting a car from an auto rental service for the duration of your vacation is cheaper than hiring the hotel’s service.

But you have to take into account the number of times that you will actually use the car rental service. If you are just going to use it once or twice, then you are better off with the hotel’s car service. If however, you plan to tour the whole state, then a car just for you is better.

If you do not plan to go at all and you just plan to stay at the beach and do water sports all day long throughout your vacation time, then don’t anymore rent a car.

You can just book a hotel that is nearer and you all have to do is walk towards the beach. This will save you a lot of expenses for taxis. Auto rental when on a vacation in Maui Hawaii or in any other place is important but it all depends on how you plan to spend your vacation.