My fiancée and I will be off to our honeymoon after our wedding in September, and I managed to convince her that we should take the fabled Road to Hana one early morning to take in some scenery and, of course, the driving experience! We already have some little rental convertible reserved, but what I'd really like to do is get an M3 or 335i convertible. I've looked around the internet a bit, and there certainly seem to be options available, but they all seem rather fly-by-night. I figured it might be worth checking to see if any club members have had any luck with renting BMWs in Hawaii. Any recommendations for or against? We'd be looking to rent for a single day. Fingers crossed, Rick
This past April, when I couldn't find a decent BMW rental on Maui, I rented an Audi A4 convertible from Hertz. It turned out to be just the thing for the Road to Hana. It was solid, handled well, and had adequate brakes. The convertible was perfect for seeing more of the scenery and foliage, smelling the flowers, and listening to the wildlife. I believe the additional power and better handling of an M3 or 335i would not make an appreciable difference for this trip. The Hana highway is a decent road, but can be rough in spots. The sharp turns, blind corners, switchbacks, and one-lane bridges will keep your speed well below the yee-hah threshold most of the time. In fact, if you try to take the turns in a "spirited" manner, not only can it be dangerous, but motion sickness may become a factor, at least for your passengers if not yourself. Whatever you do, don't be tempted to rent a Jeep. On more than one occasion, when we passed a Jeep stopped on the side of the road while its occupants enjoyed the scenery, we heard them call, "Wanna trade cars?" as we went by. Of course, it was easy to hear them since we had the top down. If you have more than a day, you may want to raise your excitement level (and your blood pressure) by driving the coast road around West Maui. It starts as a very lovely and smooth road and then once past the Blowhole, morphs into a cliff-hanging, narrow, sometimes rough, sometimes one-lane road, but the scenery is exceptional---at least for the passengers, since the driver is forced to concentrate on staying on what there is of the road and looking for oncoming traffic. (When that happens, someone is going to back up a way.) It will get your heart rate up to aerobic levels. Don't forget to stop at Julia's for excellent banana bread. Best wishes on your upcoming nuptuals. Have a great trip.
The Aloha Toy Store rental exotics, not sure about an M3, however you can get a Z3, Ferrari, Maserati, Corvette and more. Try alohatoystore.com