Which car rental companies allow travel on Saddle Back Road?

Hello,

Is there any car rental company other than Harper that rents 4-wheel drive vehicles and allows renters to drive past Mauna Kea Visitor Center? And on other unpaved roads? There are some great sightseeing opportunities that we would like to take advantage of next January, but my search has only turned up a very high quote from Harper. Thanks for your help.

Which car rental companies allow travel on Saddle Back Road?

Aloha, Guests of mine just showed me their contract with Dollar and the contract states that you can drive Saddle Road... I was so surprised.. most contracts say you can not drive this road and all say you can not go on roads that are not paved (even if you are renting a jeep). I will caution you that there is repair going on that is very drastic by that I mean big areas are missing.... Where the repair is not going on the road is narrow, bumpy, windy and has holes.. oh and no shoulder in many places. I am guessing you are thinking of going to the observatory?

Which car rental companies allow travel on Saddle Back Road?

you say you want to drive past the observatory, so you mean the summit, right?

First, driving to the summit and driving ';other unpaved roads'; may be apples and oranges. Only one company maintains its 4WD vehicles to the standards you need to drive down from the summit. The brake linings and gears must be in first rate shape or you could die. People have died in other rentals.

Second, this is not a drive for everyone. It scares quite a few people. There are looong drops over the sides onto lava with no guardrails and the surface is cinder in parts, meaning you can skid out on the turns and over the edge. The downhill is the worst. You will be oxygen deprived which is not the best for driving. So think carefully.

Now for other roads that are unpaved, some of them require a vehicle with more lift than the rentals on the island, which are basically toy Jeeps as far as what I see. They are not true off road vehicles for the roads of this island.

Lastly there%26#39;s the issue of private roads. Like the road to Green Sand Beach, which you should not drive because it%26#39;s trespassing unless you get permission. AND people get stuck there.

There are some other unpaved roads that any vehicle could drive; it%26#39;s just a question of whether the rental company allows. You just need to be more specific about what you want to do in order to select the right vehicle and the right company.

Thank you, we are in the early stages of planning, and yes, the road to Green Sands Beach was one that we had in mind. I will look into getting permission to drive there, unless you have suggestions on who to contact? Which car rental company are you referring to that maintains their vehicles properly for the drive up to the summit? I certainly do not want to put my family in any danger. We have had some mountain driving experience, including the Alps, so we are prepared for the anxiety and caution required, but appreciate your advice and input. Thanks!

Please explain to me why on earth you would risk a car, your family and possibly your life to see green sand!? There is so much else to see and do. Yes you will pay to risk the life of your family. I would not and I LOVE the island.

sorry, Harper%26#39;s is the one rental for Mauna Kea.

They don%26#39;t allow the Green Sand.

You cannot get permission to drive to Green Sands. There are locals who have permission. The rest of us have to walk once we get to the parking lot.

As mentioned only Harpers permits driving higher than the visitor center, they have vehicles with 4 WD and more importantly, a tranny with a low range. I don%26#39;t know about extra clearance, I saw one of their rentals that was the same as our F250 at home.

There was a thread on here about three years ago listing which car rental companies banned driving on Saddle, as I recall it was about half.

Alamo is one that has allowed it for years, [';paved roads only';, except for the construction area, it%26#39;s paved all the way to the VC], as of a couple months ago Hertz still did not. We noticed a mid size with a four cylinder engine started running a little on the hot side with only two people in the car going from Saddle Road to the visitor center, while a full size car with a six cylinder and four people did not. However, even in low gear I had to use the brake more coming down with the full size and four us.

If you go to the VC, it%26#39;s just a short walk to where the Silver Swords are growing. A nice hike [suggested by a ranger] is to cross the road and follow the path up the mound to your left. From the top the whole saddle is visible for some great pictures. Both times we were up there it was around 9 AM and the clouds were just starting to roll in beneath us, beautiful.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful and polite comments. What a pleasure!

I live in Ka`u where Papakolea green sand beach is. Comments about it are pretty accurate. You aren%26#39;t supposed to drive out there. An added thought is that the hike can actually be the highlight for many people, so consider it just for the hike with the green as a bonus.

onyxlal, I am sorry I missed the part about you going beyond the visitors center... As a person who has I can tell you that imho it is not worth it. You can not go into the telescopes, the view is not better and most likely all or most of you will get headaches from the altitude ...however the visitors center is well worth the trip.

Green Sand beach is a wonderful hike and my children did it when they were about 9 years of age... bring lots of water. We always go to the Punalu%26#39;u bakery after the hike, one of their favorites.

I have always thought there were a very high proportion of thoughtful comments on here, just some were not preceded or concluded by the ';have a nice day'; comments.

I did a search for ';green sand'; in this forum (GASP!)

and here are some fairly germane and recent threads, with posts from island residents and from people who went there.

SEARCHING has been controversial in this forum. People who are told to search have sometimes gotten all huffy and thenpeople who like to pile on have bemoaned the ';lack of aloha'; in telling people to search.

BUT takke a look at the links. You will notice these have more detailed info...a big reason to search in general is that busy people my not pour out all they know in every post!

Have a safe and fun trip.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29217-i268-k15537鈥?/a>

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60872-i269-k24965鈥?/a>

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60872-i269-k16613鈥?/a>

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29217-i268-k99068鈥?/a>

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29217-i268-k15706鈥?/a>

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29217-i268-k66184鈥?/a>

Searching is a great way to all the details!