Accommodations and car rental help - Big Island
 

hi guys...
I'm planning to visit Big Island from Oct 26th to Nov 1st with a couple of family members. I needed some guidance / help reg the foll

1. Accommodations - We're looking to stay at a place where we can cook our own food since we're vegetarian . We'd ideally want to stay at the volcano village, hilo and kona for 2 days each. Pls suggest budget accomodation options (we just need a place to sleep and cook food). I heard that 1br / studio condos might be the best option. pls suggest specific locations (if you know any).

2. Rental Car - Would a compact / mid-size suffice (since we're only 3 ppl) or do I need to rent a SUV (based on the road conditions)? We intend to travel and explore most of "must-see" places on the island (we're not into water-based activities). Also, If I pick-up a car at the hilo airport, and return it at kona airport, will be charged the one-way rental fees??

thanks for reading this long post.

You don't need an SUV unless you want to pay for a larger car, or you have an unusual amount of luggage.

Ask the rental companies about their fees. www.kayak.com

I would split the days into 3 on Kona side and 3 on Hilo side. Hilo is only about 45 minutes from Volcano so I would not do 2 days in each. Another possibility is Kapoho in Puna--about 45 minutes from Hilo/ 1 hour from Volcano. http://www.apoparadise.com/ see if the cottage is available. It's pretty inexpensive. And here's another site with places to stay under $100 on the east/Hilo side. http://www.hpvacationrentals.com/55_to_75.html
If you can, check out the farmers market in Hilo on Saturday. Fabulous fresh vegies among other things.

thanks for the recommendations. Any economical condos in the Kona area?

We always stay in south Kona--don't like the crowds etc in Kailua. I have a couple of websites for south Kona. The first is a really inexpensive hotel--Manago Hotel-http://www.managohotel.com/. Of course, you would not have a kitchen but there are inexpensive places to eat in the area. The second website is http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/accom/bivkons.htm We have stayed at the Middle Ke'ei Studio--but she will allow only 2 people to stay. There are other cotttages etc on the site that allow more people, have cooking facilities and are under $100/night.