We will be on the BI for the week of Nov 10 to 17 and are considering renting a car. Any suggestions, any dos or donts?

www.kayak.com

You don't need 4 WD unless you feel the need to throw money out the window.

Are you a Costco member? I have found their rates to be the best on my last few Hawaii rentals.

You must rent a car on the BI, it is HUGE.

Ditto Ag3046's comment.

we are Costco Members. Can you rent a car from Costco?

What I found when we went last May was that you can negotiate. After checking with discounthawaiicarrental.com for a comparison, I booked with Alamao 3 or 4 different times, each time making a better deal. Of course, you have to remember to cancel the ones made prior.
We found the best deal with Alamo - got the Sebring convertible.

The last deal was a no charge on the second driver since I was a Sam's club member.

I also used the coupons in the Entertainment Book.

One more thing, whichever agency you use, join their club. If nothing else, it keeps you out of a potentially long line at pick up, as they have your paperwork all ready & waiting for you.

Go to the Costco website under Travel then Car Rentals, they partner with the main companies. The Costco discount code will prefill on the car company's site. Then, just have your Costco card with you in Hawaii, although they probably won't ask for it.

Good suggestion to join the rental company's club. You can pre-enter all your info online before you pick up the car, saves lots of time.

I have just one suggestion. Pick any other car rental company besides Hertz, at least at KOA. Over the last 25 years we've rented through Alamo, Dollar, Thrifty, Budget and just about every other company on the island, but our experience with Hertz on this last trip was our first -- and last. We went through Hertz only because it came as part of a package deal at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.

It took nearly two hours to check in to get our car. Every car we looked at on their lot had dents, dings and/or scratches. And two days into our vacation we had to exchange our car for another because the brakes were failing.

We've not run into any of these problems with other rental companies at KOA.

Before you go, buy a copy of the "blue book" for the Big Island, "The Big Island Revealed". It's the best guide book of all. then you will read about the beaches you can drive to IF you have a high-clearance vehicle. They are often gorgeous and uncrowded.

Of course, if you are going to one of the big resorts that has its own beach, etc. you may not need to go anywhere. But sometimes staying there is being in Hawaii and not being there at the same time because they are unrelated to the real place. There's so much to the Big Island that you really will get a better feel for the place if you can drive around.

Charnee