Saddle Road-Big Island
 

Has any one that has been to the Big Island driven on the saddle road? That is the main thing that my husband wants to do there. The problem is we can't find a rental company that will permit you driving their cars there. Any suggestions ???

None of the rental car companies will allow you to drive on the Saddle Road. What is it your husband wants to do that requires driving on it? If you want to go up to the summit of Mauna Kea, you can go with a small tour van; you'd probably be more comfortable doing that anyway. And there are lots of ways to get across the island without using the Saddle Road. Having said that - I do know of people who drove across it despite signing a contract that said they wouldn't. I'm not sure what the consequences were, and there may not even have been any; I wouldn't chance it myself, however.

We drove over the saddle road twice when we were there - once when going up Mauna Kea and once at night, on our way back from the volcano. We rented from Alamo, and they didn't have anything in their contract specifically about the saddle road, and they didn't say anything when we took the car (and we didn't ask). The contract did say we couldn't take the car on unpaved roads, but the saddle road is paved the whole way. The road up to Mauna Kea past the visitor's center is unpaved, but there was nothing on the saddle road that seemed worse than any other road we drove on...<BR><BR>Driving on the saddle road at night was pretty neat. The stars were incredible, and the road runs through some weird military test range. We saw them doing night maneuvers in huge trucks with bright lights - it was pretty freaky, actually. I was sure we were being abducted by aliens :).<BR><BR>Make sure that the rental agencies are forbidding you from driving on the saddle road specifically, and not just the road to the top of Mauna Kea.

I've driven the Saddle Road 10 or 12 times. It has great views of Mauna Kea and if you don't get stuck behind an Army convoy (maybe 25% of the time), you can make great time on it. It's a well-paved road and I've never understood why some companies don't want you to use it.

I have driven it as a short cut many times also, fully aware that the rental company forbides it. But they would only find out if you broke down and wanted them to tow you. I have heard it is outlawed because it is so isolated and that any tow company would charge so much to come and get you. If you do it, you are on your own in other words.<BR>Your contract wouldn't be valid for a complaint. Same on the back side of Maui.

We just returned from the Big Island and we rented from Alamo and drove the Saddle Road without problem. It was the only thing my husband specifically said he wanted to do, too. The road is paved and not that difficult to drive. We have worse roads in Michigan that are major highways! The sites on the Saddle Road are worth the drive, I think.