The back story

Getting around Hawaiʻi: by bus, rail, car and island hop

In depth·Oʻahu

Honolulu’s airport, TheBus and the HOLO card, the new Skyline railway, a hire car for the country and the short flights to Maui, Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island.

A Skyline train on its elevated track in the west of Oʻahu
A Skyline train on its elevated track in the west of Oʻahu
Photo CreditImage courtesy of © eli fessler · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Oʻahu is the one island where you can do without a car. TheBus covers it, the Skyline railway now runs from the west of the island to the airport, and in Waikīkī you can walk. For the neighbour islands, fly: Kahului on Maui, Līhuʻe on Kauaʻi and Kona and Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island are short hops from Honolulu.

Arriving

Honolulu’s airport (HNL) has the Wiki Wiki shuttle between terminals, car hire, taxis, ride-app pickup zones, TheBus and Skyline (Hawaiʻi DOT Airports).

On Oʻahu

TheBus runs across the island; Skyline’s Segment 2 serves the airport, with bus connections to Ala Moana, Mānoa and Waikīkī from the Āhua Lagoon Drive station (City and County of Honolulu). The HOLO card pays for both, and caps your fares at the price of a day or month pass (HOLO).

Honolulu’s airport and its reef runway seen from the air
Honolulu’s airport and its reef runway seen from the air
Photo CreditImage courtesy of © Coolcaesar · CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Island hopping

Each neighbour island has its own airport: Kahului (OGG) on Maui, Līhuʻe (LIH) on Kauaʻi and Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) on Hawaiʻi Island (Hawaiʻi DOT Airports). Hawaiian Airlines flies between the islands.

Pay your fares with a HOLO card: once you have spent the price of a day pass, the rest of the day’s rides cost nothing.

Our advice: on the neighbour islands, book the car with the flight; in busy weeks they run out.

Why it's on our list

  • Arriving
  • On Oʻahu
  • Island hopping

Location

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