Getting Around Hawaii: Interisland Flights, TheBus and Skyline, Rental Cars and Taxi Fares

Standing at the curb outside baggage claim with a pile of beach gear, every visitor to Hawaii asks the same thing: how do you get from here to the hotel, and then to everything else? The answer changes with the island. Oahu rewards the traveler who rides the bus and the rail line, while Maui, Kauai and the Big Island are built around the rental car.

How to get between the Hawaiian islands

You fly. No bridge or regular passenger ferry ties the islands together for visitors, so a hop from Oahu to Maui or Kauai means a short flight, and Honolulu is the hub where most of those routes begin or connect.

Five airports take the bulk of visitors: Honolulu on Oahu, Kahului on Maui, Lihue on Kauai, and both Kona and Hilo on the Big Island. Smaller strips on Lanai, Molokai, Kapalua and Hana serve the quieter corners. The Big Island has two main airports on opposite coasts, so think about which side you want to wake up on before you book.

Getting around Oahu without a car

Oahu is the one island where Honolulu and Waikiki work comfortably without wheels, thanks to TheBus and the Skyline rail line. Buses fan out across the island, and the train glides above the traffic on the way west of downtown.

TheBus and the HOLO card

A single adult ride on TheBus costs $3.25 in cash, paid at every boarding, and drivers carry no change, so bring exact bills and coins. Cash rides do not include transfers, which adds up quickly over a day of beach hopping.

A HOLO card, which costs $2.00 for the card itself, is the wiser choice. An adult ride then becomes a $3.00 pass good for two hours on both TheBus and Skyline, and once you have spent $7.50 in a day, the rest of that day’s rides are free. A 3-day pass runs $20.00 and a 7-day pass $45.00, which suits a week based in Waikiki.

Skyline, the rail line

You can ride Skyline between 4:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., which is when the final full trip begins, and trains arrive every 10 minutes up to 8:30 p.m., then every 15 minutes from then on. Unlike the bus, it takes only a HOLO card, so pick one up before you head to the platform.

Transfers between the train and TheBus are free for 2 hours from your first paid tap. That makes it easy to ride the rail for the long stretch and finish the trip on a bus line, without paying twice.

Do you need a car in Hawaii?

It depends on the island. You can get by without a car on Oahu if you stay around Honolulu and Waikiki, but on Maui, the Big Island and Kauai, attractions lie far apart and county buses are limited, so most visitors rent a car.

Think about the shape of your days. A drive to a distant beach, a trailhead before sunrise or a lunch at a roadside stand is simple with your own car and awkward without one. On those three islands, a car turns a scattered map into an easy itinerary.

Renting also carries a state surcharge tax of $7.50 per day, or part of a day, charged to the rental company since January 1, 2026. It applies to peer-to-peer car sharing as well, so expect it to show up somewhere in the cost of your rental.

Public transportation on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island

Public buses exist on all three islands, but they are a patient traveler’s option rather than a way to see everything. They link towns and a few airport stops, and they suit someone with a flexible schedule and light luggage.

Maui, from Kahului Airport

Maui Bus has two lines that pull up in front of the Kahului terminal: Route 40, the Upcountry Islander, and Route 35, the Haiku Islander. Both routes have buses that come roughly every 90 minutes, as Route 40 runs from 6:00 a.m. until 10:11 p.m. and Route 35 runs from 5:30 a.m. until 9:40 p.m.

They head up into the cooler slopes and the green windward side rather than to the resort beaches, so they suit people staying in those areas. You won’t have any transfers, and you can take only one medium bag, no bigger than 22 by 14 by 9 inches, which must stay under the seat or on your lap. Resort-bound travelers will want a different plan.

Kauai and the Big Island

On Kauai, two county bus routes stop daily in the median in front of the Lihue terminal. The county bus runs along the coast from Kekaha in the west to Hanalei in the north, which covers a good slice of the island’s populated shoreline.

On the Big Island, distances between Kona, Hilo and the volcano are long and the sights are far apart, so this is the island where travelers lean hardest on a car or a taxi. Use the bus on Kauai for simple town-to-town hops, and expect to plan around the timetable rather than around spontaneity.

Taxi fares in Hawaii

Taxis are a practical choice for short airport runs, and the airports on Maui, the Big Island and Kauai post estimated fares as a guide rather than a guarantee. The meter on Maui charges $3.00 per mile, and taxis line up out front of baggage claim.

At Kona, cabs are lined up at the curb outside baggage claim A and B. The fares climb steeply as the resorts get farther up the Kohala coast, and a ride all the way across the island is a serious expense.

Good to know before you go

Because Hawaii stays on standard time year-round, summer adds an hour to the separation from the mainland, a point to remember when arranging a call home or planning a flight connection. Keep small bills handy for the bus, since drivers cannot make change. The Central Pacific hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, so check the forecast if you travel in those months.