While it is theoretically possible to take your car rental between different islands in Hawaii, most rental car companies will not allow you to try to transport your car between islands. Beyond that, the cost to do so would be rather high and you would be much better served to simply travel to other islands by another method, such as plane or boat, and then rent another car when you arrive on that island.
One important thing to remember when renting a car in Hawaii is that if you want to rent from a large national chain, your best bet is to do so at the international airports. Once you get away from these areas, the number of rental car choices you have will diminish, plus they will most likely be smaller local chains that may offer a limited variety of cars to rent.
While it may seem like a great idea to drive a convertible car, make sure that your car has a top that you can put back up in case of inclement weather. Rainstorms can occur at any time during the year and they often come out of nowhere, so make sure to prepare for that. It is also important to rent a vehicle that has air conditioning because long drives in hot and humid weather can become taxing.
25% of our users found rental cars in Hawaii for $56 or less
Book your rental car in Hawaii at least 1 day before your trip in order to get a below-average price
Off-airport rental car locations in Hawaii are around 16% cheaper than airport locations on average
Intermediate rental cars in Hawaii are around -8% cheaper than other car types, on average
FAQs about renting a car in Hawaii
If the reason you want to visit Hawaii is to fly to a major city and then spend your entire trip on a beach in one location, you probably don't need to rent a car. That said, Hawaii offers so much more than just a few tourist destinations that you can explore. The ideal way to do that is to have a car that can take you to all these places. There is amazing scenery, restaurants that are a little bit different and off the beaten path, plus plenty of secluded beaches, parks, waterfalls, and hillsides that are much easier to explore when you have a car of your own.
If you are familiar with driving in any state in the United States, then you will not find driving in Hawaii much different. That said, there are still some unique driving tips you need to know about when you drive in Hawaii. For example, you will drive on the right side of the road and speed limits will be in miles per hour. Most roads in Hawaii are in good condition, especially in larger cities, such as Honolulu. It is important to remember that Hawaii is a rather laid-back place and people here drive that way so take care not to speed, or to do things like honking your horn. The fact of the matter is with so much beautiful scenery to see while you drive, there's no reason to speed to get anywhere.
For the most part, rental car companies will expect you to be at least twenty one years old to rent a car. One exception to this is if you want to rent a very high-end car, such as a luxury sedan or a premium SUV. To rent one of these cars, you will most likely need to be at least twenty five years old. Rental car companies generally want you to have a major credit card to rent a car to serve as security. While some may allow you to use a debit card, they will most likely restrict the type of car you can rent, plus they may expect these renters to be at least twenty five years old. There are some rental car companies that will allow a person that is eighteen years older to rent a car so long as they have a credit card, but you will probably find a very limited selection of cars available to rent.
On average a rental car in Hawaii costs $51 per day.
Compact (Nissan Versa or similar) is the most frequently booked rental car type in Hawaii.
In the past 72 hours, the cheapest rental cars were found at Hertz ($43/day), Dollar ($49/day) and Economy Rent a Car ($49/day).
Based on ratings and reviews from real users on KAYAK, the best car rental companies in Hawaii are Alamo (9.1, 713 reviews), National (8.9, 186 reviews), and Enterprise (8.7, 442 reviews).
Based on car searches on KAYAK, the most popular cities to rent a car in Hawaii are Honolulu (33% of total searches of users looking to rent a car in Hawaii), Kahului (29%) and Kailua-Kona (19%).
On average a rental car in Hawaii costs $490 per week ($70 per day).
On average a rental car in Hawaii costs $2,102 per month ($70 per day).