Car rental question

[DanielP]

Hope,

If your builder guy is reliable, take the deal. Have him drive you to the Hilo airport and pick up a rental there. No-brainer.

Dan

[StillHope]

Thank you,Dan.I don't know if he is reliable and i am thinking closely about it.But depending on Pasha I might need to rent for a week.
Altogether it could be expensive for me.
Anyway,I'd do anything for my furry son,even if I have to be on money diet later[]

[missydog1]

Hope,
I think Daniel has the solution. Negotiate that price to include a ride to the airport. If you drive around the northern route or over the Saddle it's quicker than driving around South Point. Kona airport is small, but when a mainland flight lands it is rather crazy, and more so if a mainland flight is departing around the same timeframe. I would not want to be there with a dog, luggage, and trying to figure out how to get your car. Have you been there? I'm not sure if they let dogs or animals on the shuttle, or if they allow them to ride in rental cars. Maybe someone else can tell you.

I have to say that because I have a serious allergy to dog hair/dander, I would not like getting a rental car that had had a canine riding in it. The people don't vacuum them that well upon return. I would be sneezing and my eyes running and it would ruin my vacation, if I were the next tourist to rent the car -- and I wouldn't know why!

Better and more considerate to get a ride in a private vehicle and then leave dog at the house while you do errands and such, until you get your own car. That is my opinion.

As for the bus, I hear you. People here swear by the bus but I like to go where I'm going directly. Years ago I commuted by bus from Marin County to San Francisco, going to school, but that was because the traffic over the Golden Gate was horrendous. I think buses are great for many situations, but at other times they're a pain. If they run regularly, and on time, and go where you need to go without too many stops, it's pretty great. For someone just arrived with lots of errands to do, I agree you want a car. I was thinking of ONE bus trip to go pick up your rental car.

[Devany]

You can bring your dog (in the crate) on the rental van. But I would take a Taxi to the rental place. One thing we found very helpful was to bring a LOT of tip money for all of the people that help you with luggage and your precious furry cargo. We tipped the curbside baggage person $40 and she walked me through everything and handed me off to a porter inside after the paperwork was completed and fees paid. Keep in mind that this check in process with the dog could take as long as an hour. I tipped the porter who took our animals to their own private check in area where they had to come out of the crates and their crates were scanned. The curbside person took all of our baggage and did not even weigh it and we were allowed to take 2 bags each for free. I was expecting having to pay for the extra bags, but the greased palm took care of that. Once we were on the plane and ready to take off a flight attendant brought me a ticket that said "Your precious pet cargo is onboard and we will be checking on them in flight."

If you have to have help getting to the car rental area tip well and people will help, but the dog will have to be in the container till you get in your rental car. We took our animals out on leash in the terminal while Wes went to get the van. Taking the crate and your luggage, you will have to walk quite a ways to find some grass where he can relieve himself. As long as you keep him very close to you it is OK, but during transport he will need to be in his container.

We shipped two cars with PASHA and they were extremely good at communicating where our car was at various times, sending e-mails. Their schedule was exact and both cars arrived on their scheduled dates and they will hold the car for you for up to 5 days. Again you will need to take a cab or have a friend drive you from the airport to the car pick up location, but it is a very short distance.

Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany

www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com

[Carey]

Stillhope, just bringing back this thread, as it had a lot of great info you could use soon:
http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4026

I also remember reading a post on this forum or another about using a big ice cube rather than water. This allows the animals to lick up water, but not to have water sloshing about the carrier & making a wet area for the animal. Also pet training pads on the carrier bottom will help absorb any accidents (Maybe even line the bottom with a couple of diapers. Soft, absorbant & disposable.)
Good luck on your move.

[DanielP]

Hope,

I would suggest seperating the trip from Kona to Hilo from the car rental. You can get a weekly rate from priceline to pick up and drop off in Hilo. Make sure that the person picking you up has enough room for your crate.

If Mr. Stinky is 75# then I suspect that you have a 500 size carrier at least. That will not fit in most cars.

Mr. Bear has a 700 and I have to tie it on the roof (take rope) of an SUV if I cannot dedicate the whole back to crate storage. Which I can't unless myself, the Mrs, Mr Bear and the luggage all fit in the front seat.

Another tip: Mr. Stinky will probably need to relieve himself and there is NO PLACE at the airport. Drive South (right at the highway) from the airport to Honokohau Harbor. Turn right and drive straight to the ocean. The gravel parking area makes a great pit stop (5 Mins. from the airport). Take baggies!

Non of the rental car companies have ever mentioned a thing about the dog. No worries.

Dan

[kani-lehua]

the big ice cube worked well for all the animals we brought over--6 total (3 dogs and 3 cats)in separate crates. but, that was inter-island. don't know how well it would work on those long flights from the mainland. can't remember what we lined the crates with, might have been newspaper and/or disposable pee pads. toys and a towel were also included for comfort. aloha airlines cargo did a fantastic job we were so relieved to pick up the animals in hilo and find them in very good condition.

back on topic: we rented a van from dollar and had some of the seats removed. renee used to work for dollar and told them that we would be transporting animals. no problem. 6 animals w/crates + 3 adults fit in it.

"chaos reigns within.
reflect, repent and reboot.
order shall return."

microsoft error message with haiku poetry

[StillHope]

Thank you,Kani!
The flight is about 5.5 hours.Non-stop.He should be OK.

[Hotzcatz]

If the drop off fee is excessive, you could always pick up the car in Kona, shuffle dog and luggage to Hilo. Use the car for however many days and then drop it back off in Kona and either have arranged another ride back to Hilo or take the bus back to Hilo.

Are the quarantine folks okay with the dog being shipped into Kona? They are very fussy about importing animals, although, I'm sure by now you are much more aware of the quarantine regulations that most folks.

---

"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson

[DickWilson]

The only airport on BI approved for direct release is Kona. Arrangements must be made in advance with the state for Kona Vet service to perform an inspection at Kona and a permit obtained from the state and affixed to the crate before an animal can be shipped directly to BI. Otherwise the animal must go thru Honolulu then be shipped inter island. Just jumped thru those hoops about 8 months ago for our dog.

dick wilson
"Nothing is idiot proof,because idiots are so ingenious!"