This is an amazing way to see the island!! Very reliable truck and super nice camping equipment provided. Woke up to ocean waves and jungle every morning. Saved a lot of our budget by buying local fish and fruit and the grocery stores and cooking, plus making our own local coffee in the morning. What a life.
This rental was true freedom to explore at a similar cost to a regular car or truck rental— which if you’re like us, you probably are having trouble finding availability for already. Camping costs a fraction of what a hotel would be per night, too.
Great people and great communication with the rental. We felt very taken care of.
Ultimately I am giving 4.5⭐️ overall only because the costs associated were not clear enough in the beginning. As soon as we got into the truck we knew it was worth it, but the entire package wasn’t clear enough at the outset so there was some concern before we arrived. As pointed out in other reviews, here’s what to note:
• There is a $500 deposit for the camper + truck. Debit or credit, doesn’t matter, since our insurance didn’t cover both the camper unit and rental (and yours likely will not either). That’s a chunk of your vacation budget you can’t use, although worth it IMO.
• That deposit is in addition to the actual daily cost of insurance, which was more like $50 per day than the $20/day quoted in the description and again, our insurance typically covers car rentals but not the rooftop camper so that expense was not optional. I’m not saying it wasn’t worthwhile, just be prepared for a higher cost than you think when you see the deal on Airbnb.
• We didn’t use the rooftop camper at all, as it was broken— they volunteered to fix it immediately but we actually preferred the regular ground tent so opted not to during our stay. But check the setup right away if you’re committed to the rooftop tent.
• Look for campsites immediately and book your nights to make sure you have a spot. Kumu Camp was accommodating but they were also full some nights. Other campsites won’t allow the rooftop campers so you would have to use the ground tent. And many sites you can’t just show up and inquire about vacancies; they require online registration through not very intuitive government websites and often don’t let you look at reservations day-of.
• Like any car rental, factor in gasoline and washing/vacuuming.