Questions about flying to the Big Island and ground transportation?

[terces]

I would appreciate any tips for travel to the Big Island and ground transportation. First of all, which is the closest airport to Kingsland? Once we get there, probably in the middle of the night, what is the best transportation from the airport? We will be there for two weeks and would like to explore some, but not necessary to have a car all of the time. Any suggestions for car rental, whether a person should have one for the full time period, and any other tips? We will also need to shop for groceries initially. Is Uber readily available?

 

[frank808]

I would appreciate any tips for travel to the Big Island and ground transportation. First of all, which is the closest airport to Kingsland? Once we get there, probably in the middle of the night, what is the best transportation from the airport? We will be there for two weeks and would like to explore some, but not necessary to have a car all of the time. Any suggestions for car rental, whether a person should have one for the full time period, and any other tips? We will also need to shop for groceries initially. Is Uber readily available?

Kona (KOA) would be the closest airport. You might want to have a car as everything is pretty far away from Waikaloa. Unless you plan to stay at the resort most of the time, you will need one. Might just want to rent a car for the first week that you are exploring and picking up groceries and supplies. I don't k how how prevalent Uber or Lyft is on that side of the island.

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[Luanne]

I agree about having a car. You won't see much more than just the Waikoloa resort area without one.

 

[JIMinNC]

I can't imagine visiting the Big Island without a car. They call it the Big Island for a reason. If I'm not mistaken, I believe cab fare from the Kona airport to Waikoloa is $50-$60 each way. I would recommend renting a car. We always use Budget because we have the FastBreak service, which streamlines pickup. Without FastBreak, Budget lines can be very long.

 

[tompalm]

Definitely rent a car for the first week and have another reserved for the second week. A two week rental may not cost a lot more than a one week rental, so check that price out and go for the two weeks if the price is right.

 

[dayooper]

If you are Costco members, their car rental service is great! We have used them to get the best price we have found. You also get an additional driver at no charge.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Reserve a cancellable reservation and then track on Autoslash.com to see if you can get a better rate with a brand you trust. In our situation, Autoslash has never been the cheapest at first but always comes back in time with a better rate because it tracks flash sales and discounts. If you find a better rate on Autoslash/Priceline, don't forget to track that new rate so you keep ratcheting down the price.

 

[geist1223]

Having traveled to the BI several times I hardily endorse having a rental car. The cheapest gas by a lot is Costco.

 

[Sandy VDH]

Agree with all previous comments. Get a Car. Unless you only plan on sitting by the pool, but I can't image you have flown all the way to Hawaii to do that.

 

[bizaro86]

I would get a car for sure. I would also recommend NOT using the budget on the Big Island. We had a large group with multiple cars from different places (budget, hertz, and alamo). The Budget people were by far the last to arrive at the resort. Even with fastbreak it took over 2 hours to get a car, as they had run out. They got a subcompact instead of the full size they reserved, and had to drive back the next day if they wanted something bigger, which still wasn't the size they reserved. No apology or discount.

 

[JIMinNC]

I would get a car for sure. I would also recommend NOT using the budget on the Big Island. We had a large group with multiple cars from different places (budget, hertz, and alamo). The Budget people were by far the last to arrive at the resort. Even with fastbreak it took over 2 hours to get a car, as they had run out. They got a subcompact instead of the full size they reserved, and had to drive back the next day if they wanted something bigger, which still wasn't the size they reserved. No apology or discount.

I agree I would never use Budget in Hawaii without FastBreak, as the non-FastBreak waits appeared to be awful, but Fastbreak worked incredibly well for us during our trip earlier this year. We rented convertibles from Budget on Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island in late Feb/early March, and with FastBreak the longest we had to wait in line for our vehicle was less than five minutes. Each time the paperwork was already ready when I stepped up to the counter, and after a quick license check, we were on our way, keys in hand to the car waiting in a spot right outside.

 

[bizaro86]

I agree I would never use Budget in Hawaii without FastBreak, as the non-FastBreak waits appeared to be awful, but Fastbreak worked incredibly well for us during our trip earlier this year. We rented convertibles from Budget on Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island in late Feb/early March, and with FastBreak the longest we had to wait in line for our vehicle was less than five minutes. Each time the paperwork was already ready when I stepped up to the counter, and after a quick license check, we were on our way, keys in hand to the car waiting in a spot right outside.

My relatives had fastbreak, but the budget was completely out of cars. It wasn't even that, it was the complete lack of care or apology when I went back with them to swap out the unsuitable car the next day, and waited again...

 

[JIMinNC]

My relatives had fastbreak, but the budget was completely out of cars. It wasn't even that, it was the complete lack of care or apology when I went back with them to swap out the unsuitable car the next day, and waited again...

That would certainly be irritating. I wasn't doubting your bad experience, but just wanted to post another set of data points on our multiple good experiences with Budget FastBreak in Hawaii. As always, YMMV.

 

[rabmsn]

I usually rent from Hertz at the Kona (KOA) airport because I use their program that has a car waiting for me. It can cost a little more, but can be worth it to avoid the long waits that others above have described.

When I have rented from other companies at KOA, one of the "tricks" I used is to leave my wife to collect our bags while I take the shuttle to get the car and beat some of the line. It's then a short drive (less than a mile) back to pick her up.

As car rental rates can change daily (if not hourly) one more thing I recommend is to use www.autoslash.com to automatically track for price changes on a car rental reservation once you've made one. I use the service regularly and frequently get notifications that have save me hundreds of dollars.

 

[jmann]

Get a car...the aor port is small and car rental is close. Then be sure to attend your concierge appt. They will give you a map and point out all the must see places and stops. We always drive around the island...beautiful and you'll have a great x.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

Groceries. How many are we? I usually get non-fish meat at Costco, but their packages may be too big for you.

I buy the initial main groceries at KTA in Kona. There is one at Waikoloa Village, but I prefer the stock at Kona.

Bring some reusable bags. It will save money.

Also check the farmers markets. Not cheaper but can be better produce. (No guarantees on that.)

Check this link - https://www.lovebigisland.com/activities-to-do/ and look for Farmers Markets. The other portions may be helpful as well.

Mahalo, and enjoy your trip.

 

[brp]

Reserve a cancellable reservation and then track on Autoslash.com to see if you can get a better rate with a brand you trust. In our situation, Autoslash has never been the cheapest at first but always comes back in time with a better rate because it tracks flash sales and discounts. If you find a better rate on Autoslash/Priceline, don't forget to track that new rate so you keep ratcheting down the price.

This is quite simply the best advice in this thread (no offense to anyone else ). autoslash.com is the best thing since the invention of the interwebs. I've typically found the autoslash recommended rates to be abou the best at the time, especially some of the "pay now with autoslash" options. Even though these are paid up front, they are fully cancellable should they find something better for you.

We currently have a 5-day rental in KOA for $140. Given that a bunch of that is the fixed airport taxes and fees, the per-day is not bad, although I now don't see it on the reservation. This is a mid-size as there are 4 of us. Smaller cars (which we usually use) are even less. This is end of May so, who knows, it may go down more

But, yes, you need a car. Walking all around Waikoloa (Kings/Queens marketplace, Hilton hotel) is easy. Beyond that (and you will want to go beyond that) needs a car.

Cheers.

 

[CanuckTravlr]

Absolutely agree with everyone else. We have never stayed at WBR without a car. There is just so much to see and do on the Big Island. And you are quite a way from the airport, so the savings from not taking a taxi to and from WBR offsets a good portion of the car rental cost anyway.

We always use Hertz. As a Hertz Gold member we love arriving at the airport agency and our name and car location is up on the board. No waiting in line, just walk from the shuttle to the car, load in the luggage and check-out at the exit to confirm the rental. We can even change cars if we see something we like better and they just change the documents at the exit kiosk. Very quick and easy.

 

[Nomad420]

Totally agree with the multiple posts above about the need for a car. But if you cannot or must not drive I can provide the name of a excellent service that I use. Obviously compared to rental this won't be cheap but very good and dependable. Post back if you decide to go that path. Uber is basically non existent on the Big Island BTW.

 

[pacman]

It would be silly to not rent a car on the Big Island. The BI is all about exploring a little bit. The other thing I would very highly recommend is buy a guide book. We use BIG ISLAND REVEALED, but I'm sure there are other good ones. We just got back from Waikoloa yesterday (Kingsland and Ocean Towers). We rented from Budget, and actually only had to wait in line about 10 minutes (we have had to wait almost an hour other times), through Costco. We paid under $300 for 11 days.

 

[terces]

Thanks for all the great replies. It's amazing to be able to go in to a holiday prepared to hit the ground running!

 

[Tamaradarann]

Thanks for all the great replies. It's amazing to be able to go in to a holiday prepared to hit the ground running!

It would be silly to not rent a car on the Big Island. The BI is all about exploring a little bit. The other thing I would very highly recommend is buy a guide book. We use BIG ISLAND REVEALED, but I'm sure there are other good ones. We just got back from Waikoloa yesterday (Kingsland and Ocean Towers). We rented from Budget, and actually only had to wait in line about 10 minutes (we have had to wait almost an hour other times), through Costco. We paid under $300 for 11 days.

 

[Tamaradarann]

That is a great rent a car rate. However, if you are staying at the Waikoloa Beach Hotel or timeshare there is a $30 or so parking rate. Therefore, the $300 for 11 days becomes $630 for 11 days. That is NOT a good rate!

 

[TDub1313]

Slightly OT, but is there a place that shows parking fees for all of the BI resorts? The previous point is well made. Parking can be quite expensive in addition to renting the car.

 

[JIMinNC]

That is a great rent a car rate. However, if you are staying at the Waikoloa Beach Hotel or timeshare there is a $30 or so parking rate. Therefore, the $300 for 11 days becomes $630 for 11 days. That is NOT a good rate!

Slightly OT, but is there a place that shows parking fees for all of the BI resorts? The previous point is well made. Parking can be quite expensive in addition to renting the car.

The only parking fees at any of the Hilton resorts on the Big Island are at the Hilton Waikoloa Hotel and HGVC Ocean Tower. HGVC Kings Land, HGVC Kohala Suites, and HGVC Bay Club all have free parking. If you only stay at the hotel or Ocean Tower for a few nights, the fees aren't a big deal in the scheme of things.