Transportation help please

[linco711]

We would like to take a shuttle to Aulani from the airport, since we will be arriving late and tired from the east coast. But we are going to need a rental car and renting from Aulani seems more expensive than at the airport. Is there a less expensive car rental close to Aulani? We are members, so not concerned with parking charges?

 

[nkereina]

Are you members staying on DVC points? Just clarifying that free parking is for anyone staying on *points*. DVC members not staying on their points arenot eligible for free parking.

As far as the car rental goes, Alamo is onsite at Aulani and I believe there is an Enterprise at the Marriott up the street which is walking distance. But I would imagine any car rental location not at the airport is going to be more expensive than the airport - supply and demand. Ko Olina is very small and isolated. If you went into Kapolei to rent a car, you'd have to take a taxi or Uber there most likely, which doesn't seem very efficient.

What's the reason you don't want to rent the car when you arrive? Otherwise, you'd have to pay for the shuttle, pay more for the rental car, and possibly pay for a ride to the car rental place. By renting when you arrive, you can rent roundtrip from the airport which will be the best price. We arrived late afternoon and found the whole process to be very quick, so I would imagine it would be even faster at night. And arriving late, you shouldn't have any traffic to contend with either.

 

[Dreamer24]

We are non members staying on a family members points. Will we have to pay for parking?

 

[linco711]

Are you members staying on DVC points? Just clarifying that free parking is for anyone staying on *points*. DVC members not staying on their points arenot eligible for free parking.

As far as the car rental goes, Alamo is onsite at Aulani and I believe there is an Enterprise at the Marriott up the street which is walking distance. But I would imagine any car rental location not at the airport is going to be more expensive than the airport - supply and demand. Ko Olina is very small and isolated. If you went into Kapolei to rent a car, you'd have to take a taxi or Uber there most likely, which doesn't seem very efficient.

What's the reason you don't want to rent the car when you arrive? Otherwise, you'd have to pay for the shuttle, pay more for the rental car, and possibly pay for a ride to the car rental place. By renting when you arrive, you can rent roundtrip from the airport which will be the best price. We arrived late afternoon and found the whole process to be very quick, so I would imagine it would be even faster at night. And arriving late, you shouldn't have any traffic to contend with either.

We are members staying on DVC points. I thought it might be difficult to drive to Aulani for the first time in the dark. We tend to get lost easily. Also after a 14 hour flight, thought we might be exhausted

 

[linco711]

We are non members staying on a family members points. Will we have to pay for parking?

No... you’re staying on points so you’ll be fine.

 

[nkereina]

We are non members staying on a family members points. Will we have to pay for parking?

No... as mentioned, anyone staying on a points reservation is eligible for free parking.

We are members staying on DVC points. I thought it might be difficult to drive to Aulani for the first time in the dark. We tend to get lost easily. Also after a 14 hour flight, thought we might be exhausted

FWIW, it's a pretty easy drive - straight down the highway. When you exit the highway, there's literally only one short road of Ko Olina, so there's no getting lost after you exit the highway. Frankly, I think it'd be easier to drive there at night when you don't have the daytime traffic to contend with. I think taking a shuttle and then renting a car the next day is adding unnecessary expense and logistical hassles, but you have to do what you're comfortable with - I definitely understand that.

 

[Luckylady0610]

No... you’re staying on points so you’ll be fine.

So does this extend to all family members staying there on points? Example - we plan on going with my inlaws. It would be our points we are all staying there with - so would the inlaws also be extended the free parking?

 

[icesk8abc]

So does this extend to all family members staying there on points? Example - we plan on going with my inlaws. It would be our points we are all staying there with - so would the inlaws also be extended the free parking?

If their room is booked on points (theirs, yours, rented, gifted), they do not have to pay for parking.

 

[alohamom]

We would like to take a shuttle to Aulani from the airport, since we will be arriving late and tired from the east coast. But we are going to need a rental car and renting from Aulani seems more expensive than at the airport. Is there a less expensive car rental close to Aulani? We are members, so not concerned with parking charges?

I hear what you are saying. When you are coming in late from the East Coast and you are on East Coast time it can be really hard to even keep your eyes open, never mind drive for half an hour in the dark on unfamiliar roads. The last time we went my daughter was 19 at the time so not a little kid but she fell asleep while speaking in the rental car on the way to Aulani and it was late afternoon Hawaii time. We were cracking up, it was like she was a toddler again.


I would take the time to do a price break down and figure out what is your best option.

You could rent from on site Aulani location but as you say, it is more expensive and I think you only have the option of Alamo and as @nkereina mentions the Enterprise a couple of doors over at the Marriott.

You could also take a taxi or uber back to the airport the next day and pick up from an airport location. I know this sounds like a lot of running around but you are going to probably be up early the first day anyway. I am not sure what the average taxi cost is from Aulani to the airport but I suspect it is in the $50 range. I would determine how much you are going to save in total on your car rental and then decide if it is worth the time and hassle.

One more thought is cancelling the first night at Aulani and staying in a hotel close to the airport. I know this isnt an ideal way to start the vacation and honestly the hotels near the airport are strictly for efficiency but they have shuttles and are 5 minutes away. That way you can wake up early, go back over to the airport and head to Aulani wide awake. I would not suggest going all the way into Waikiki as a way of staying close to the airport. Waikiki is physically closer than Aulani but it is going to cost you about 2/3rds of a taxi to Aulani so there isnt much point. One caveat-I have never stayed at a hotel near the airport so I honestly do not know what they are like. I would do my due diligence by reading reviews and checking these boards for TRs etc Here are links for a couple of the hotels near the airport

https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/b...stern-the-plaza-hotel/propertyCode.12008.html

https://www.theairporthonoluluhotel.com/

 

[nkereina]

One more thought is cancelling the first night at Aulani and staying in a hotel close to the airport. I know this isnt an ideal way to start the vacation and honestly the hotels near the airport are strictly for efficiency but they have shuttles and are 5 minutes away. That way you can wake up early, go back over to the airport and head to Aulani wide awake. I would not suggest going all the way into Waikiki as a way of staying close to the airport. Waikiki is physically closer than Aulani but it is going to cost you about 2/3rds of a taxi to Aulani so there isnt much point. One caveat-I have never stayed at a hotel near the airport so I honestly do not know what they are like. I would do my due diligence by reading reviews and checking these boards for TRs etc Here are links for a couple of the hotels near the airport

I thought of this as well, and have seen others do the same. The only hiccup that this may cause is your Aulani room may not be ready until closer to 4pm. Not an issue if you have plans that day, but if your plans are to hang at the resort, you could be "homeless" for a bit. But you're still free to use the amenities of the resort even if your room isn't ready.

 

[littleBeast]

We rented a car waaay in advance from Advantage using a discount code I found online and it was the cheapest car rental option I found anywhere, hands down. $386 for 10 days. I was afraid we would get a crap car since it was cheap, but we got a nice Hyundai and even though we didn't pay for a GPS, it had Apple Car Play and all I did was plug my iPhone into the car with a USB cord and we were able to use the Maps app as our car GPS for the whole trip. Worked out great!!

We only got a car because we stayed in Waikiki for 4 nights after Aulani (flights back were so expensive, it was cheaper to stay longer) and really used that car for exploring the island, going to the ranch, North Shore, etc. It was worth it. We did not touch the car at all while we were at Aulani (though it would have been useful if we'd needed groceries, but we didn't have a full kitchen in the studio we had).

 

[linco711]

I hear what you are saying. When you are coming in late from the East Coast and you are on East Coast time it can be really hard to even keep your eyes open, never mind drive for half an hour in the dark on unfamiliar roads. The last time we went my daughter was 19 at the time so not a little kid but she fell asleep while speaking in the rental car on the way to Aulani and it was late afternoon Hawaii time. We were cracking up, it was like she was a toddler again.


I would take the time to do a price break down and figure out what is your best option.

You could rent from on site Aulani location but as you say, it is more expensive and I think you only have the option of Alamo and as @nkereina mentions the Enterprise a couple of doors over at the Marriott.

You could also take a taxi or uber back to the airport the next day and pick up from an airport location. I know this sounds like a lot of running around but you are going to probably be up early the first day anyway. I am not sure what the average taxi cost is from Aulani to the airport but I suspect it is in the $50 range. I would determine how much you are going to save in total on your car rental and then decide if it is worth the time and hassle.

One more thought is cancelling the first night at Aulani and staying in a hotel close to the airport. I know this isnt an ideal way to start the vacation and honestly the hotels near the airport are strictly for efficiency but they have shuttles and are 5 minutes away. That way you can wake up early, go back over to the airport and head to Aulani wide awake. I would not suggest going all the way into Waikiki as a way of staying close to the airport. Waikiki is physically closer than Aulani but it is going to cost you about 2/3rds of a taxi to Aulani so there isnt much point. One caveat-I have never stayed at a hotel near the airport so I honestly do not know what they are like. I would do my due diligence by reading reviews and checking these boards for TRs etc Here are links for a couple of the hotels near the airport

https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/b...stern-the-plaza-hotel/propertyCode.12008.html

https://www.theairporthonoluluhotel.com/

Thank you, you have been really helpful!

 

[Jennie Kayna]

I figured I should share my research in case it helps anyone. We are staying at Aulani for 7 nights in March 2020. Originally we were planning on taking a shuttle to Aulani from the Airport and then renting a car from Almo on site at Aulani for two days to explore the island, and then shuttle to get back to the airport on departure day. Once I realized that we would be eligible for free parking at Aulani since we are renting DVC points, I decided to price out what it would cost to rent a car directly from the Airport and see how that compared.

To rent the shuttle service that is advertised on the Disney Aulani website (Hele Hele Shuttle Service) it would cost my family of three (2 adults, one 1 year old) $58 dollars each way. So $116 total (could not see if this included taxes or not). To rent a car with a childseat for two days directly from Almo at Aulani it would cost $233 for the cheapest option. So grand total $349 for 2 car days plus the hassle of dealing with a shuttle trip for two days.

To rent a car directly from the Honolulu Airport from Costco (have not priced out other car rental companies yet because I heard Costco was the best?) it would cost us $404 total for the cheapest car with a child seat added. That's 8 days with a car and no shuttle hassle.

The difference of $55 to get the car for the whole trip and to not have to worry about the inconvenience of taking a shuttle seems totally worth it for us!

 

[nkereina]

So does this extend to all family members staying there on points? Example - we plan on going with my inlaws. It would be our points we are all staying there with - so would the inlaws also be extended the free parking?

Older post, but didn't see a response. The answer is yes. The resort does not care who is staying in the room. The only qualifier is that the room has to be booked with DVC points to get the free parking. Nothing else matters.