Taking the family to Oahu wouldn’t be the same without renting a car to experience the island. Having the flexibility of coming and going when you want is essential on a family vacation and relying on public transportation can be pricey, as well as inconvenient. On our last trip to the islands we went with Budget-Rent-a-Car (BRAC) for our transportation needs, and was pleased to be working with them again out of the Honolulu airport.
Right after landing and grabbing our bags, the signs for car rental are clearly marked at the Honolulu airport. Literally a walk across the street from baggage claim we found the kiosk and a line. We arrived at midday so there was quite of few customers waiting in the heat we were just adjusting to. Maybe about 20 minutes and I was working with a service representative for our car.
Our options were given on car style, size, and extras such as navigation systems. I have a smart phone that has maps and concise directions to follow, so we needn’t pay extra for that luxury this time around. Some people rely heavily on their GPS or TomTom and it’s great to know they’re available in car rentals.
We finally decided on a Ford Focus in a white color. As much as I wanted to rent a van or even an mid-size car, I kept thinking $$ in my head and what we could do to save that extra $10 per day. We opted with the compact car. Yes, there are 5 people in our family, and yes it’s a tight 5 seater car, but money was on my mind and staying in Hawaii gets pricey.
Don’t get me wrong, there was room, my two younger children are small and everyone fit nicely. The only thing is that our car at home seats 7, has 3 rows, and technically all 3 kids don’t have to sit directly next to eachother, this time they did. The first few days it wasn’t bad, they all had their electronics to occupy them when we had a drive to take, but on days 6 and 7, those long drives from one end of the island to the other were filled with “he pinched me” and “she is touching me.” I’m really going to follow through next time and say, a bigger car is a MUST.
Everything else about the car was perfect. It was compact and easy to maneuver the city with, it had great gas mileage, and it had both A/C and a sunroof, so we were always comfortable while exploring. We opted to take the car full of gas and to bring it back full this time which worked out well, we didn’t have to get gas until days 5 and 7 so it wasn’t that big of a deal. The only negative may be the leather seats on hot days (which was everyday on Oahu), the kids bottoms got hot so we learned to lay down towels before sitting!
Returning the car at the end of our trip was as easy and took literally about 3 minutes. Pull in, hand over the keys, and take the receipt. We were quoted about $233 for the week on the rental and we of course were overjoyed when our receipt read $203. I don’t question deals like that, not to mention they had some cleaning to do with all the sand we tracked into the car. Twice in one year we’ve experienced great results with BRAC, and I would recommend them to anyone looking for car to rent on their next vacation!
We paid out of pocket for the car rental upfront, but will be reimbursed a portion of our payment. All opinions are ours.
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