Surviving the Rental Car Experience

Don't even think of going to any of the Hawaiian islands without renting a car. Many of the fun places you will want to visit are not served by public transportation, and those that are often do not have convenient pick-up and drop-off times and places.

Many people swear that they will spend their time in Hawaii only on the beach (with occasional trips to the hotel bar) and that they will have no need for a car. We disagree. Unless you are a world class loungechair-pineapple (the Hawaii equivalent of a couch potato), you will want to go out and explore the islands.

Renting a car is not without some hassles, so we have accumulated these top 10 tips over the years that you might find useful:

1. Reserve early. Some of the Hawaiian islands, especially the smaller ones, have very limited rental fleets, so you need to reserve early to be sure you will have transportation. You also usually get a better deal if you reserve early. One easy way to do that is to make your reservations online.

2. Check for damage. Look the car over carefully before you take it off the rental lot and make sure the staff marks down any damage on the vehicle. If you don't do this, you may be held responsible for damage done before you had the car (especially if you do not observe tip number 7 below).

3. Check for off-limits roads. Ask the rental staff if there are any roads on which you may not drive the car. This is very important since some of the rental companies have begun declaring certain popular roads off limits. We were shocked to find on our most recent trip that one major rental car company will not allow you to drive to the top of Mount Haleakala which is one of the most popular attractions in Maui. This is not a particularly dangerous road, which is why other rental companies had no such restriction. Granted, rules were made to be broken, but if you break these rules, what ever auto insurance you may think you have will be null and void if you have an accident on one of these roads.

4. Refuel the car yourself. Do not return the car with less fuel than it had at pick-up time because the rental company will charge you ridiculous rates per gallon for the missing fuel. Prices at Hawaii's gas stations are bad enough but the prices the rental people charge are even worse.

5. Don't top off the tank. This is second nature to us, so we often put every possible drop in the tank before we return it. Why bother? So long as the fuel gauge needle is somewhere near the full mark, the rental agency is unlikely to charge you for fuel (especially if you follow tip number 7).

6. Decline the insurance. The insurance premiums the rental companies will charge you are another rip-off. Many credit card companies include this insurance as part of your benefits if you rent with their cards. You many also have coverage from your insurance policies at home. Check on this before you leave for Hawaii -- be sure to find out if you are ok for both the liability and collision coverage.

7. Clean your trash out of the car. Why should you do someone else's job? Because it will take less than a minute and it will endear you to the rental staff. Who cares? These people have the ability to hold you accountable for damage done to the car and they also can hit you with refueling charges. This can be especially critical if you really have damaged the car and/or did not fully refuel it.

8. Bring your radar detector if you have one. This may be paradise, but even paradise has traffic laws and the Hawaiian police don't appreciate speeding vehicles any more than the boys in blue from other states.

9. Beware of drop off charges. If you rent your car at one airport, and then fly out of a different airport on the same island (which is not uncommon), you may be hit with a charge close to $100.

10. Find out if there is a grace period. Some companies will hit you with hefty late charges -- even an extra day -- if you don't return the car promptly, so make sure you know what their policies are before you take that extra cruise along the beach.

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