The island of Hawaii has gotten its nickname for a reason. The Big Island is almost twice as big as all other Hawaiian Islands combined! If you want to be in control of your own transport, there are two options to navigate around the Big Island if you are there for vacation: renting a car or taking the (free) public bus.

You can also choose to fly into the Kona Airport (KOA)  or Hilo Airport (ITO) and use taxi's, the ride share taxi program or rent a bike to get around town. Using taxi's for trips around the Island is very expensive, guided tours are the cheaper alternative. However this will take away a great deal of flexibility from your schedule and result in a less action-packed vacation that would be possible with your own (motorized) transport.

Free Public Transport

The cheapest but most time consuming way to get around the Big Island is the (free!) public bus (Hele-on-Bus). It will get you everywhere you want to be, but the drives are long and infrequent - most of the times only early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

More information and Hele-On bus schedules

Shared ride taxi program

In the Hilo and Kona area it is possible to use a flexible shared ride taxi program for as little as $2 per ride.  Note that Travel is limited to 9 miles with the shared taxi ride program.

Taxi coupons have to be ordered ahead by mail in quantities of 5 or 15 coupons, and a copy of your ID is required. See the shared taxi ride information page of Hawai'i county for more information.

Rent a car

Renting a car is a good investment to make if you want to get the most out of your time on Hawaii, and the Big Island especially! Public transport (See above) is not as efficient as on O'ahu, and some of the best Big Island attractions are far away and difficult to get to without your own transport.

In addition, most rental car agencies forbid taking their cars to some places (such as the summit of Mauna Kea for stargazing or to Green Sand Beach). Check out our Rent-a-Car article for the best deals and good tips on choosing the rental car that fits your expectations.