On Big Island, you need a car in order to get to most of the interesting beaches, parks or other attractions, or to travel from the Kona coast to the Hilo coast. Places like the green or black sand beaches, or the Mauna Kea summit and astronomical observatories are only accessible by four-wheel drive. Note that car rentals tend to book months in advance, depending on the season. If the major rental companies in Kona or Hilo are fully booked, you can still hope to find a used car to rent via Craigslist. These are older cars, most with dings or other cosmetic blemishes, but they don't make you look like a tourist.
If you only plan to stay around one town, you can also rent a moped or bike. See Hawaii for moped/scooter regulations.
Getting around by local bus, bikes, or on foot work well if you're staying in one area. Many budget travelers are unpleasantly surprised by the extremely limited public transport on the Big Island. The county's Hele-On bus is free, but the schedules are mainly intended for commuting .
There are some bus companies offering excursions from Hilo to destinations like Volcano, but they require reservations.
Hitchhiking is extremely easy & convenient on the Big Island. As most places are near the Mamalahoa Highway, you're never too far from a good hitching spot. As traffic generally flows from the Hilo side to resorts of Waikoloa Resorts in the morning, you can easily make it to the beaches without waking up at by 5:45 to catch the Hele-On bus. As a large amount of locals take the spirit of Aloha seriously, hitching is the best way to travel for free throughout the Island. It's not just the usual crowd of young people picking up hitchers either, I've been picked up by families, grandmas, and even the mayor of Honoka'a! As a note, the district of Kau in the south of the island is very sparsely populated with low traffic levels, so hitching isn't near as good here as it is on the northern half of island.
If you're thinking about renting a Jeep, Alamo doesn't disable the four wheel drive option in their Jeeps as some other rental agencies do. However, keep in mind that you are violating the rental contract by driving on "unpaved roads" (let alone some of the four wheel drive only roads). As long as you are careful and sensible about it though, you'll be fine. Just keep in mind that you are "on your own" if you get in trouble while violating the rental agreement. If you're going to violate the rental contract by driving on unpaved roads, you have less of a chance of getting stuck if you have the ability to shift to four wheel drive.
Harper Rentals has four wheel drive vehicles that are allowed by contract to drive on unpaved roads. You will pay more for that right.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Big Island
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Big Island - updated May 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount Big Island hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
Big Island Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
