Car Rental Chaos - Never Again Hertz in Waikiki

After two days without a vehicle and enjoying beach and snorkeling life at Waikiki Beach, we set off early to pick up our booked car at Hertz. We had a reservation for 9 AM. Upon arriving at the Hertz location, we found a crowd of people already waiting outside. It quickly became clear that we needed to join a line for those who had booked cars with Hertz, Thrifty, or Dollar. Three counters were staffed, and everything moved very, very slowly, following the Hawaiian motto 'Hang Loose'. But the customers were also sluggish. Many Japanese tourists vacation in Hawaii because it's a short flight for them. And primarily young Japanese seem to have no idea what to do; they look at their phones more than what’s important at the moment... Issues like expired licenses and seemingly endless debates due to unprepared requests from the customers’ side were simply frustrating.

In the end, we waited over an hour to collect our paperwork at the counter. After that, we had to go to a parking garage in the basement of the building and wait again. This time, until we could receive the assigned vehicle.

After more than an hour and a half, we finally hit the road. We have never experienced such disorganization at a car rental agency before.

Anyway, on we go: Our journey today took us on a little sightseeing round in the southeast of Oahu. We passed by Hanauma Bay, which unfortunately is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (if you can afford it...). But that’s not such a big deal, after all they charge not only for parking but also an entry fee of 25 Euro per person. That’s quite a lot of money...

We continued on and checked out Koko Crater. We had considered whether to tackle the arduous path of over 1000 steps for the supposedly beautiful view. However, we decided against it because the path follows an old railway line with worn-out ties and tracks, which looked exhausting from the YouTube videos, and the sun was blazing... So, we skipped that and continued on our tour.

Next stop was Makapu’u Beach, highly recommended by Hillary. Indeed, it was super beautiful there. The blue sea and rocks, the bright sunny blue sky...

Next, we headed to Kailua. Here too, a beautiful beach just like you would imagine.

To ensure we had a 'highlight,' my husband was adamant about hiking up to the Lanikai Pillbox. It’s a bunker complex located at the mountain peak. The path is challenging and requires good stability since it's sandy and the stones have been smoothed out by many visitors. I don’t really know why I always have to tag along... but somehow it's nice to have accomplished it. And the view is truly breathtaking. To the right, the sea with small islands and to the left, the so-called Palis mountains, whose slopes are special because they bear deep grooves and are covered with vegetation all the way up to their jagged peaks.

Next destination: Nu’uanu Pali Lookout. Here again, a stunning view both to the right and to the left.

The last stop before we headed back home for the day was the Tantalus Lookout over Honolulu. From there, one could beautifully see the full extent of Diamond Head in Waikiki. Simply fantastic.

The final activity for the day was a visit to the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu. We wanted to see if we could find a local Hawaiian shirt. And indeed, they had some options...;-). We found a small store called 'Two Palms' that exclusively stocked Hawaiian shirts in various colors and patterns. At first, we were really overwhelmed by the selection. In the end, however, we each got a nice, authentic Hawaiian shirt. Mission accomplished! Mahalo, Two Palms Shop