What do do/where to stay on Big Island?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Planning our bi-annual trip to Hawaii for June 2010. W’re bringing the kids again, who’ll be 18 and 16 at the time. For the first time, we’ll be starting our trip with 3 days on Big Island, arriving at 4:00pm into Kona on Wednesday and departing that Saturday for our week on Maui. So we’ll have two entire days plus one half day on Saturday to tour.

Our main purpose for going to Big Island is to see the active volcano. So that activity is a must. We also like hiking, snorkeling, and staying fairly active. Since we’re on Big Island for just a short time, I’d like to make the most of it and hit one or two things that you think are the Best of Big Island.

I have enough hotel points to stay for free all 3 nights at the Marriott Waikoloa, but not sure if it would make more sense to stay closer to the volcano for one or two nights instead of sticking around Waikoloa. Not sure what’s around Waikoloa other than hotels and beaches.

My current itinerary is:

Wednesday

Travel day; Arrive in Kona at 4pm, pick up rental car, head to Marriott Waikoloa to crash

Thursday

Explore area around Waikoloa

Friday

Check out of Marriott and head towards Volcano
Either spend the afternoon touring the park or perhaps stop at an interesting place along the way
Check into a B&B around 3pm
Check out the lava flow at dusk

Saturday
Tour National Park
Check-out of B&B and head to airport
Return rental car to Hilo airport and take a 1pm or so flight to Maui

Thoughts? Ideas for things to do around Waikoloa and on the way to Volcano?

Thanks a lot for your recommendations.

2

You’re probably already aware of this, but make certain you bring four flashlights and good hiking shoes for the dusk viewing of the lava-flows. (Well, you don’t actually see the lava, but you can see the glow.) It’s truly astounding how many people show up completely unprepared and get stuck relying on other people or risk falling on jagged lava rocks. When the sun goes down, there is absolutely no light and an easy five-minute walk over boulders at dusk turns into an ordeal.

There are lots of things to do on the Kona side of the island, including some great snorkeling spots and beaches, plus some historic sites (City of Refuge, etc.) if you’re interested.

3

The last time we were at Kona, IIRC about 7 years ago, we took an afternoon snorkel cruise on the Fair Wind II and had a great time. Of course, it was much less expensive then.
OTOH, if you don’t want to sell one of the children to finance a boat trip, there are plenty of good snorkeling spot you can get to yourselves, look here There’s lots of good info on the internet about things to do there.
We had a copy of one of the many guide books available, like this one which proved invaluable. Get one. You’ll be glad you did.

Have fun.

4

"Thursday

Explore area around Waikoloa"

The beaches around Waikoloa are pretty nice, but if you really want to do some exploring, you should check out Waipio Valley. Its one of the tropical jungle valleys that the Hawaiians lived in before the “white man” arrived. If you hike towards the back of the valley, the foundations of their homes can still be seen. The beach at the mouth of the valley is also pretty nice.

The drive to Hilo and Hilo itself is also worth seeing.
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5

I haven’t been there in several years, but at that time you could see the lava flowing into the ocean, after dark . . . not just the glow, but the actual lave. But be prepared (flashlight, hiking shoes, etc.)

Also, the helicopter ride over Kilauea is fun.

6

Can we do this and stay in Wailkoloa? I’m just trying to get a feel for how far away these things are.

I did order a guide book but it won’t be here for another week or so.

7

Recommended.

8

I agree.

And there’s an amazing botanical garden not too far north of Hilo.

9

I third the recommendation for Waipio Valley, but suggest you rent a jeep or similar so you can drive back up that godawful hill. We had a minivan, so we had to hike in and out. The out was not much fun.

We really liked the place of refuge - especially the green sea turtles. It would be a good place to stop for a couple of hours.

10

There are tours that take you down the hill in a van, then tour the valley in a mule-drawn cart.

11

The problem with a jeep is that we’ll have four people and all our luggage. Trunk space is a problem to and from the airport.

Of course, we keep saying we’re going to pare down on the luggage!

12

I took this horseback tour in *2006. I’d do it again.

*Right after the earthquake, and you could seen where boulders had taken out trees on their tumble down into the valley.

13

We’re going there at the end of this month. And we’ll be staying at the Marriott Waikoloa too!

We plan to check out the coffee-growing area around Kona. I love seeing how different tropical crops are, like pineapple, breadfruit, mangoes and coffee. I also love drinking coffee, so it’s a win-win for us.

We’re also going to see that botanical garden north of Hilo. I hear it’s the best one on any of the islands. I hope to see some extravagantly beautiful heliconia, red ginger and plumeria.

14

Its not a long drive at all. Maybe an hour at the most.

The walk up the road out of the valley is difficult if you are not in shape. If you are a hiker, its not bad.

15

Waipao Valley fourthed. Paradise Regained. I stayed at the Mana Lani resort, which was very, very nice. I liked the Hawaii a whole lot.

16

This is timely - I’m headed to the Big Island the first week in December and am looking for ideas as well. There’ll be 9 of us, with three rental cars (meaning, we’re in no way obligated to all stay together). We’re flying into Kona, then driving to the “military resort” thingie in Volcano Nat’l Park (my brother’s in the Air Force; he’s rented us one or two of the cabins on the resort).

We’ll be there for a little less than a week, Saturday to the following Friday. Not sure if we plan on leaving the big island or not. Ideas on what to do? Thoughts? And one quick question: what’s the weather like in December? Is it too chilly to consider snorkeling/scuba diving?

17

Obligatory recommendation of Andrew Doughty’s “Big Island Revealed” travel book. The worst thing I can say is that the restaurant reviews are hit and miss. All of his books are much better than Fodor’s, Frommer’s, and Lonely Planet, IMHO.

In addition to the already-menioned Waipio Valley, Botanic Gardens, and Kiluea, I’d recommend:

Luapahoehoe Point- Tide pools, dramatic-looking surf when the sea is rough. Worth a quick look.

Akaka Falls- Big waterfall (wiki says 422’), easy loop trail.

Punaluu beach- Large, black sand, easy access, so-so swimming, sea turtles.

The green sand beach near south point- Big breached cone with a smallish beach, not crowded, olivine sand(!). Unfortunately, it is a 2 or 3 mile trip over bumpy trails which are easy in a jeep, but not a good idea in a rental sedan.

Whale watching offshore of Kona- From December to April. It’s not like a National Geographic documentary all day every day, but you’ll probably see something cool.

Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park- North of Kona, near the airport. Cool ruins, including a fish pond and fish trap. Not crowded.

The beaches north of Kona- Lots of nice ones, going most of the way up the west coast. I particularly liked Makalawena, but it’s bit of a walk if you don’t have a jeep.

Mauna Kea- Great view on a clear day. Snow, and astronomical observatories.

We found the winter weather to be entirely pleasant, but not always what one might expect from the postcards. Weather varies a whole lot on the Big Island. Generally, the eastern (windward) side is wetter, cooler, cloudier, and greener than the western (leeward) side. Also, the eastern beaches are smaller and the water rougher, so there considerably fewer places to go swimming without getting drowned/crushed. There is not much difference between day and night temperatures. High elevations are obviously cooler than at sea level. From memory, and browsing the travel guides, I think in December you can expect:

Kona- Mostly clear, little to no rain, low 70’s to low 80’s, moderate humidity. Shorts and t-shirt weather. Nice for the beach, certainly comfortable for swimming, although the water temps will not be like the Caribbean in July.

Volcano- Cloudy or overcast with rain (possibly torrential) most days, maybe fog (or vog). Low 50’s to high 60’s. Probably jacket weather. Drier and wamer down Chain of Craters road, towards the water.

Hilo- Like Volcano, but warmer and not as much rain. Still rainy, though.