We highly recommend renting a car for your trip to the big island of Hawai’i, but there are definitely some important things to consider before you book. Check out some of our top recommendations for rental cars.
First, who should you book with? There are dozens of agencies to choose from and truthfully you can’t really go wrong, but we really enjoyed the process with Hertz. We were able to book a few days before our trip for a decent price and Hertz made it very easy for us to select a car and walked us through all of the decisions we would need to make about returning the car (i.e., what time we wanted to return, whether or not we would fill up the tank for them, etc.). There are thousands of tourists to the Hawaiian Islands, and they were more than prepared to get us on our way in a matter of minutes upon arrival from the airport! Renting a car through Hertz on the big island was a breeze. We DID NOT however have a positive experience booking with Turo. We loved the idea of booking with a local agency that supported Hawaiians themselves instead of large corporations, and that is exactly how Turo works! Locals are able to list their cars through this third-party agency (much like Airbnb for cars). We had a booking reserved when suddenly, a few days before our trip, the host cancelled on us without warning, leaving us with choices that were much more expensive which caused us to shift to Hertz. Important information to keep in mind before you book your rental car in Hawai’i!
Once you have figured out who you want to book with, now you need to choose your vehicle! Learn from our mistakes and select a car with four-wheel drive that is relatively high off the ground. There were more than a few times where we found ourselves basically stranded backing out of an unpaved road (NOT UNCOMMON!) because our lovely little car couldn’t clear the rocks in the road or didn’t have enough horsepower to climb up the hill. In some cases, this left us with hour-long walks to the beach or our hiking destination due to the fact that we had to park a distance away from the site. We saw many travelers in similar circumstances, some of which actually ended up damaging the bottom of their cars trying to clear a bumpy road – don’t risk it! While we were walking alongside the road, there were trucks and jeeps flying across the rugged terrain. Of course, do what is best for you and your budget (our tiny car had GREAT gas mileage) but if you are fellow off-roaders, consider getting a high-clearance four-wheel drive vehicle.
Additionally, there are some unfamiliar (at least to me!) driving expectations that islanders seem to have that you should consider while navigating the island. The most surprising thing for us mainlanders was that the highway speed limit can be only a whopping 35mph! Coming from Colorado, where our highways and interstates can be up to 75mph, this was a rude awakening and transition that we did not expect. Once you start driving around, it begins to make sense as you twist and turn through the mountain ranges on the south side of the big island of Hawai’i. Another surprise for us was that there is a yielding culture here, where no matter if a car or person has the right of way, people yield to them. With this said, keep an eye out for turning vehicles and pedestrians and understand that you are now on island time and culture – slow down and let them in! Also, watch out for nenes, boars, lizards, goats, and cats!
Before you jump into your island adventures arguably the most important thing to consider is driving safety given the rapidly changing weather conditions on the island. We were recommended by various locals NOT to drive extensively after dark or too high in the mountains due to frequent rain and low visibility. Naturally, this is exactly what ended up happening! On our way back from Volcano National Park, we got caught after dark, in the mountains, in the MIDDLE of a rainstorm. Provided that we live in Oregon and grew up in crazy-weathered Colorado, we safely navigated the roads back to Kailua-Kona, but we DO NOT recommend it! If the rain or weather gets to be too much and you feel unsafe, it is perfectly acceptable to pull over into a safe area and wait for the storm to pass/lighten – we say plenty of people are doing this in the mountains. Remember, safety for yourself and others should be your primary concern when navigating around the island.
Finally, the last quick little note is keeping the distance between gas stations in mind! If you are traveling all around the island, there is a good chance that you will end up in a surprisingly rural area with no gas station in sight! You may also have no cell service to find one! Luckily, we had an extremely fuel-efficient car, so we did not run into any issues, but there were certainly some close calls especially on the south part of the island! And if you find a gas station, keep in mind while budgeting that there is some extreme variance in gas prices – from $4.50-$6.00 with the higher range being in more rural gas stations! Travel tip: If you are a Costco member, take advantage of the cheap(er) gas prices at their Kona location!
Now that you have some important considerations in mind for renting a car on the big island of Hawai’i, I hope you get to experience all this beautiful state has to offer! Happy travels!
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