Renting a Car in Hawaii (Oahu): Licence, Taxes, Parking

This guide covers what is specific to Oahu. For US rental insurance and the waivers offered at the counter, see renting a car in the US and insurance explained. For how US parking tickets and camera fines usually work, see driving rules and parking tickets.

Do you need a car on Oahu?

The answer depends on how many days you will spend outside Honolulu. TheBus fare table is the benchmark. With an adult HOLO card, a ride costs $3 and includes two hours of transfers between buses and Skyline. Once you have spent $7.50 in a day, the rest of that day's rides are free. A 3-day pass costs $20 and a 7-day pass $45. The card itself costs $2. Paying cash costs $3.25 a ride with no transfers, and drivers do not give change.

A common pattern is to go without a car for the Honolulu days and rent for one or two days in the middle of the stay. That avoids paying overnight parking in Waikiki on days when the car sits unused.

Which licence do you need to drive in Hawaii?

Honolulu's driver licensing FAQ sets out the rule for foreign visitors:

• Holders of a licence from a country that ratified the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic may drive in Hawaii with that licence and a valid passport.
• The driver must be at least 18.
• The foreign licence can be used for no longer than one year after the date of entry into the US, as shown in your passport.
• An International Driving Permit is strongly recommended, to avoid language problems with the police. The IDP only works together with your home licence and passport.

Rental companies can set a higher minimum age and add a young-driver fee. Those are company terms, not state law, so check them before you book.

What taxes and fees does a Hawaii car rental add?

The advertised daily rate is not what you pay. On Oahu there are three separate charges:

Under Act 237 of 2021, the surcharge rises by $0.50 each year until 31 December 2027, so a rental that runs into 2027 may be charged a higher rate. The airport charge figure comes from the 2021 opening announcement; check your quote for today's amount. "Part of a day" matters: returning a car a few hours late adds another full day of surcharge.

Worked example: a 3-day rental from HNL

This assumes a car picked up at the airport and returned 72 hours later:

• State surcharge: 3 × $7.50 = $22.50
• Airport facility charge at the 2021 rate: 3 × $4.50 = $13.50
• General excise: up to 4.712% of the rental charges, which is about $4.71 for every $100 of rental

So the fixed charges come to about $36 before general excise, whatever the base rate. Return the car 3 hours late and the surcharge alone adds another $7.50. For two adults, three days of TheBus at the daily cap cost 2 × 3 × $7.50 = $45, with no parking to pay. That is the figure to compare with a rental's total cost including parking.

Picking up at Honolulu airport

All ten airport rental companies share a five-storey consolidated rental car facility. The airport's car rental page lists Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Payless, Thrifty and Sixt, with counters on Level 2. From Terminal 2 baggage claims 19-31 you can walk there. From Terminal 1, the Terminal 2 international arrivals area and Terminal 3, take the consolidated shuttle from the marked stops at ground level.

Driving on Oahu: zipper lane, HOV hours and local rules

Weekday rush hours on H-1 have their own lanes. HDOT's special use lanes page lists these:

For visitors, this matters mostly when driving to an early flight or an early tour from the west or central part of the island. The lane schedule shows the peak directions: eastbound towards Honolulu in the morning and westbound, away from town, in the afternoon.

The Hawaii Driver's Manual adds points that trip up visitors:

• Speed limits are posted in miles per hour. Lower limits apply near schools and playgrounds and in residential and business areas.
• Everyone in the car, front and back, must wear a seat belt. Children under 4 need a child restraint, and some children under 8 need a booster seat.
• You must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights, even in the lanes beside it. The manual says breaking this rule can cost $1,000. Traffic going the other way on a divided highway does not have to stop.
• Any crash causing injury or death, or property damage of $3,000 or more, must be reported to the police immediately.

How much does parking cost in Waikiki?

Street meters follow the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu. In the Waikiki zone they cost $3 an hour ($0.50 for 10 minutes) from 06:00 to 22:00 every day. Downtown meters charge the same rate from 07:00 to 18:00 but are free on Sundays and public holidays. Meters elsewhere charge $1.50 an hour. Street meters also have time limits, so they will not work for overnight parking.

Hotel parking is where costs add up. Waikiki hotels set their own nightly parking rates, and some add them to a resort fee. No public source lists them, so ask your hotel for its nightly self-park or valet rate before booking a car. Multiply it by the nights the car will stay there, then add that to the rental taxes above when you compare with TheBus.

Diamond Head and other reservation-only parks

Diamond Head is the clearest example of Oahu's visitor pricing. Under the Division of State Parks' rules, non-residents must reserve both entry and parking in advance. Entry costs $5 per person (children aged 3 and under are free) and parking $10 per vehicle, and only credit cards are accepted. The park is open daily from 06:00 to 18:00, and the last entry is at 16:30 for the 16:00 slot. Reservations open up to 30 days ahead.