| |
 Arnott's
GREAT SAVINGS
"Arnotts Lodge acknowledges
the role that Backpackers and budget travelers have played in the growth of our
company by offering special rates for those that stay with us.
In the case of our Mauna Kea Adventure our $75 guest price is less than half
that charged by other Operators, who all cater to the fancy west side Hotels and
charge $150 a seat and up. Mauna Kea climb uses a lot of fuel and the visitor
center per head fee has recently risen by $4 a head
Even our outside guest price is a bargain compared to competitive
rates
Our non-guest outside prices are based on the prices charged for comparable
adventures by other Tour companies and adventure providers.
Many visitors to the Big Island of Hawaii have found our private
bath units are equal to rooms that cost three to four times as much. We
can offer this by providing excellent rooms with "No Frills" amenities.
If you can do without daily room service, free shampoo, lotion, TV and a mini
bar, you will love our tropical environment where you are surrounded by coconut
trees that actually have coconuts on them, unlike their Big Hotel sanitized cousins !!"
Special
Rates for Arnott's Lodge guests
Sundays
Volcanoes National Park Lava Hike ......................................
$65.00
Mondays:
Mauna Kea Sunset and Starshow ..........................................
$75.00
Tuesdays:
Volcanoes National Park Lava Hike .......................................
$65.00
Wednesdays:
Mauna Kea Sunset and Starshow ...........................................
$75.00
Thursdays
Volcanoes National Park Lava Hike .......................................
$65.00
Fridays:
Mauna Kea Sunset and Starshow ...........................................
$75.00
Saturdays:
Frozen Fire and Waterfalls ........................................................
$60.00
Please note that our prices include applicable
taxes and that our guest rates are among, if not the, lowest
rates for comparable quality adventures. No one else will
reliably get you to the Lava flows as part of any tour. Anyone
else's $75 tour will cost closer to $85 when tax and park entry fees are added.
Mainland
Flights (Continental US.) & Inter Island flights
A protracted
airfare war between Hawaiian,
Aloha and GO
has bankrupted Aloha, actually they bankrupted themselves, but they like to blame
GO.
What this means for you, our guests, is that you now have three choices to get to the Big Island....
Hawaiian,
GO and
Island Air
which flies twin engine prop-jets.
Another casualty of the mainland air carrier turmoil was ATA with its
direct Hilo to Oakland CA. flights.....ATA lost a major military contract and
shut down with little notice.
While ATA caused considerable problems for stranded passengers, the
loss of Aloha, a wretched Airline at best, was barely noticed with
Hawaiian
and GO
adding flights. Best of all we now sleep through the night with their
noisy 30 year old 737's gone.
Also a player on the Inter-Island scene is
Mokulele Airlines
a small interisland carrier that has established an excellent reputation
and is expanding. You might also try our new scenic smaller plane airline
Pacific Wings or
Island Air
which flies from Honolulu to Maui to Hilo and Hilo to Maui. These smaller
airlines while slower on the longer trips are highly scenic as they fly at
moderate altitudes and everyone has a view. Specially for Big Island guests
coming from, or going to Maui, it affords the bonus of spectacular scenery
along the way not seen on Hawaiian or Aloha. As prices on the inter-island
scene are constantly shifting check their website for deals.
Island Hoppers Air Tours
Flight of a Lifetime!
Whenever Lava flows change and we need to do an aerial survey,
Doug Arnott goes up in the Cessna or Piper Aircraft of this small
company which has an excellent safety record. Doug prefers these
slower safer flights, as helicopters are required to fly like regular
aircraft, no hovering and large ground and cloud clearances....so we
recommend this adventure in a reliable fixed wing aircraft.....at a
huge saving. (See Hilo airtour)
The views of the Volcanic vent, glowing skylights in active
Lava tubes and the scenery and waterfalls on the way to and from the
Volcano is spectacular. Island Hoppers is located at the Small Aircraft
facility which is a short taxi hop or bike ride, within a mile and a
half of Arnott's Lodge.We have negotiated SPECIAL RATES for our guests with savings of up to 25%.
- Island Hoppers normal rate is $170+ per person
- Arnott's special guest rate is $120 (approx) as one of three passengers....better yet arrange your own three.
- Note that Helicopter rates are now over $200 !!
- You get the same view in an infinitely safer aircraft at a great price
Please book direct at fly-hawaii.com,
or call 808-329-0018 don't forget to mention "Arnott's" to receive the discount.
Car
Rentals
First word of warning....because of the amount of resident inter-island
travel on weekends DO NOT ASSUME you can breeze into Hilo and just pick up
a car, make this your No.1 priority.....also if you do find yourself stuck,
get creative, many of the local car renters also rent pickups, dumps and cargo vans.
As with the Airline Industry there is constant competitive action in
the Car and Van rental scene.
As of April 2008 we can highly recommend Advance Auto
they have a pickup and drop-off service as they are near, but not at, the Airport
and will also collect you at our Lodge. Advance also has a growing fleet of 15 passenger
vans at reasonable rates for your group or team.
Same goes for Enterprise Car Rentals
who have a good selection of vehicles and a free shuttle to their off airport site. Both these
companies have been giving great rates and excellent service to our guests.
-Beware of "insurance" for 4x4 vehicles allowed to go up Mauna Kea....even
"full" insurance has high deductibles....be warned. We have received many complaints
against Harper's Car Rentals for lack of warning on high deductibles and aggressive
charges in case of even minor damages.
-Several Car Rental companies have free shuttles, we recommend that you patronize
these companies to save yourself a $14 taxi fare.
-Advance,
Enterprise,
Budget,
Hertz,
National and
Thrifty
will all pick you up and drop you off at our Lodge, please use these companies exclusively.
Caution
on renting cars on the Big Island
Due
to our mountainous terrain and narrow roads in some remote
areas, almost all Car rental companies have restrictions
on where their cars may go and remain insured.
Most rental companies ban travel on the Saddle Road (Hghy
200/220) which leads to Mauna Kea Mountain 13,796ft 4200m,
(strictly banned). South Point access road is also banned
by most companies due to it being extremely narrow and
the grass sides hiding large rocks.
We actually began our Mauna Kea Tours 15 years ago, in
response to the number of cars our guests wrecked due to
steep 20% grades and thin air. You also must consider that
all commercial tours have oxygen on board whereas if you
violate your rental contract and go up, you may suffer
Oxygen deprivation and pass out, or a family member may
pass out leaving you to drive and tend to them at the same
time. The summit is remote and there are NO SERVICES.
Some rental companies will rent you a 4x4 cleared
for Mauna Kea and you still have the Oxygen problem. Signage
at the Visitor station at 9000ft (2740m), warns against
taking children under 16 up the remainder of the mountain,
and of potentially life threatening consequences to certain
people with medical conditions or weak systems. These companies
have high deductables even when you take their "full" Loss
damage waiver and we advise caution in renting any 4x4
vehicle.
Some other Rental companies have 4x4s but do not allow
off road or Muana Kea use. Be sure to be specific when
booking your vehicle and when picking it up, some mainland
reservation centers are not fully aware of local restrictions.
While this is a very large Island with a relatively small
population of 140,000 it has only one belt highway, which
apart from occasional passing lanes, is one lane in each
direction. Allow for average speeds point to point of only
45mph (72kmh). Kona to Hilo for instance at 120 miles (193km),
will take a good three hours without much sightseeing.
Copyright © 2004 Arnott's Lodge & Hiking Adventures.
Guests of Arnott's Lodge or Tours and others may freely use pictures or links on this website for non professional purposes.
|
|
