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Short answer: Free rental shuttles from the pier are reliable only on the Big Island. In Hilo, Budget, Avis and Payless run shuttles between the pier and Hilo Airport, and in Kona the Enterprise office on Luhia Street sends one if you call from shore. In Kahului you can walk to Enterprise on Hana Highway in about 10 minutes. In Honolulu, and at Nawiliwili unless your desk confirms a shuttle, plan on a taxi or rideshare to the counter.
No rental company has a counter on a Hawaii cruise pier. Every cruise port car rental means getting from the ship to a desk, either on a company shuttle, on foot, or by taxi. Which one works depends on the port, and several shuttles stopped after the pandemic, when rental companies cut less profitable locations. Below is what each port looks like now, with the Google rating of the nearest desks, checked on October 20, 2026.
Cruise port car rental at a glance
| Port | Where the cars are | Free shuttle from the pier? |
|---|---|---|
| Hilo (Big Island) | Hilo Airport desks | Yes: Budget, Avis, Payless |
| Kona (Big Island) | Enterprise, Luhia St in town | Yes, call Enterprise once ashore |
| Kahului (Maui) | Enterprise on Hana Hwy, local firms, airport | No, but Enterprise is walkable |
| Nawiliwili (Kauai) | Lihue Airport desks | Some brokers list Budget, Avis, Payless; confirm |
| Honolulu (Oahu) | Waikiki and Ala Moana desks, airport | No |
Shuttle status comes from the cruise pages of two Hawaii rental brokers, the Aloha Rents cruise guide and Discount Hawaii Car Rental. Both say policies change without much notice.
Hilo cruise port car rental
Hilo is the easiest port for a rental. The airport is a short drive from the harbor, and according to the Aloha Rents cruise guide, Budget, Avis and Payless all run a free shuttle between the pier and their Hilo Airport counters for cruise customers. The ship’s crew can tell you where the shuttle stops.
The shuttles run on a schedule: out to the airport in the morning and back to the pier in the afternoon. The same guide lists the current times as 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM out and 2:30 PM to 6 PM back, and tells renters to check the last return shuttle at the counter. If your all-aboard time is early, that last shuttle matters more than the rate.
| Hilo Airport desk | Pier shuttle | Google rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | Yes | 3.8 | 398 |
| Avis | Yes | 3.8 | 219 |
| Payless | Yes | 2.1 | 18 |
| National | No | 4.6 | 128 |
| Alamo | No | 4.4 | 329 |
| Enterprise | No | 4.4 | 186 |
Google Maps ratings for each Hilo Airport listing, checked October 20, 2026. Shuttle column per the Aloha Rents guide.
The better-rated National, Alamo and Enterprise desks have no pier shuttle, so you would pay for a short taxi or rideshare each way. Every Hilo option, including the local companies in town, is rated on our Hilo car rental page.
Docking in Hilo or Kona? Check prices for your dates before you land.
Short port day in Hilo? A tour can beat a rental. This small-group Volcanoes National Park tour picks up at the Hilo cruise terminal and takes 4 to 5 hours. It has about 200 reviews, and 97% of travelers recommend it.
See the Hilo volcano tour → (affiliate link)
Kona cruise port car rental
In Kona you come ashore at the pier in the middle of Kailua-Kona town. The airport desks are about 20 minutes away by road, per Discount Hawaii Car Rental, so the rental most cruise passengers use is the Enterprise office in town at 74-5583 Luhia Street, rated 4.5 on 253 Google reviews.
The Aloha Rents cruise guide says this Enterprise office sends a free shuttle to the pier: call once you are on land and they tell you where to meet it. It lists the office hours as 7:30 AM to 6 PM on weekdays, 9 AM to noon on Saturday, and closed on Sunday. Discount Hawaii Car Rental also warns that in-town offices keep shorter hours, so a Sunday port day needs another plan.
The Thrifty and Dollar desks that used to sit in the hotel lobby at the foot of the pier have closed, the same guide says. On a Sunday, the fallback is a taxi to the airport desks, which are rated on our Kona Airport car rental ratings page.
Kahului cruise port car rental (Maui)
There is no rental shuttle from the Kahului pier. The Aloha Rents cruise guide says the airport shuttles for cruise passengers stopped in September 2024 and had not returned. The good news is that several desks are close enough to walk to.
| Company | Address | Getting there | Google rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | 40 Hana Hwy | About a 10-minute walk, per Aloha Rents | 4.4 | 312 |
| Maui ECO Rental Car | 75 Amala Pl | About a 20-minute walk, per its own site | 4.8 | 82 |
| North Shore Maui Rent-a-Car | 553 Haleakala Hwy | Taxi or rideshare | 4.8 | 82 |
| Kahului Airport desks | Rental car center | Taxi or rideshare | 2.6 to 4.7 | Thousands |
Google Maps ratings checked October 20, 2026.
The two local companies are set up for cruise passengers. Maui ECO Rental Car posts walking directions from the ship, rents hybrids for one- and two-day cruise rentals, and offers free secured overnight parking. North Shore Maui Rent-a-Car lets renters on a two-night port call leave the car in its lot overnight, and points to paid overnight parking at the Maui Seaside Hotel, about a 5-minute walk from the port.
The airport desks have more cars and a wider range of ratings, from National at 4.7 down to Budget at 2.6. See every one in our Kahului Airport ratings. If Hana is the plan, check the timing first: a day in port is tight for that drive.
Docking in Kahului? Check prices for your dates before you land.
Nawiliwili cruise port car rental (Kauai)
The cars are at Lihue Airport, a few miles up the hill from Nawiliwili Harbor. This is the port where sources disagree most. The Aloha Rents cruise guide lists free shuttles from Budget, Avis and Payless on days a ship is in port, and says Enterprise, Alamo, Thrifty and Dollar do not offer one. Cheap Hawaii Car Rental also says shuttle service has returned to Nawiliwili. Ask your desk before you book, and keep a taxi as the backup.
| Lihue Airport desk | Google rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| National | 4.5 | 495 |
| Alamo | 4.4 | 1,719 |
| Enterprise | 4.4 | 908 |
| Avis | 3.9 | 2,927 |
| Payless | 2.8 | 178 |
| Budget | 2.6 | 2,752 |
Google Maps ratings checked October 20, 2026. All ratings for the island are on our Lihue Airport ratings page.
Honolulu cruise port car rental (Oahu)
Honolulu has no rental shuttle from the cruise piers, according to both brokers. Most cruise passengers take a taxi or rideshare either to the airport desks or to one of the in-town desks near Ala Moana and Waikiki, which are closer to the harbor than the airport.
| Desk | Address | Google rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIXT Waikiki | 2490 Kalakaua Ave | 4.6 | 1,251 |
| Enterprise (Ala Moana) | 1221 Kapiolani Blvd | 4.3 | 230 |
| Enterprise (Discovery Bay) | 1778 Ala Moana Blvd | 4.3 | 380 |
| Hertz (Ilikai Hotel) | 1777 Ala Moana Blvd | 2.9 | 164 |
Google Maps ratings checked October 20, 2026.
If your cruise starts or ends in Honolulu, you may not need a car at the pier at all. Our Waikiki car rental page rates every in-town desk, and the Honolulu Airport ratings cover the airport.
Docking in Honolulu? Check prices for your dates before you land.
Tips for a one-day cruise rental
- Book ahead. Cruise days bring a rush of one-day renters to the same few desks, and Discount Hawaii Car Rental advises reserving early for every port.
- Work backward from all-aboard. Allow time to refuel, return the car, and get back to the pier. On a shuttle, the last return run is your real deadline.
- Weigh a taxi against the shuttle. A short taxi ride lets you pick any company and can beat the shuttle crowd to the counter, a point Discount Hawaii Car Rental makes too.
- Hawaii adds a rental car surcharge of $7.50 per day in 2026, even on a one-day rental. The state figures are on our Hawaii car rental statistics page.
Compare Hawaii rental rates for your port day →
Researched and written by Neo Pecorro. Shuttle details come from the cruise guides of Aloha Rents, Discount Hawaii Car Rental and Cheap Hawaii Car Rental, and from the websites of the local companies named. Ratings come from public Google Maps listings. Shuttle service changes often, so confirm with your rental desk before your ship arrives.
Last updated: October 20, 2026.