Hello:

First, thanks to all who responded to a prior post concerning our HI trip planning. The Fodorite input has been invaluable thus far!

We are now solidifying some details for our visit, and I would be grateful for additional input.

We will be traveling to the Big Island for 9 days, arriving May 26th into Kona (around noon) and then driving to the East side of the island. We’ll be staying on the East side for 2 nights. We rented a small house in the Kona area for the next 6 nights, and will depart from KOA on June 3rd. Our tentative plans include the Hilo area (e.g., waterfalls), VNP, Kona (e.g., Captain Cook monument for hiking and snorkeling) and Kohala (beaches), Hiwa, and perhaps some sites around the Southpoint (e.g., Green sand beach). Activities will include kayaking, hiking, snorkeling, visiting cultural sites, dining out, enjoying tropical drinks in the sun, eating ice cream, taking in sunsets…and just hanging out. We hadn’t necessarily considered Mauna Kea observatory, but after reading all the positive posts, perhaps we should. A couple of specific questions that have arisen include:

1) Car rentals: I have read a variety of perspectives regarding car rentals. Living in CA, we are accustomed to very high gas prices, so that is somewhat less of an issue in terms of 4WD. But, will a 4WD or jeep be necessary or helpful given our itinerary? Will we be limited as to where we can go (other than the Saddle Rd, officially) if we rent from companies other than Harpers?

2) If we do decide to visit Mauna Kea, should we attempt the drive ourselves, or will a tour be preferable? We are not tour people, but it seems there may be some advantages to a tour in this case.

3) For our two nights on the East side of the island, should we stay in Hilo or VNP? We would like to do the night hike in VNP, but Hilo sounds beautiful, as do many sites in the areas. We would prefer not to change hotels for only two nights. Any thoughts, or specific recommendations about lodging (e.g., B&Bs) in these areas?

Thanks so much for your input!

IF you haven't already booked your flight, try to fly into HILO and depart from Kona to save your having to drive from Kona to east side of island on arrival.

Not sure why you think you have to rent car from Harper?? There are many to choices and their cars will go everywhere that you want to go [except MAuan KEa] I don't know what the difference in cost is, that might be a factor.

Debi

Thanks for your input Debi. We got a good fare, and unfortunately, arriving/departing from different airports wouldn't have been an option.

Regarding Harper, it's actually MORE expensive. But, I wasn't sure how restrictive contracts are with the other vendors - e.g., no unpaved roads? Or only no Mauna Kea? And also, whether we should include Mauna Kea as a target, etc.

Thanks again for your insight!

You need to weigh the cost of driving one day up to Mauna Kea and paying a higher daily rate for everyday you rent, vs. a lower rate and going on a tour, which may be easier on you.

Soemthing to think about.

There is always controversy on whether you can drive on Saddle Road or other unpaved, unimproved roads in a rental car [HI or other states]. Our contract from Hertz specifically stated we could not drive on Saddle road in 10/06.

Since you have to drive from from Kona to Hilo and back, I would suggest driving around the north side of the island to Hilo and the south side back to Kona. The north side is about 1:50 minutes, south about 4:00.

I'd stay at VNP. We've done it both ways and preferred staying at VNP. The drive down to Hilo is fairly short and we just enjoyed the charm of the VNP area. Also, since you're already at VNP, you'll save a bit of time when you start back to Kona (assuming you go down south). I'd recommend the Kilauea Lodge.

I've never heard of Harpers? Are you saying they don't mind that you drive on Saddle Back? If you do though, be careful. Lot's of my friends on that island say the drive can be dangerous for newbies. The curves, but especially the hills, as you're blind going up some of them (due to steepness).

No idea about Mauna Kea. Never did that one.

Hi, vanessa. We stayed 10 nights on the Big Island last fall and loved it. We ended up renting our car through Hawaiian Discount Car Rentals and got a good rate. We did not have a 4-wheel drive.

I would stay at VNP. It's not a long drive to Hilo when you want to drive there. We did the night hike back from the lava. It was incredible.

We drove the southern route to VNP and the northern route from VNP to Kohala area.

You can click on my name to find my trip report from Oct/Nov 2006.

Have fun planning!

I would say that 4WD isn't needed unless you want to get to some of the most remote beaches (which you would have a hard time finding anyway). For your interests, a standard car should be fine.

You might find the small towns on the north side interesting; they are slowly coming back after the sugar plantations closed; hiking down to the valley at the end of the north road (name escapes me now) was a highlight.

I would vote for staying in Volcano area over Hilo. We stayed at Carsons Cottages there, which had very nice grounds.

Thanks to all. We reserved a small house in Volcano (hopefully as beautiful as it looks: www.halemahinui.com) for our first two nights, and we will be renting a non-4wd-car for the duration. We'll save Mauna Kea for another trip, or, perhaps we'll take a tour.

Travelinandgolfin, Harper is apparently the only agency that allows travel (officially) on the Saddle Road (www.harpershawaii.com). They have 4WD vehicles, and their rates are substantially higher than other agencies.

I can't wait for the trip! Thanks again for everyone's help!