Rental cars

I just wanted to share something that has helped me tremendously when booking a rental car. It’s all about timing. The best time to call and make a rental reservation is about an hour after the rental office has opened. This is because usually there will be cancellations and you will be able to find great deals. I’ve discovered that you can usually get the best deals by calling the agency directly than by booking online.

We needed a rental car last minute while on vacation last month. I decided to call the local agency directly, Enterprise and was able to score a roomy full size truck – with lots of cargo space and plenty of room for us for the price of a compact car. This was all due in part to a last minute cancellation. It worked out great and they were able to pick us up and even had car seats available at no extra charge. Remember it’s all about timing!!!!

With regards to car seats, you can typically rent them for a daily nominal fee. While in Hawaii, we were fortunate to be loaned two seats by some of our extended Hawaiian family. There are compact, travel car seats available, like this Eddie Bauer one at Amazon. In another post, I’ll explain how easy it is to maneuver a double stroller at the airport right onto your plane.

Hawaii: Part 1 – The Dole Plantation


One of our first outings while on vacation in Oahu last month was a visit to the Dole Pineapple Plantation in Wahiawa. We packed the two kiddos in our rental truck (it was the same price as a compact but with more room!) and headed north for our little adventure. It’s a beautiful and scenic 40 minute drive from Waikiki on Kamehameha hwy. My two year old had a great time enjoying the beautiful rainbows we saw along the way.


It’s a great place to visit, especially if you have little ones. The first thing we did once we arrived was head to the Pineapple Express. It’s a 20 minute train ride that takes you on a narrated tour of the plantation. The kiddos were in love and so was I. It was a fun little train ride and the views were amazing. We learned all about pineapples and how they are grown. The tour was a lot of fun and it’s a must do if you visit the plantation.

Once we managed to pull the kids away from the train we moved on to the plantation’s free garden tour. It’s a self guided tour of the gardens which showcase the different types of crops that are grown in the North Shore of Oahu. We had a great time on the tours but really when you visit the Dole Pineapple Plantation what you really want to do is eat some yummy pineapple. We stopped at their snack shop and had a tasty Dole whip, some fresh cut pineapple and a pineapple float. We were in pineapple heaven!!! We had such a great time and if you are heading to Oahu with your little ones make sure that you make this one of your pit stops. You won’t regret it!!!

World Famous Pinapple Split

Dole Plantation-64-1550 Kamehameha Highway, Wahiawa, HI 96786
Visitors Center/Plantation Garden Tour – 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily
Pineapple Express 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily

Visiting Dole Plantation is free.

Pineapple Express Train Adults – $7.75,
Children – $5.75
Plantation Garden Tour Adults – $4.00,
Children – $3.25

Oh, almost forgot- children under 4 are FREE!!!!