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Glad you mentioned South Point on the Big Island - the southernmost point in the US - about the same latitude as Havana. Great place to get away from it all. The day that we were there, it was just a few fishermen and some kids diving off the boat ladder.
The road out there is a bit rough, and is one lane in places, but I drove there in a Monte Carlo with no problems.
What's with these rental-car companies that they don't want people to go here or on the Saddle Road? In a way I can see their point about South Point for the reasons that I mentioned, but the Saddle Road? Unless it's a holdover from the days that the road was unimproved, I don't get it. One local said that the road was unsafe, but that was from the point of view that some of the people driving on the road created a hazard. Guess he's never driven in southern California. There were some military exercises going on one time that we went over, but no problem.
i volunteered up the mountain once a week, so i had to drive saddle road constantly. the road from Hilo to the Mauna Kea access road at Pu'u Huluhulu was great. it's constant turns, hilly, wet and dangerous in that way, but the road quality was fine. now the rest of the way, or from Waimea to the access road is a different story. it was awful. huge chunks missing and going missing everyday. completely blind hills and turns while still remaining bumpy like a washboard. This is WITH all the constant turns and hills but with a horrible road. now they are always improving it. it's great at first, but it doesn't take very long for the weather and military trucks to tear it up to where it's dangerous again. also, i think they ban people from driving it because it's access to the mountain. driving up to the VIS isn't so bad, but beyond that, it's pretty intense. from working up there i can vouche that normal people drive like loons on saddle road and esspecially on the actual mountain road. also, i'm sure you know how everyone drives in the middle of the road and barely moves over at all, if not at the last moment, when someone approaches them from the opposite direction. basically, crappy road or not, saddle road would be a lot safer if people didn't drive like jerks.
Why visit 4 or even 2 islands? People visiting other states don't try to visit every part so they can check off a list, so why do it in Hawaii?
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