Travelling to Honolulu? Is Charley’s Taxi the best kept secret?

A lot of UK and European based travellers have been visiting Hawaii in recent months, spurred by very good value Mileage or Tier Point runs. Once you get there the cost of being on an island paradise can be high.

One cost that I have noticed is the cab fares. Of course, there is an option to get the bus from the airport to Waikiki – about $2.50 but they won’t take large cases and it takes about an hour. Cabs run $45 or so which is pretty steep. I’ve never tried the shared shuttles, but they are always sitting outside the terminal.

One discovery I did make was Charley’s Taxi

Charley's Taxi

They operate as a normal taxi company most of the time, but offer special, pre-booked transfers to and from the airport for a fixed price, $29. Yeap about 1/2 of the price of a regular cab. Add a tip and you are still quids (or dollars) in!

You need to pre-book via their web site – follow the link above. You receive an email confirmation and on landing you call their centre. They then tell you where the driver will meet you. The location depends on the part of HNL that you exit from and is usually kerb side. My experience is that the cab comes after about 5 minutes – just look for Charley’s on the yellow sign on the roof.

At the hotel they will pick you up at a pre-booked time and have always been there early.

I would recommend them, they usually have four seater people movers with nice air conditioning.