How long does it take.

Renting a car in Hilo, what time can I expect to be on the road to VNP. Thinking about doing a hiking tour and need to be there by 10am. We dock at 8am

I can't tell you from experience yet but we booked a tour that will be taking us through Volcanoes National Park, Akaka Falls, Rainbow Macademia Nut Farm, and a black sand beach and were quoted that the tour is 6.5 hours. So if I had to wager a guess, probably easily under an hour.

Get on the first shuttle to the car place...about a 10 min. drive to airport... from the airport to the front gate at VNP it is about a 45 min drive...

Chuck

Where is the best place to rent a car.

Well, there are probably 15 good answers to that question!

I use Avis at the Hilo airport. They are always on time for a pick-up at the pier. Some rental places do not offer a shuttle service to the pier...so be sure and check.

Avis does NOT have a return shuttle to the pier until 2:30pm or later.

Who ever you use though....be sure and reserve as early as possible. Most places do not have that many cars available on a normal day. Throw a cruise ship in the mix, and that eats up a lot of cars!

Also advise the company that you are on the POAm ( I guess you are on that ship), and request a pier pick-up at 8am.

Discount Hawaii Car Rental is a broker that deals with the major rental agencies in Hawaii and you might save some money using them vs. booking directly with the agency. They are reputable and often recommended here.

We had an Avis rental on the BI (booked through DHCR) and our experience was positive too.

In this link, Avis is Brand 2 - if you click on the link it will take you to Avis' website, and a discount code will be included.

If you're a Costco member, you might get an even better deal booking through Costco Travel (on line), but as Chuck mentions, you'll want to let the rental agency know that you'll need a pick up at the pier.

The location code is ITO.

Are you thinking of doing the Kilauea Iki hike? If so, and if you're concerned about getting to a meeting spot at VNP for 10 a.m., it's a hike that's easy to do on your own - you can get a trail guide for $2. at the visitor's centre. Here's the pdf version.

I also agree go to Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/

Book ahead of time. I booked 3 months out and my rental was around $30 for the day. Someone else booked a few days before arriving and the cost was over $100 for the same car I had. The various car rental companies send shuttles back and forth to the pier, so depending on the timing, if you just missed the shuttle, you could be waiting 15 minutes for your shuttle. The driver checks the reservation list. If your name isn't on it, and if they're sold out, they won't allow you on their shuttle. The reason being why give you a free ride to the airport only for you to scout out another car rental company and take your business there. There might be some drivers who allow you to board, depends if their company is sold out or not.

Its about a 5 minute drive to the airport. There was no one in line when we arrived so it just took a few minutes to check in. It was about a 30 to 40 minute drive to VNP. We stopped for a coffee before leaving Hilo, so your estimate of arriving there by 10am is doable.

It's not just cruise passengers who rent cars, or even, crews! Almost every land traveler will get a rental car!!

Renting a car in Hilo, what time can I expect to be on the road to VNP. Thinking about doing a hiking tour and need to be there by 10am. We dock at 8am

We just got back from the POA cruise (awesome!) and we rented a car in Hilo. They are pretty quick to start letting passengers off the ship. We actually waited until about 8:30am to disembark, AFTER the crowds. We got on a shuttle without any problems, and were in our car by 9am. You can easily get to VNP by 10am by renting a car.

And like others have said, go through Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. Easy, fast and cheapest rates around. We went through Budget in Maui, Hilo and Kauai and Thrifty on Oahu...all through Discount Hawaii Car rentals.

The rental counters in Hilo are tiny little desks right outside the airport. The shuttle will pick you up outside the cruise ship and drop you right by the desks. Since we waited until 8:30am, we didn't have to wait in line at the desk either!