Approaching the City
The county of Hawaii's airports are Hilo International and Kona International. There are frequent inter-island flights by Aloha Airlines, Island Air, Pacific Wings and Hawaiian Airlines, as well as flights to major U.S. cities; daily direct flights from Tokyo are available. Four hotels are located within a five mile radius of the Hilo airport. A major highway system encircles the island of Hawaii, and driving time from the Kona International Airport to Hilo is about two hours and fifteen minutes. State Highway 19 approaches Hilo from the north and State Highway 11 approaches from the south. State Highway 200 runs west into the interior of the island.
Traveling in the City
The island of Hawaii has more than 1,450 miles of highways. Since the area surrounding the city of Hilo is large, a rental car may be preferable to depending on taxi service. Major streets in Hilo include Kinoole St. and Kilauea Avenue, which run northwest to southeast, and Waianuenue Avenue, which runs east and west. Bayfront Highway follows the coastline and scenic Banyan Drive curves around the major resort area. County bus service is provided by "Hele-On." The Hawaii County Mass Transit Agency offers a Shared Ride Taxi program which provides inexpensive door to door transportation in the cities of Hilo and Kona.
