Big Island Car Rental: Local Agencies, Tips and Best Rates

Renting a car on the Big Island is not optional for most visitors. The island is roughly the size of Connecticut, public bus service is sparse and not designed around tourist stops, and rideshares are expensive relative to what a rental costs per day. Without a car, you are either confined to a small radius around your hotel or spending significantly more on tours and transfers to cover the same ground.

The good news: the rental car shortage that drove prices up sharply in 2021 and 2022 has largely resolved. Rates are more predictable now, and if you book through a local aggregator rather than directly with a national chain, you can often skip prepayment requirements and cancellation fees entirely.

This guide covers where to pick up your car in Hilo and on the Kona coast, which vehicle type most visitors actually need, and the one rebooking strategy that routinely shaves $100 or more off the final price.

A quick summary: the best way to find a good deal on a rental car on our island is to book early and preferably through a local rental agency (like this one).

Frequently asked questions about renting a car on the Big Island

To save you some time we have compiled a few frequently asked questions about car rentals below. All questions below are answered in our guide, but now you don’t need to read our whole guide to find an answer to your question!

Please drop us a line if you have another question about renting a car on the Big Island that is currently not answered on this page.

Do You Need a 4WD or SUV on the Big Island?

Most of the Big Island’s paved road network is in good condition, and a standard compact or mid-size car gets you to the vast majority of destinations without any issue. Three places are the exception:

Destination: Green Sand Beach (Papakōlea)

• What you need: Any car (hike from South Point)
• Notes: All rental companies prohibit driving the unpaved track to the beach itself. Park at the end of South Point Road and hike 2.7 miles each way.

Read more about visiting in our green sand beach visitor guide.

Destination: Maunakea summit (13,796 ft)

• What you need: 4WD required above the visitor center.
• Notes: All rental cars can reach the Onizuka Visitor Center (9,200 ft). The road above it requires 4WD. Big Island Jeep Rentals is currently the only rental company that permits summit access (4-day minimum rental).

If the Maunakea summit is on your list and you want to drive yourself, book Big Island Jeep Rentals and plan your stay around their 4-day minimum. If the minimum doesn’t work for your schedule, a stargazing tour is the practical alternative.

Destination: Waipiʻo Valley floor

• What you need: Not accessible by rental car
• Notes: The road into the valley averages a 25% grade. All rental companies prohibit it. Tours with appropriate vehicles are the only visitor option.

How to Find a Cheap Car Rental on the Big Island

The price of a rental car depends on many factors. The two most important things that influence price are [1] availability and [2] how soon you need a rental car.

As for the time of booking the most important tip we can give you is the following: book early if you are going to be on the Big Island during popular events such as the Ironman triathlon (mid-October) or the Merrie Monarch Festival (mid-April). Christmas is also a notorious period if it comes to renting a car.

We recommend the following strategies to get the best price:

1. Our best tip: book at a local car rental agency (lower prices for almost everyone)
2. Book early and update your booking when prices drop (also good results but more work)
3. Rent your car for an extended period (typically only works for 30+ days rental periods)
4. Car insurance on the Big Island

These points are explained in more detail below.

1: Go local for the best price (no prepayment, no cancellation fees)

The best way to find a good deal often is to check with the bigger local booking sites as they pre-negotiate discounts for their customers with all major rental car companies that serve Hawaiʻi (Budget, Alamo, Enterprise, etc.). You can get especially good rates if you are willing to be flexible about the exact details of the make and model of your car.

We love the following local booking site for their discount rates on car rentals in the state of Hawaiʻi.

2: Book early and wait for lower prices

One strategy to get a good deal on a rental car is to book early at the local rental agency mentioned above, and then to check back in at a later time to look for lower prices. About 6 weeks before your departure is a good time to try to find a better deal. For this strategy to work it is important to make your first reservation with an agency that allows cancellations without a penalty.

For example, a mid-sized, 8-day car rental might cost $450 when booked 4 months out. Typically, this price will start declining down to say $240 at 1 or 2 weeks before arrival. The last days before arrival prices can spike dramatically, sometimes tripling within 48 hours of arrival. We have seen examples where a car that was at its lowest $240 jumped to $900 in the last few days before arrival.

Using this method can potentially save you a couple of hundreds of dollars but does require that you invest extra time in booking and re-booking. It works best for people that like to plan ahead.

3: Better prices for long term car rentals

If you are staying for more than 30 days and want to rent a car on the Big Island, have a look at e.g. island discount rentals (only in Hilo). This company rents out  used cars and offers very competitive prices on longer term rentals.

4: Car rental insurance on the Big Island

Most major credit cards offer some form of rental car insurance when you decline the rental company’s CDW and pay for the rental in full with that card. Coverage details vary widely: Visa and Mastercard typically offer secondary coverage (after your personal auto insurance pays), while cards like Chase Sapphire Reserve offer primary coverage, meaning your own policy isn’t touched.

The CDW offered here at the counter typically runs $15–30/day, which adds up quickly on a week-long rental. Check your credit card’s benefits guide before you arrive, not at the counter when the clock is running. If your card offers primary coverage, declining the CDW is usually the right call. If it’s secondary, the calculus depends on your personal auto deductible.

Note: credit card rental coverage typically excludes certain vehicle types (large SUVs, trucks, and 4WD vehicles in some cases) and off-road damage, which aligns with the rental contract restrictions that already apply on the Big Island.

Rental Car Pickup Locations: Hilo and Kona

Convenience and price are important things to pay attention to when renting a car. Knowing that the pickup location of your rental car is close to your point of arrival often gives the peace of mind that the start (and end) of your time on Hawaiʻi go as smooth as possible. Here are the most important pickup locations on the Big Island:

Where to pick up your car in Hilo

Getting to your rental car in Hilo is straightforward whether you arrive by airplane or by cruise ship. The following seven rental car companies are represented at the Hilo Airport (last checked January 2026 from source):

• Alamo
• Avis
• Budget
• Dollar
• Hertz
• National
• Thrifty
• Enterprise

Pickup locations: the offices of all these agencies are located on the side of the road opposite to the arrival and departure terminal. Harper’s and Enterprise are not represented at the airport, but offer a shuttle service. Especially Harper’s might be of interest for you if you are looking to rent a 4WD car that can take you to the MaunaKea summit.

There is no public bus service to or from Hilo airport. If you don’t have a rental car your transport from the airport would have to be either by taxi or personal pick up. Hilo International Airport (ITO) is located on the edge of Hilo, about 3 miles east of the downtown area.

Where to pick up your car on the Kona coast

Getting your rental car near Kailua Kona is easiest directly at the airport. You can find the check-in counters for all major car rental companies directly across the street from the luggage claim.

You can find more offices of rental car agencies in the town of Kona at the King Kamehameha hotel (important for people arriving by cruise ship) and scattered through the resorts on the north Kona / Kohala coast (important for people staying at the resorts that only want to rent a car for a few days of their stay).

You can find more information on what rental car agencies can be found at different locations along the Kona coast (in Kona, at the airport, and at the resorts) below.

Rental car agencies at the Kona International Airport (KOA)

Kona International Airport is located about 8 miles north of Kailua-Kona and 19 miles south of the Kohala resorts. The rental car agencies servicing the Kona airport are (last checked May 2026 from source):

• Alamo
• Avis
• Budget/Payless
• Dollar
• Enterprise
• Hertz
• National
• Thrifty

The rental car facility at KOA is not attached to the terminal. After collecting your bags, cross the street toward the center median between baggage claim areas A and B. Shuttles for all rental companies stop there. Expect a 5–10 minute wait during peak arrival times.

Rental car agencies in Kailua Kona

The rental car offices in Kona are within a short walk of the Kailua pier area on Aliʻi Drive, convenient for cruise passengers. Enterprise operates slightly further away at 74-5583 Luhia Street, about a 20-minute walk (1 mile) from the pier.

• Enterprise has an office at a 20 minute (1 mile) walk from the pier (at 74-5583 Luhia Street).

Rental car agencies at the Kona and Waikoloa resorts

North of Kona, at 19 miles north of the airport, you can find the Waikoloa resorts. For guests staying at the Waikoloa resort area, picking up at a resort office saves the 19-mile drive from KOA and the shuttle wait. Rates are sometimes slightly higher at resort locations, so compare before booking.

The following rentals car agencies have an office in one or more of the resorts:

• Alamo
• Hertz
• National
• Go rentals has an office at the Kona Village, a rosewood Resort, just north of the Kona airport.

At 27 miles from the airport (32 from Kona) there is an Enterprise office that services the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel.

South of Kona, there is a Hertz office at the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay.

Driving etiquette on the Big Island

“Drive with aloha” is the best advice we can give people when they ask if driving on Hawaiʻi is different. Be considerate, drive slowly in residential neighborhoods and take your time.

Driving etiquette on the Big Island differs from the mainland in a few ways. Locals frequently wave to let other drivers merge, a four-way stop is often treated as a courtesy exchange rather than a strict right-of-way sequence, and pulling over to let faster drivers pass on two-lane roads is standard practice on routes like Saddle Road and Highway 19. In residential neighborhoods along the Puna coast and in Hilo, speeds are genuinely slow and that is intentional.

Leave time, do not rush, and you will be fine.

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We are part of the affiliate program of Discount Hawaii Car Rentals, meaning that we receive a small fee for every completed booking we send their way at no extra cost to you. We recommend them because we think they are the best at what they do, and being part of their program helps us cover the costs to update, host, and maintain this website as a bonus.

Read more on our participation with affiliates here.