Transportation to wedding site

mauidandy

I remember a discussion we had months ago about transportation...but I guess I didn't pay attention since I wasn't that far ahead with my planning yet.I want to provide transportation for my 35-50 guests to and from Olowalu. Everyone is staying at The Westin. I just got a quote from a company called Akina-  2 mini-buses would hold 25 people each.....and cost me $1400!! Holy geez. I feel like it might cost the same just for everyone to take a taxi out there. It's only 15-20 min away! Anyone have any luck with other companies on trolley, van or bus rentals?

kaesha

Nope. It's expensive - though I think I got a 1200$ quote from someone. Frankly, we figured people can cab or carpool - a lot of our guests didn't want to be tied down to the bus schedule!

carrieoz_76

Akina was the only place I found that is regularly used, and it was too spendy for us. We're just going to encourage ppl to carpool.

SkyyBC

Personally, I don't think the guest shuttles are worth the hefty price tag they carry.  I called two shuttle operators on Maui to inquire about round trip transport from the Ka'anapali area to Olowalu and the cheapest I was quoted was along the lines of $1,000.  The shuttles are certainly a nice touch if you can squeeze them into the budget, but we just couldn't make it fit.  And the people I have mentioned it to have just said, "Oh, no big deal.  We'll jsut ride togather or get cabs or something.  We don't need that."  Maybe they are just being nice when they say that and they are secretly really disappointed we won't have a shuttle, but I seriously doubt it.  I mean, when you go to any wedding at home, you normally have to drive, so this is no different.    We have about 50 guests, so they will just carpool in their rental cars to get to Olowalu for the wedding.  We have also called and inquired about cabs in case some of our guests get hammered (which is actually totally fine with me, since we splurged for an open bar...and I want people to have fun, and well, you know, alcohol=fun!) and need a safe ride home.  We put my FI's brother in charge of this.  The cab co. we called (I can get the name of it later for you if you want) will charge $35 to pick people up from Olowalu and drop them back off at the hotels.  The vans hold six people, so I figured once you divide the $35 among six people that is the cheapest, and safest route to go.  The only caveat is that the cabs prefer a 30 minute lead time to get there when we need them.  And again, that's why we put FI's brother in charge of this task...so we don't have to be worrying about it when we are partying it up.  Oh, and I also asked my wedding coordinator about leaving cars at Olowalu if need be.  She informed me that as long as the cars are picked up by 10 a.m. the next day, they can just stay there overnight.  No big deal.  So, long story shot, the carpool/cab combo is the way we're going!

carrieoz_76

Skyy - would you mind sharing the cab company with the van's name? If you'd rather send it by email, would you mind sending it to me at carrieoz_76 at yahoo dot com? Thanks!

mauidandy

I would like the cab company contact info too! akurys at cvic.com. Thanks! I guess that's probably what I'll need to do as well....

maui2011

We plan to shuttle our guests (approx. 28) to/from Olowalu.  It is costly no doubt but ppl may not feel comfortable driving especially at night and i'm not sure how reliable cabs are.  To get the most out of it i plan to have the shuttles pick our guests up at each hotel/condo depending on what side of the island their staying on...i want them to work for the 2 hr min. Kelsey is also shuttling her guests i believe...i think she's using Travel Plaza Transporation...I'm sure she'll give us the details in her vendor reviews. J. :-)

burichan

We are actually hiring two shuttles. Many of our guests are staying in Waikiki when we are getting married on the north shore. I can't bring myself to have them drive 40-60min there and back especially after a night of drinking. My FI didn't want it but I pushed it because I just wanted everyone to be safe.I'm pretty sure I would NOT be doing this if the majority of my guests were 10-15 minutes away, but an hour away I just thought was too much for people who have never been there. Also, the North Shore roads are one lane and there are so many things that go wrong.

kaesha

IF you go with cabs, make SURE you know where they're going. Our cab (from Ka'anapali Taxi) never showed up for our grand exit, and two of our guests' cabs had no idea where the place was.

BoBride28

I'm going with Travel Plaza Transportation and I know Kelsey is too. I've heard good things about them from other knotties. I would contact them for a quote and I'm pretty sure it will be cheaper than what you were quoted from Akina. I personally think its easier to just have a shuttle there waiting for everyone rather than dealing with cabs that might not show up or might not know where to go. Plus there is something fun about everyone heading over to the wedding locale together and then still having that party excitement as they head home at night.

pbkmom

We are using Maui Executive Shuttle. They charge $157.60/hour with a two hour minimum for their 25 passenger mini bus. They are located in the area so you don't have a lot of barn time. Everyone else was much higher because you tacked on 1 1/2 - 2 hours of travel time coming from Kihei or Kahului.I did not want to pay for two vehicles. Some of us will have cars so we will go down earlier with the girls. Then we have the shuttle booked for the first two hours from 2-4. The groom and attendants and a few family members will take the first shuttle and then the remaining 25 will come in the second run. We do have about 50 total, so that means about 15 will drive. On the way back, we will have one shuttle at 9:15 for the grandparents and some of the older ones who hopefully will be tired after 6 hours there! The last shuttle will be at 10 and we will have the rest in cars. The idea is that at least all the young people will not have to drive and can enjoy themselves. I believe the taxis with tip are going to be at least $40 each way and 6 is pretty crammed in for adults. It is a good twenty minute drive down from Kaanapali each way as you have to drive through Lahaina. Say you need 8 taxis for 40 people (5 per minivan + driver).. 10 of them take cars.... at $80 round trip, that comes to $640. You can get the shuttle for the same price

mauidandy

Thanks!!! That is a much more reasonable price.