Folks,

I'm trying to decide if it makes sense to rent a car during a 5 night stay at Hualalai... The two options are:

1.) Rent a car at KOA on arrival, return on departure with the flexibility to basically do whatever whenever. Incurs $20/day valet at the FS and about $600 for the car for the week for the vehicle I'd prefer.

2.) Take the FS coordinated taxi at $37 per way transfer and not deal with the hassle of rental, bags, etc upon arrival or departure. Then rent a car as needed from the Hertz desk on property for about $125 per day all in...

First time to the big island. So wondering what you all would recommend. When in Maui, I used the car probably 2 or 4 days to head to the helicopter tour, do a little shopping, and eat off site once or twice. Generally though I prefer dinners on property whenever I am traveling to avoid any issues with driving after drinking. FS Maui was nice in that there were plenty of restaurants within the distance that the hotel would provide a complementary shuttle ride. I am getting the feeling Hualalai is a bit remote for that.

Anyways, your thoughts are much appreciated!