Hilo car rental and one Day Itinerary?

We will be in Hilo for one day from a cruise. From many posts I saw, renting a car at the Hilo Port is easy. How easy? I assume there is a shuttle to the airport.Where do you pick up the shuttle.

Instead of doing a cruise tour the four of us thought about renting a car a driving to Akaka and Rainbow falls, maybe Volcano Park and end up at Richardson Beach. Is this doable from 10am -3PM . Any suggestions.

We will be in Hilo for one day from a cruise. From many posts I saw, renting a car at the Hilo Port is easy. How easy? I assume there is a shuttle to the airport.Where do you pick up the shuttle.

 

Instead of doing a cruise tour the four of us thought about renting a car a driving to Akaka and Rainbow falls, maybe Volcano Park and end up at Richardson Beach. Is this doable from 10am -3PM . Any suggestions.

We’ve done this several times & most recently in January.

Each time Enterprise’s off airport office had the best prices which was a short free shuttle bus from the port to their location on the road to VNP.

We compare various reservation sites including directly from rental car agencies. My best price on each island was through Costco but other people have used Discount Hawaii Car Rental: https://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/

We either go north to Akaka Falls or to VNP but wouldn’t recommend doing both with only 5 hours in Hilo; Rainbow Falls is doable with both destinations.

I haven’t used a tour company but repeatedly read about great tours from Marylou’s if you’d want to explore that option: http://www.marylousbigislandguidedtours.com/

Both are enjoyable day trips although not on the same day & only you can decide which is your best option.

Thank you for the help!

For sure you'll not see any Lava flow (been there a month ago), for that you need to hike for about 8 miles and you have not enough time for that. If the weather is clear, you will see the smoke from the crater (maybe check before you leave the web cam). Don't miss the amazing lava tube.

But with 5 hours it's a very tight call as I guess it's at least one hour for each way from Hilo to Vulcano and back. And if the weather is not great you will not even see the smoke.

We just did this in September. We only hit Volcanoes National Park and a little lunch and shopping as we'd been to the falls before. Easy Peasy.

The sulphuric volcanic steam cloud from lava entering the ocean is unhealthy. When the wind blows it over access routes they block access to the area. Going to the VNP website is essential to learn the current conditions & for closed areas.

Just off the road to VNP is the Mauna Loa macadamia nut visitors center. There was a small description of the process (takes 300 lbs per sq.in of pressure making it the hardest nut shell to crack) & windows to view some of the packing process. Although it’s primarily a place to purchase a wide variety of mac products not available elsewhere. Prices are higher & commonly available products are much cheaper at Longs or Walmart on the road back to Hilo.

No worries; in the moment there is no "Lava entering the ocean" at all.

Rainbow Falls is also worth a stop.

We rented from Avis, picked up at the ship. Just be aware that many Hawaiian businesses move at their own "pace", so you'll need to be patient waiting for the paperwork to get done.

I argree it would be too much to try to do both HVNP and Akaka Falls... I would suggest that start your drive going northbound Akaka Falls first, then work your way back down toward Hilo stopping at the Hawai‘i Botanical Gardens on the way by taking the Pepeekeo Scenic Drive. This first part of the day will give you a sense of how lush this side of the Big Island is... full of waterfalls and tropical plants.

Back in Hilo stop for a photo op at Rainbow Falls, really, no more than 10 minutes, then have a bite to eat... my favorite place is Pineapples on Keawe Street in Hilo (great tropical drinks and sea/farm to table style food). If time permits, check out the Tsunami museum before returning to the ship.

Thanks for the info on the COSTCO connection!;)

Thanks for the info on the COSTCO connection!;)

Hopefully it works as well for you...we’ve used the Hilo Enterprise off-airport site location for under $40 each time.