Not much has changed at KOA…read more Very casual and open aired. Be prepared to walk onto the tarmac either boarding your flight or getting off your flight. Follow your fellow passengers to the exit leading to the baggage claim area, and the rental car island.

This is such a fun airport because it's all open air and tiny. However the down side is, that it's…read moreopen air and you're exposed to the elements. To board your flight, you're usually in a long line, outside in the sun melting, waiting to board. There is some partial shade but everyone is usually hogging it. There is a long wait to get to parking and the rental car areas and given the amount of arrivals, in and out of the airport, you would think they'd add more shuttles but everything here runs on Hawaii time.

Waimea-Kohala is a quaint little airport located a little over a mile outside of the town of…read moreKamuela, on the Big Island of Hawaii. The airport is currently a general aviation airport and is only served by Pacific Wings. The airport itself is at about 2,600 feet above sea level, and is basically in a valley between Mauna Kea and the Kohala mountains. The location makes it cool and windy (bumpy). Back in the early 1970's Hawaiian Airlines with DC-9's. Having taken the ride many times myself, I can say that it was an exciting ride! Today the airport is mostly quiet, which I'm sure most of the locals appreciate. It's not that big of a deal to drive out to Kona to keep things nice and quiet in Kamuela. The facility is in very good shape and well kept - the holding area still has its fireplace - but the old beacon near Hawaii Belt Road is long gone.

Waimea-Kohala. Kamuela Airfield. Small single strip airfield, quiet, chilly most of the time; now…read moredays the air traffic that comes in is either US mail or Air Ambulance... I should know, I fly the mail here ;) Now granted, I'm hardly hanging around the field during "normal" day hours, I know at one point Pacific Wings used to fly into here. I'm not too sure if they still do. Laid back airport, has at least 1 security personal on site, and there is an airport cat that rules the terminal.

This is an outstanding airport - it services 2 flights a day from OGG as well as charter flights…read moreand private planes for Oprah etc. Don't worry if you don't find anyone here when you show up as Mokulele does not have any gate agents here - the pilots will handle checkin and take your luggage. Clean bathrooms and even a vending machine with sodas. I have to subtract 1* because there is zero mobile phone service so you might get stuck here if your flight gets cancelled or need to reach someone. Also note that Hana does not currently have any rental car, taxi or rideshare service so your only options are the Hotel Hana shuttle or Turo. But otherwise it's a wonderful place to catch a flight and avoid that awful drive back to the rest of the island.

In and out to baggage claim easy, trolley to rental car center smooth. I will update on the…read moreoutbound flight this weekend.

I usually have plan B for my car rental, but for this Kona trip I didn't, I did a last minute…read moresearch on Priceline and happen to get a super low rate with Thrifty, but I was hesitant about going with Thrifty since it was my very first time renting from here. I read the positive reviews and just stuck with it, for this rental I will have to pre-pay for the rental ahead, which I don't like to do but just did it to lock in the rate. I saved money for this rental which is always a good thing! I was worried about the pick up & drop off shuttle, I read about the wait for shuttle bus, but I did not encounter any bad experience. Both shuttle drivers were nice and working hard, one of them even add some jokes while he dropped us off . I guess we got to Kona at the right time since there wasn't a long line, just about 3 before me, total wait time was less than 10 mins. The staff that checked us in was nice, I did mention we were in a rush to get to our destination before closing time of 2pm and we got our rental car and info. in 10 mins. No hassle of car insurance and upgrades. We did the car check for damages and the mid-size car we got was great condition, we made it to Captain Cook before 2pm. ( hate flight delays but everything worked out perfectly!) Happy we got to all of our destinations, returning vehicle was quick, We just missed the shuttle but the next one came quick. I am giving Thrifty 5 Stars, you earned it, Thank you!!

I personally would recommend thrifty Rent-A-Car at the Kona airport. There was a slight wait for…read morethe shuttle, but that is not an issue. I found the staff to be very friendly and the processing time was as expected. During the trip, we had a check engine light come on, and when we stopped at the shop, the manager, Melvyn, personally came out to inspect it and assured us that it was not an issue and just a glitch with the specific model of car. He took care of it and we were able to drive off within 15 minutes and had no further issues with the vehicle. Drop off was a breeze and the shuttle back to the airport quick and speedy. I booked the car on Expedia and the price was very good

We booked this through TripAdvisor, which was a very simple process. I had booked the volcano park…read moretour but we didn't get to see the volcano park and they took us to the coast and waterfall instead. Fast forward 2 days and it was perfect out... didn't go those days though. Tried to make the best of it but for $680 I would've rather seen the park. And we got paired with a very annoying couple.

Having never flown in a helicopter, we were excited to experience the big island of Hawaii by air…read more Unfortunately, the day we arrived, the volcano was blowing smoke, making it too difficult to fly over. So, our pilot took us to Mauna Loa and across the island to some of the water falls instead. We got to see the coast line of the Eastern side of Hawaii... all which was absolutely gorgeous. Our pilot shared much history and tid bits about the island which made the trip even more pleasurable. With 5 family members total, the flight was comfy and all seats had great views... even mine, sitting in the middle! This was one of the less expensive tours... and we were quite pleased to have the helicopter for just our family.

Starting my vacation to Hawaii with my girlfriend Doreen…read more Hawaian Airlines OAK to HNL - Flight AS 84 HNK to KOA It was a great flight. All the staff was very sweet and attentive. The captain had us on a smooth ride. The plane is very clean too. Ko Hana Mia Tai Ocean - Organic Vodka Aloha - Orange Pineapple Handmade in Hawaii Granola Bar You must fly Hawaian Airlines for you next vacation.

Ooh yay! We got to check in for an earlier flight. To top that we leave from Gate 12 which must…read morebe a new renovation with lovely AC and sturdier nice seats. You can even charge your phones between some seats. Now fingers crossed we get on this flight and I'd be a super happy flier.i Only draw back is you must climb the ramp up to the plane from the ground as there is no jet bridge at this airport... yet

Rick & Des are good people to work with. They are very flexible & do their best to work with the…read morebusy travel scheduling. Thru also have a location up in Kona side. Mahalo to Hilo Sales & Rentals...!

Fantastic company. Best rental deals I've encountered and genuinely nice and helpful people. We've…read moreused them every year for four years and it's always been above and beyond. Highly recommend

Anytime we rent a vehicle I keep my fingers crossed that it'll be a good experience…read more I can say it was a very smooth process beginning at the counter, selecting the SUV, and returning the SUV a week later. I wish all car rentals were as easy. They even provided a list of recommendations that the locals eat at and shop at. That's ohana.

I was charged $244.93 for a Damage Waiver I never requested on my recent rental in Hawaii. When I…read morecontacted Alamo to resolve it, the representative actually acknowledged there may have been a fault on their end but still refused to issue a refund, hiding behind the signed contract. Here's the thing about that contract, customers sign at the counter in good faith, trusting that what's in the document matches what they asked for. That trust was broken here. Nearly $250 for a product I didn't ask for and wasn't clearly informed about is not a small mistake. And a company that recognizes its own potential fault but still refuses to make it right tells you everything you need to know about how they value their customers. I'd caution anyone renting from Alamo to review every single line of your agreement before signing, because apparently that's the only protection you have. I'll be pursuing this further through my credit card company. Update: After escalating my concern, the regional manager reached out and processed a full refund for the Damage Waiver. I appreciate that they made it right. Raising my rating to 3 stars for the resolution, but I'd still encourage anyone renting here to review every line of your contract before signing.