Car Rentals on the Big Island

We think that renting a car in Hawaii is one of the most important things you can do to get the most out of your vacation. Over 80% of the visitors to the Big Island agree and rent a car during their stay.

It is possible to make your way around the Big Island using public transport but it is both more time efficient and convenient to rent a car.

Most of the national car rental agencies have offices at any of the two international airports (ITO – Hilo and KOA – Kona). If you have a clear favorite please go ahead and book with your rental agency of choice. Keep reading if you are willing to shop around to find the best possible deal on your rental car.

1: How to find the best rental deals

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. Book early and use priceline (possibly good savings if you know what you are doing)
4. Rent your car for an extended period (typically only works for 30+ days rental periods)

These points are explained in more detail below.

Get the best price with a local agency

The best way to find a good deal on a Hawaiian car rental is to shop around at the local rental agencies. Besides, why not go local?

Some local agencies have negotiated discounts with the biggest rental car companies which they pass on to their costumers. 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.

The following local booking site offers discount rates on car rentals in the state of Hawai’i. We use them ourselves every time we need an extra car, and have never found better rates:

Go to the Discount Hawaii Car Rental website

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 days car rental might cost $450 the first time you book 4 months before you arrive at Hawaii. Typically, this price will start declining down to say $240 at 1 or 2 weeks before arrival. The last days before arrival, prices can suddenly jump up to ridiculous prices again. We have seen examples where a car that was at its lowest $240 suddenly jumped up the $900 in the last 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.

Book early and play the “Priceline game”

This method can potentially give you the largest savings but should be combined with making an early booking (that can be cancelled for free) as a backup.

Priceline is a website connects customers and car rental agencies via an online bidding system. You can bid whatever you want on a rental car, and if the rental agency accepts, the deal gets ‘locked in’.

• The advantage of this system are the potentially very low prices. 30% to 40% discounts compared to ‘direct’ booking prices are not uncommon.
• The disadvantage is that you are paying upfront and that you can not cancel/change/extend your booking once your bid is accepted. A good rule of thumb is to aim for at least a 30% discount compared to the direct rate to justify this lack of flexibility.

If you use Priceline far in advance it is best to start your bidding low because ‘normal’ prices are expected to drop (except around the really busy periods, in which case you should book early), and once you make a deal using Priceline it cannot be canceled. Prices generally drop once the rental date approaches, but it is possible you won’t find a good enough deal with this service. It is important to already have an early booking that can be cancelled for free so that you don’t find yourself without a car on Hawaii.

Priceline works with many of the large car rental agencies such as Hertz, Budget, National, Avis and Alamo, and the quality of the cars you rent is equal to the ‘normal’ car rentals. Go to the priceline website to give this strategy a shot.

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.

2: Rental Car pickup locations

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 Hawaii go as smooth as possible. Here are the most important pickup locations on the Big Island:

Pickup locations 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 2020 from source):

• Advantage
• Alamo
• Avis
• Budget
• Dollar
• Hertz
• National

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 Mauna Kea 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.

Pickup locations 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:

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

All car rental companies maintain check-in counters away from the arrival and departure terminals and are served by free shuttles. These shuttles stop at the center median located across the street from baggage claim areas A and B (last checked January 2020 at source).

Rental car agencies in Kailua Kona

The rental car offices in Kona are all centered around the Kailua pier at Ali’i drive. This is to facilitate the cruise ship passengers that arrive in Kona at the Pier.

• Thrifty, Hertz and Dollar all have set up shop in the King Kamehamea Hotel (source), across the street from the pier.
• Enterprise has its office a bit further away, 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. The following rentals car agencies have an office in one or more of the resorts:

• Alamo
• Hertz
• National

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.

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

3: Frequently asked questions about Big Island rental cars

We have reserved this space to answer some commonly asked questions about renting a car on the Big Island. At the moment these are the following:

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.

footnote on booking your car with Priceline and Discount Hawaii Car Rentals

We are part of the affiliate programs of discounthawaiicarrental.com and priceline. This means that we receive a small fee for every completed booking we send their way.  This way you can help us cover the costs to host and maintain this website *while* you are booking your trip to paradise.

Read more on our participation with affiliates here.