girardin

My husband and I are planning a two week trip to Hawaii - one week on Big Island and one week on Kauai. Our first week will be on the Big Island. We would like to stay 5 nights in Kona and 2 nights near VNP. Then we will fly to Kauai for a week. Anyone who has done this, could you please tell me how you arranged your flights and car rental. I was thinking of flying into Kona and flying out of Hilo to Kauai. The car rental places charge almost double to pick up the car in Kona and drop it off in Hilo but to drive back to Kona is a waste of over 2 hours of our vacation. Any help with this plan would be appreciated.

Travel_Glutton

We did something similar with Dollar last week and didn't get charged any extra. I just checked on their site and price was the same for Kona pick-up/ Hilo drop-off as it was if you pikced up and dropped off to the same location.

Have a great trip!

www.bezlu.com

GBC

We recently visited Kona for five nights and Volcano for three, departing from Hilo, so very similar to your plan. We rented an intermediate size car from National at a total cost of $290 - no extra insurance included. At the time, I priced Budget @ $311 and Dollar @$296.

I did rent from Alamo on one of the other islands. They seem to be the biggest in Hawaii. The car was OK but the paperwork delay at the pick up was very long. I got Alamo thru Pricline. It was cheaper but not worth the delay.

Our flights were on Hawaiian Airlines, booked on the website. Also no problems.

Hilo is about 45 minutes from Volcano so its very handy.

nancythenice

We did your exact route a couple of summers ago - and I don't recall paying extra to drop the car in Hilo. Lots of flights out of the Hilo airport too. Maybe you just need to check around for other car rental options. We stayed in a cabin the volcano village and loved it. A totally different climate and within striking distance of Hilo.

Samsaf

One thing to think about is if you start off on the Kona side for 5 days, then drive the southern route to Hilo side. Then on the way back, you could drive the northern route back to Kona.

We did this, and thought both ways (southern and northern) were beautiful. On the southern route, drive the road down to South Point (make sure it's okay on your car rental agreement). You drive down to a certain point and have to park the walk, but in my opinion, it was well worth it.

On the northern route, there are lots of places with beautiful views to stop ("The Big Island Revealed" book lists lots of places.

Happy planning!

Marginal

The "Kona side" is often used to describe the entire west side of the island, not just the town of Kailua-Kona.

If you are looking to stay on that side, you should also be looking at the resort area in Kohala, as well as in Kona proper.

olesouthernbelle

We did the same route & used Alamo booked through Sam's Club. I spoke to three different people & got a better price/negotiations each time. The last one being 2nd driver 'free', if I recall. Car rental agents seem to have a large leeway in negotiations - esp. if you can quote a better price with a competitor OR just ask what their best deal is - they are the ones who told me about using the Sam'b club connection for benefits.
Also, the Entertainment Book (now on sale $15, free shipping) has coupons for all the rental agencies).

Joining the rental 'club' cuts down on the wait time for obtaining your car.