Hawaii - things to do and see on the big island

In My Humble Opinion
21

Rent a 4x4. We absolutely regretted not doing so, after going with a normal passenger car.

Saddle road, driving from east to west, is a must! Once you break through the mountains on the west side, the remaining 15 minute drive is exhilarating (so long as you’re not a nervous or conservative driver). Total drive from coast to coast was about 90 minutes.

East side weather is spotty, at best, west side seems to be reliably sunny, and the island as a whole isn’t really too much for beaches, but there are several black sand beaches.

My wife and I just spent a 2 week honeymoon between Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii, and the highlight of our time was a trip to the green sand beach at the southern tip of the Big Island. We had only a passenger car, and so had to pay one of the locals for a ride (the trek on foot is more than we cared to undertake) on the washed-out road (4 wheel drive necessary) through the sand-dune/savannah area to the ultra-secluded green beach nestled beneath a towering cinder cone. It’s very small, you have to climb down a steep metal staircase and rocks, but the waves are incredible, and we are definitely going back someday!

22

That B&B in the middle of the Kilauea lava field (that used to be a town) that Anthony Bourdain visited is gone now, right?

23

Omigod YES. I knew I was leaving stuff off my list - we didn’t know about that in 2007 but now it’s a favorite spot.

For people in a rental car, I would skip the sections that require driving on unpaved road - it’s a brutal trip unless you have good clearance and AWD. But not to worry, there is a fabulous beach in the Kekaha Kai Park that has a paved road all the way down, and a gorgeous beach. There is no sign visible from the road, but turn ocean-ward across from the Veteran’s Cemetery. The sign you’ll see once you’ve turned in says something like “Kekaha Kai State Park, Manini o’ali Section.” (I’m writing from memory and probably am not quite correct.)

Also, if all those ancient cindercones around the island call to you, as they do to me, “climb me! climb me!” there is a good one along the road to teh beach, with a visible path, that you can climb up for a gorgeous view of the bays. Very steep but only about a 5-10 minute walk (if you follow the path for another 1/2 hour or so, you’ll come to another secluded beach/fishing spot - not worth it for the destination but fun if you like the hike itself.)

Thanks for adding that, Furious_Marmot!

24

Something I might missed in all the recomendations.

I believe there is a company or two that will take you way up on one of those mountain roads. Then they give a good bike and you spend a good long time coasting all the way back down enjoying the ride and the scenery. Never been there or done it but it sounds fun to me.

25

This is definitely available on Maui, to ride up / coast down Haleakala. I didn’t run across this on the Big Island - and I’d guess that the ride down Mauna Kea would be a bit steep & treacherous (due to unpaved road surface) for many tourists.

26

The Big Island is too big to stay in one hotel for the entire trip. I stayed half the time in Hilo and the rest in the Kona area. It worked out fine.

Also: If you’re into hiking to where the lava hits the ocean . . . do it after dark (bring a flashlight). The lava really glows then.

27

Cairo Carol’s recommendations are excellent.

I’ll add a few more observations from my most recent visits (2010 & August 2012).

Saddle Road is a piece of cake now. It’s been straightened and repaved. Most rental car companies don’t restrict you anymore. I know Dollar and Alamo do not. They still don’t let you go to the Mauna Kea summit as you do need 4WD to go past the visitor center. They have telescope and sky parties at the visitor almost every night. If your trip coincides with the new moon, definitely go (and dress warm!!).

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - Make time to hike the Kilaueua Ikitrail. It’s a 4-mile loop that goes through the rain forest along the crater rim, then descends 400 feet to the crater floor and walks across the hardened lava from the 1959 eruption. Well worth the 2-3 hours spent. Doing the loop counter-clockwise makes the ascent from the crater floor much easier.

If you have more time, and will be in the park on a Wednesday, call the visitor center a week ahead of time and sign up for the Pua Po’o Wild Lava Tube tour. They don’t advertise it much and it’s limited to 12 people per week.

In Puna (Hilo Side), the Kapoho Tidepools are a fun snorkeling spot. Not as rich in sealife as on the Kona side, but the lava makes a natural breakwater that keeps the water calm. Nearby is the Champagne Pond, another tide pool that is heated volcanically. We rented a house less than a block from here last time.

The submarine tour in Kona is a little pricy but fun. My kids loved it when they were 10 & 8.

This last time we tried the Kohala Ditch Adventure. The Kohala Ditch is an irrigation canal built at the turn of the last century to bring water from the mountains down to the sugar plantations. It’s still used to irrigate some farms, but the sugar plantations are all gone now. This company takes you up the side of the mountain in a truck, puts you in the ditch in an inflatable kayak, and you spend the next 2 hours floating through the rain forest, over trestle bridges, and through hand-carved tunnels with only a headlamp providing light. You will get wet. Again, it’s pricy (even after the on-line discount and child pricing it still averaged $110/per person) but fun.

A few recommendations for Waikoloa. If you like cats (and I think it’s required for all Dopers to like cats) A-Bay (the beach in front of the Marriott) has a large, mostly friendly feral cat colony in the trees on the south end of the beach (near the public parking lot). The cats live in the trees and the lava caves. The locals leave out food. My sons liked to bring their dinner leftovers to the cats. Many come over to be petted, then stroll back into the bushes when they’re done. (On the other hand, the feral cats at the Hilton are your typical run-away-from-people scrawny kitties).

You don’t say where you’re staying, but in Waikoloa, the choices are pretty much Hilton, Marriott, or a condo rental. In any case, you’ll have a refrigerator. If you choose to stock it, drive the 10 minutes up the hill into Waikoloa Village and shop there. Much, much better prices than in the Queens Marketplace grocery store. Queens Marketplace does have a pretty good food court if you just want a quick snack.

28

Oh! Also, if you have anyone with you who is too old/young/infirm for snorkeling, I recommend the glass-bottomed boat tours. You get to see so much without getting wet. We saw octopus holding “hands.” Awwwww.

29

Thanks for the new ideas…most of what you posted we’ve never done, and some of it I haven’t even heard of. This is proof that there are endless wonderful things to do on Hawaii! I’ll second the Kilaueua Iki trail recommendation… any time we have guests, unless they are clearly infirm, we always take that hike with them. Everyone has loved it.