How to Rent a Car in Hawaii - Hawaii Car Rentals

How do I rent a car or get an estimate?

How to Rent | Rental Companies | Bonuses | Reserve Now |

Get Estimate | Season Dates | Car Selections | Base Rates | Taxes & Fees

Updated April 30, 2012

RESERVE NOW - How do I rent a car? What if I just want an estimate?

To rent a car (or to just get an estimate), make sure you're looking in the appropriate season dates range (Low, High or Peak).
Then click on any RESERVE NOW at the top of any rate column on our Rates Page.
Each RESERVE NOW takes you to a different car rental company - directly to the reservations page of one of the Hawaii car rental companies that we represent (Avis, Budget, Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise). All our rates and bonuses are built into each car rental company link. So you don't need to do anything extra to get them.
Fill in their form and it will tell you the availability as well as the total cost including taxes and fees.
From there you can decide if you would like to actually make a reservation.

What do all those columns and rows mean on the rates page?
The rates page is divided up into columns and rows.

	Rental Company:	Five of the columns represent each of the 5 car rental company brands that we offer discount rates from.
	Bonuses:	Listed under each brand are the bonuses they offer (Spouse drives free, etc.).
	RESERVE NOW:	Click RESERVE NOW (to reserve or to simply check total rates. It will show you total rates including taxes and fees).
	Season Dates:	Various rates are offered within specified date ranges.
	Car Selections:	Various car types and sizes are offered by the car rental companies.

On the left are the various types of cars and sizes that are offered by the car rental companies that we represent. To the right of each car are the corporate discount "base rates" that we offer from each car rental company. These base rates do not include taxes and fees because taxes and fees vary significantly depending on the location you rent a car from.

Rental Company - Major National Brand #1, #2, #3, #4 and Enterprise - What do they represent?

Car Rentals in Hawaii

As you can see above, Major National Brand #1, #2, #3, #4 and Enterprise represent Avis, Budget, Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise, which are the car rental companies that we represent. Because of contractual obligations, we are not allowed to show their brand names or company logos on our home page or rates page or any page that mentions their rates.

Bonuses

Bonuses pertain to such things as:

Additional driver(s) fee surcharges and whether they are waived or not.
Age 21-24 surcharge amount.
Cash or Debit Card and whether they are accepted

Season Dates - What's that?

There are basically three seasons during the year; Low, High and Peak. In previous years all the car rental companies followed the exact same dating structure within each "season" (LOW: January 1 to June 15, HIGH: June 16 to December 15th, PEAK: December 16 to December 31st). However, due to the economic times as well as competition strategies, the car rental companies have been more inclined to break up the dates within each season. They are always experimenting with these dates and this has led to some confusion.

Car Selections

These are the types of cars offered by each car rental company. Each company has a similar car rental fleet in Hawaii.

Base Rates - What are they?

Under the Base Rates columns are the base rates offered by each car rental company for the various season dates. Base rates do not include any taxes or fees, which vary by island and car rental pickup location, so not all scenarios can be listed. To get a TOTAL rate (including taxes and fees), you will need to click on one of the RESERVE NOW links under the various car rental company columns and fill in the form.

Taxes and Fees - How much are they and why aren't they included in the rate columns?

None of the base rates include taxes and fees. It is too complicated to list all rate scenarios for all locations because different taxes and fees apply to each. To get a TOTAL rate (including taxes and fees), you will need to click on one of the RESERVE NOW links under the various car rental company columns on our Rates Page and fill in the form.

Below are the current 2012 taxes and fees applied it car rentals in Hawaii. Please note that when renting a car at an off-airport location, you will NOT be charged the 11.11% Airport Tax (Concession Recovery Fee).

(2012) - Some or all of the following taxes and fees may apply
Tax / Fee Type	Rate	Applicable Locations
Hawaii State Rental Vehicle Surcharge	$7.50/day	All locations
GET - Hawaii State General Excise Tax	4.166% of above and base rate	All locations
Airport Concessionaire/Permittee Fee	11.11% of base rate	Airport locations only
Honolulu County tax	0.546% of base rate	Oahu only
Vehicle License Fee	$.35 to $1.45/day	All locations

Below is a sample of a 1-week economy car rental that has a base rate of $147/week and a total rate of $226.37 (including taxes and fees).

SAMPLE ESTIMATE
1 Week @ $ 130.00	$130.00
Hawaii State Rental Vehicle Surcharge	$52.50
GET - Hawaii State General Excise Tax	$7.60
Airport Concessionaire/Permittee Fee	$14.44
Honolulu County Tax	$0.71
Vehicle Licensing Fee	$6.30
Total Estimated Charges	$211.55

How to Rent a Car at Hawaii Car Rentals

Information and instructions of how to get an estimate and rent a car