First trip to HI / BI - Need 4x4?

[chewie]

Aloha?...I think that's right.

This will be our first time to Hawaii and we will be staying at the KCR II over the 4th of July, for a week. As per recommendations on this bb, we have bought the Hawaii - Revealed book and started reading. We plan to drive all over this island and see all of the sites in the book. But....I have a question.

In the book, it recommends to go with a SUV 4x4. Like a Jeep or something. Is this really necessary? Since we will be doing a lot of driving, would I be doing us a dis-service by trying to be cheap on the rental car? Or, would getting the 4x4 SUV really pay dividends?

Thanks in advance!....and Mahalo????...

 

[DaveNV]

You won't need a 4X4 for any but the most remote roads. And car rental companies don't let you go off-roading in their vehicles anyway. Most roads on the Big Island are paved, and easily passable with regular cars. Save your money.

Dave

 

[LisaRex]

You'll be doing a lot of driving on BI, so I'd recommend booking a comfortable car. This isn't the time to be squeezing 5 in an economy car.

But, no, you don't need a 4 x 4. We rented an intermediate SUV and it was perfect for the 4 of us.

 

[BevL]

The only time a four by four might have been somewhat handy was that road over the lava fields down to the kind of remote beach between Kona and Waikoloa. I can't remember the name of the beach but it's barely a road.

But if you're careful, you can do it in pretty much any car.

Other than that, we didn't feel at all any need for a four by four.

 

[lolibeachgirl]

It depends on just where you want to explore. I always get a Jeep soft top Wrangler because I love to have the top down, but also to have the skid plate and high clearance of a Jeep. If you were thinking about going a couple places where your rental car says you shouldn't be (such as the road down into Waipio Valley or to the top of Mauna Kea) you have to have 4wd so your brakes won't burn up on the way down.

There are a couple cool beaches (found in the blue Revealed book) that you take what starts as a paved road, but has quite a few potholes, and the skid plate and extra clearance can be the difference between finding a sweet spot or wrecking your vacation with a repair bill. I've seen a Mustang convertible on South Point road, but I wouldn't have wanted to have a car that low-not sure if that road is still small stones, then dirt...some of the parking areas for various places are dirt with deep potholes as well.

Big Island is great, I put over 1200 miles on the Jeep in 12 days...my first trip to Hawaii....and I didn't leave anything out LOL! Aloha

 

[MLR]

No 4x4 Needed

We have been to the BI several times - always rent a convertible - 'just because'. Our son rented a Jeep 4x4 and REGRETTED it big time - they are NOT the 4x4's you think of when you imagine a 4x4 - they are wimpy. You can't drive them off road anyway - so why bother? At least the convertible is FUN - wind in your hair (if you have any), etc. But if that doesn't matter, just get a comfy car - you don't want to miss the beautiful drives on the Big Island. Too many to mention. Have fun! We are hoping to go back again in January.

 

[ronandjoan]

Is it only the 2 of you? In that case,a midsized car would be fine. If 4 adults,a full sized would be more comfortable for the back seat riders.

At any rate,be sure to get a 4-door car. Much easier to move items in and out.

Guess how we know how inconvenient a 2door car is?.


Have a great time. You might consider staying one night at a B&B in Volcano. Many of us think that it's worth it to save the driving time. I wanted to spend more time at the volcano than just one day would allow and also it is pretty at night. .

 

[chewie]

It's just me and....the MUCH better half. And we can't wait!

Thanks for all of the ideas on the rental car. I am think that a mid-sized car would work perfect then. After all, what's the difference between a rental car and a 4x4? The rental car can go anywhere!

That was just taken from page 50 of the HI Big Island Revealed book.

 

[chewie]

At any rate,be sure to get a 4-door car. Much easier to move items in and out.

Guess how we know how inconvenient a 2door car is?.

.

Oh my!!! So many naughty thoughts come to mind.

Thank you for the ideas on the car.

 

[lolibeachgirl]

I wasn't saying there was anything wrong with a Mustang convertible, I love them, just was commenting on the difference in ground clearance. And the soft top on a Wrangler IS a convertible:whoopie:

Where the rental car companies say you can't go, and where lots of people go all the time with no issues, are 2 different things. People have to decide for themselves if they want to get someplace they can't see anywhere else in the world, taking a chance that if anything happens to the car while there, you'll be looking at a hefty bill.

There was one beach that I was trying to get to, and had it not been for the skid plate underneath (due to the many large potholes covering the road) I would have lost something necessary to the car still operating If you only plan to go to Hapuna and the Mauna Kea beach, you'll be fine (but get to Mauna Kea early, they stop giving out parking passes very early, after they reach the quota, which I think was 30 back in 2004). But lots of other beaches on this island could be hazardous to a low car.

I'm a little confused about the last comment...why can't the 4x4 go anywhere too?

I will say that a Jeep wranger is not the most plush ride you'll ever be in, but for me, it feels the most local, island-type ride. This may be due to multiple viewings of "Cocktail" where they drive one in Jamaica, mon :rofl:

Whatever you get, have a great time! Aloha

 

[lynne]

Hawaii (Big Island) is one of the few places that a convertible does not make much sense, unless you plan on driving primarily on the west side of the island.

If traveling around the island, there are many different climate zones where you will be pulling over continually to put the convertible top up and then down again. Weather changes come quickly.

We have seen quite a few non-four wheel drive vehicles when we go to the top of Mauna Kea (observatories). If the weather is dry, it is not an issue, but if there is any rain or snow, only a 4x4 will make it to the top. Rental cars can go to the Mauna Kea visitor center without any problems (good paved road).

Enjoy your trip!

 

[lolibeachgirl]

Lynne's right, and the showers come quick and without warning...we were in a store for a couple minutes and when we came back out, it was raining It was better just to have the sides and back off, and leave the top the way it was....that way we got airflow but didn't get soaking wet if it did start raining..plus it kept sunburn to a minimum on long day trips.

 

[ronandjoan]

IGuess how we know how inconvenient a 2door car is?

Here's the story.

We had rented a small car for the 2 of us in 2009 when we were there 3 weeks. It turned out to be a 2 door car.

Then, after I had reserved it, a friend was going to join us for one week. He wanted us to get an upgrade to a Lincoln town car.....but, he wasn;t paying!

He got off the plane and the first words were, Did you get an upgrade? He travels enough so he should have known how hard it is to just suddenly upgrade for NO extra cost.

But...I had forgotten how hard it is for him to get into a car....any car and epecially a small car as he is 270 pounds and has trouble walking and moving, so twisting to get into a car's seat is very hard. (We had been together in Acapulco when he had stayed with us again in a timeshare, and we took taxis around....again, getting in and out was almost impossible for him, since they have VW bugs there!)

But I had forgotten that, until I had to get into the back seat in the 2 door economy car, for a week!....of course, he would have never been able to squeeze into the back seat and I was barely able to, also.....it was actually painful. So....we learned, never get a 2 door economy car!

So, this year, when my BIL and wife were going to join us on the BI for one week of our 6 weeks, I knew I would need a larger car for the week they were there. They would not have been comfortable in the back seat of a small car! So we actually got 2 separate car rental reservations, and after they left we changed to a smaller car for just the 2 of us. Still 4 -door though, just getting groceries in and out, .... I watched the pricing all the time, and actually got a cheaper rate for the larger car for that particular time frame.

 

[DaveNV]

Here's the story.

We had rented a small car for the 2 of us in 2009 when we were there 3 weeks. It turned out to be a 2 door car.

Ah, heck. It was much more fun imagining the whoopie session in the back seat.

Dave

 

[LGinPA]

Hi!
We just returned from the BI staying at KCR II and we loved it there! We love the BI and we saw it all in a large Chrysler 300! There were 4 of us, so you can surely use a smaller car.

I agree that you should get a comfortable mid to large car. No need for a 4x4. If you don't leave the Kona side you will be assured of gorgeous warm weather, very little rain. (We had no rain at all in the week.) But if you add additional nights after your KCR stay at Volcano Village (highly recommended Kilauea Lodge) you will be experiencing rain forest weather. So a convertible would not be as practical.

Book a flight home out of KOA that leaves in the evening so you can finish your circumnavigation of the BI in your comfortable car on your last day after leaving Volcano village. We did this and it worked out very well. All the main roads are in great shape and that upper road (Hi-19) is faster that I was led to believe. So get a nice car with big windows and good A/C.

You will want to rent beach chairs/umbrella at the KCR activities center (Sunday special was 2 chairs/1 umbrellas $30 for the week) and keep it in the sizable trunk with your snorkel gear (KCR rents great snorkel gear, too). You will most likely be driving to the best Kohala area sandy beaches and will need those chairs and shade.

If there's anything you need to know about the KCR II, just ask. Of course there are many here who can also help out, I'm sure. But that would be the subject of another thread.

Enjoy your planning!