Big Island and Oahu split stay -June 2022

[Twohsieh]

Hello everyone,
I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for hotels on the Big Island for a family of five (kids ages 13, 14 and 16). We are planning to go to the Big Island first, then head over to Aulani. We have never been to this island, so I'm kind of lost on where to stay and what places to visit. We will most likely stay on the Big Island for five nights, then stay at Aulani for another five nights. Our family likes to hike, snorkel, sightsee and eat poke.

 

[FoodieFriend]

Big Island has two main cities: Hilo & Kona & it's about an hour+ drive between each other. I'd say Hilo is more of a "country" style town, smaller hotels, local restaurants. Kona is more of the "city" life with Costco, major chain hotels, I also believe this is where cruise ships dock when operating. I'm not a hiker/snorkeler but I'd say Hilo is greener than Kona & you can also visit the active volcano, but I don't think it's considering hiking. I don't have any info on snorkeling on Big Island either but google advises staying on the Kona side. When we visit Big Island, we fly in to Hilo, pick up our rental car drive around Hilo for the day eating at our favorite restaurants & picking up unique Hilo treats, then we drive over to Kona where we stay for the weekend. We used to stay in Kona & take a full day to drive to Hilo & back, but that's pretty exhausting & I've almost fallen asleep on the way back to Kona. When driving only 1 way, I have an easier time (sorry, I'm a Oahu local & I'm not used to long drives at all).
Big Island does have a lot of Airbnb's which we enjoy a lot more than hotels, even with the cleaning & service fees, we prefer the full kitchen.

 

[Twohsieh]

Big Island has two main cities: Hilo & Kona & it's about an hour+ drive between each other. I'd say Hilo is more of a "country" style town, smaller hotels, local restaurants. Kona is more of the "city" life with Costco, major chain hotels, I also believe this is where cruise ships dock when operating. I'm not a hiker/snorkeler but I'd say Hilo is greener than Kona & you can also visit the active volcano, but I don't think it's considering hiking. I don't have any info on snorkeling on Big Island either but google advises staying on the Kona side. When we visit Big Island, we fly in to Hilo, pick up our rental car drive around Hilo for the day eating at our favorite restaurants & picking up unique Hilo treats, then we drive over to Kona where we stay for the weekend. We used to stay in Kona & take a full day to drive to Hilo & back, but that's pretty exhausting & I've almost fallen asleep on the way back to Kona. When driving only 1 way, I have an easier time (sorry, I'm a Oahu local & I'm not used to long drives at all).
Big Island does have a lot of Airbnb's which we enjoy a lot more than hotels, even with the cleaning & service fees, we prefer the full kitchen.

Thank you so much for the detailed description of the main two cities. Really appreciate your time and suggestions.

 

[cgattis]

Just a note about Kona as a port….the little dock is so small that the cruise ships have to tender in, so I’m pretty sure there’s only ever one there at one time (I.e. no huge crowds all at once). We visited the BI from a cruise, so we didn’t stay the night on the island, but I would love to have stayed one night at Volcano House to see the lava glow at night. We did get to see if going into the ocean as we cruised by at night, which was awesome. A boat ride that rages you up to where lava is flowing into the ocean sound be an awesome thing to do!!

Also, we didn’t do much real hiking, but the lava tubes in VNP were fun to walk through. You could do some long hikes across the lava fields, but that just didn’t sound like much fun to us.

 

[monsterkitty]

We usually fly into Hilo and stay at least one night in a B&B outside of VNP, or if it's open, Volcano House. After sightseeing for the day around VNP, we drive over to the Kona side but stay in the Waikoloa Village area, specifically the Marriott Waikoloa as we are MVC.

My favorite places on the Big Island, aside from VNP, is Hawi. Nearby is Polou Valley Lookout which has my favorite hike. Driving to South Point is also a favorite. We actually do the Hilo to Kona drive Highway 11 from VNP to South Point and then into Kona. This is an all day drive but one of our favorite things to do.

Lava Lava Beach Club is a really fun place to eat. In Hawi there is a little shop called Kohala Coffee Mill that has great baked goods and the best ice cream. There is also a Malasada food truck on Highway 19, between Kiholo Bay and Hawi.

We also enjoy kayaking to Captain Cook's monument. If you like open water swims, every Saturday morning there is a group that hosts a swim in Kailua Bay, where they start the Ironman World Championship. I do the swim and then we explore Kona-Kailua (and I eat a lot).

We then fly out of Kona to Oahu. If we do Oahu first, we still fly into Hilo first and then out of Kona home.

The best guide books in the world are the "Big Island Revealed" and the "Oahu Revealed", as well as a book for each of the other islands. I highly suggest getting at least the Big Island book. We've never been led wrong on where to go and where to eat. The books are amazing.

 

[Twohsieh]

Just a note about Kona as a port….the little dock is so small that the cruise ships have to tender in, so I’m pretty sure there’s only ever one there at one time (I.e. no huge crowds all at once). We visited the BI from a cruise, so we didn’t stay the night on the island, but I would love to have stayed one night at Volcano House to see the lava glow at night. We did get to see if going into the ocean as we cruised by at night, which was awesome. A boat ride that rages you up to where lava is flowing into the ocean sound be an awesome thing to do!!

Also, we didn’t do much real hiking, but the lava tubes in VNP were fun to walk through. You could do some long hikes across the lava fields, but that just didn’t sound like much fun to us.

The volcano house sounds amazing-I’ll have to look into the place. The lava tubes and lava fields are on my list now. Thank you for the ideas.

 

[Twohsieh]

We usually fly into Hilo and stay at least one night in a B&B outside of VNP, or if it's open, Volcano House. After sightseeing for the day around VNP, we drive over to the Kona side but stay in the Waikoloa Village area, specifically the Marriott Waikoloa as we are MVC.

My favorite places on the Big Island, aside from VNP, is Hawi. Nearby is Polou Valley Lookout which has my favorite hike. Driving to South Point is also a favorite. We actually do the Hilo to Kona drive Highway 11 from VNP to South Point and then into Kona. This is an all day drive but one of our favorite things to do.

Lava Lava Beach Club is a really fun place to eat. In Hawi there is a little shop called Kohala Coffee Mill that has great baked goods and the best ice cream. There is also a Malasada food truck on Highway 19, between Kiholo Bay and Hawi.

We also enjoy kayaking to Captain Cook's monument. If you like open water swims, every Saturday morning there is a group that hosts a swim in Kailua Bay, where they start the Ironman World Championship. I do the swim and then we explore Kona-Kailua (and I eat a lot).

We then fly out of Kona to Oahu. If we do Oahu first, we still fly into Hilo first and then out of Kona home.

The best guide books in the world are the "Big Island Revealed" and the "Oahu Revealed", as well as a book for each of the other islands. I highly suggest getting at least the Big Island book. We've never been led wrong on where to go and where to eat. The books are amazing.

Monsterkitty, thank you very much for the thoughtful and detailed descriptions of the places to stay, see and eat. Your post highlights many of the things we would love to do on the big island, thank you! I’m definitely going to buy the book you recommended.

 

[cgattis]

The best guide books in the world are the "Big Island Revealed" and the "Oahu Revealed", as well as a book for each of the other islands. I highly suggest getting at least the Big Island book. We've never been led wrong on where to go and where to eat. The books are amazing.

Gosh, I haven’t even been mentioning those books. Totally agree—I bought many books and those are by far the best. Great point.

 

[abdgeek]

Hello everyone,
I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for hotels on the Big Island for a family of five (kids ages 13, 14 and 16). We are planning to go to the Big Island first, then head over to Aulani. We have never been to this island, so I'm kind of lost on where to stay and what places to visit. We will most likely stay on the Big Island for five nights, then stay at Aulani for another five nights. Our family likes to hike, snorkel, sightsee and eat poke.

The two main areas to stay on the Big Island are Kailua-Kona (Kona) and Waikoloa. There is limited housing in Hilo, which is closest to Volcanoes National Park. There’s a lot to see on the island, but it depends on what you want to do. Taking a Circle Island Tour will let you see the main sites. Check out Viator.com to see the type of tours that are offered and then you can make your own itinerary. Most resorts have a tour desk and will have snorkeling and other excursions you can book or you can snorkel on your own. Robert’s Hawaii and Grayline are the two big tour companies on the island.

Below are some of the things I did on the Big Island: Circle Island Tour(VNP, Rainbow Falls, Punaluu Black Sand Beach, Big Island Candies Factory (macadamia nuts), Royal Kona Coffee), Painted Church, Place of Refuge, Hulihe’e Palace, etc.

Most people also try to visit Akaka Falls, Mauna Loa Observatory and Mauna Kea. There’s also a botanical garden near Hilo. Da Poke Shack in downtown Kona has awesome poke.

I stay in a timeshare when I go to Hawaii, so I can’t help with hotel suggestions. However, if you decide you want to stay in a timeshare with a kitchen vs a hotel, sometimes you can book them online at the resort‘s website. If you haven’t already, read the TripAdvisor reviews for any property you’re interested in to see what people are saying about the location and amenities. In general, you want to stay somewhere where you can walk to restaurants (downtown Kona) or only have to drive about 15-20 minutes to get to them(Waikoloa to Kona). Good luck.

 

[jodybird511]

Agree about the Revealed books—highly recommend! We have one for each island. Lol. I would also second the recommendation for considering a condo, as opposed to a hotel. We actually started by looking for an Airbnb, but we ended up renting through a local company called Kona Coast Vacations. They were great! Just Google them.

we really enjoyed doing a lot of tidepooling—saw tons of turtles close up in the water and on the beach (it is illegal to be within, I think, 10 feet of them, so keep your distance. We also really enjoyed touring a coffee farm—we did Mountain Thunder Coffee, and the tour was free. Even my 8 yo son enjoyed it and found it interesting.

 

[Twohsieh]

The two main areas to stay on the Big Island are Kailua-Kona (Kona) and Waikoloa. There is limited housing in Hilo, which is closest to Volcanoes National Park. There’s a lot to see on the island, but it depends on what you want to do. Taking a Circle Island Tour will let you see the main sites. Check out Viator.com to see the type of tours that are offered and then you can make your own itinerary. Most resorts have a tour desk and will have snorkeling and other excursions you can book or you can snorkel on your own. Robert’s Hawaii and Grayline are the two big tour companies on the island.

Below are some of the things I did on the Big Island: Circle Island Tour(VNP, Rainbow Falls, Punaluu Black Sand Beach, Big Island Candies Factory (macadamia nuts), Royal Kona Coffee), Painted Church, Place of Refuge, Hulihe’e Palace, etc.

Most people also try to visit Akaka Falls, Mauna Loa Observatory and Mauna Kea. There’s also a botanical garden near Hilo. Da Poke Shack in downtown Kona has awesome poke.

I stay in a timeshare when I go to Hawaii, so I can’t help with hotel suggestions. However, if you decide you want to stay in a timeshare with a kitchen vs a hotel, sometimes you can book them online at the resort‘s website. If you haven’t already, read the TripAdvisor reviews for any property you’re interested in to see what people are saying about the location and amenities. In general, you want to stay somewhere where you can walk to restaurants (downtown Kona) or only have to drive about 15-20 minutes to get to them(Waikoloa to Kona). Good luck.

Hello abdgeek,

Thank you very much for all of your suggestions and insights on things to do and see on the Big Island. I’m really leaning toward your recommendation of booking a tour with Circle Island Tour-it seems like a fun filled day full of sightseeing and learning. We usually book tours/excursions on our cruise port days but never considered it for vacations when we have several days to explore.

We usually prefer staying in a timeshare too, which we have with DVC, but their resorts are mainly around the Disney theme parks. I know there are a few different brands of timeshare on the Big Island, but there is little to no availability as they get booked up early by their owners. We may consider buying a different brand timeshare to open our vacationing choices now that our kids are getting older. We really like staying together in one room (1-2 bedroom) instead of being in two separate hotel rooms.

We’ll definitely eat at Da Poke Shack. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my all of my questions. We really appreciate your help.

 

[Twohsieh]

Agree about the Revealed books—highly recommend! We have one for each island. Lol. I would also second the recommendation for considering a condo, as opposed to a hotel. We actually started by looking for an Airbnb, but we ended up renting through a local company called Kona Coast Vacations. They were great! Just Google them.

we really enjoyed doing a lot of tidepooling—saw tons of turtles close up in the water and on the beach (it is illegal to be within, I think, 10 feet of them, so keep your distance. We also really enjoyed touring a coffee farm—we did Mountain Thunder Coffee, and the tour was free. Even my 8 yo son enjoyed it and found it interesting.

I’ll have to research Kona Coast Vacations, it sounds promising. And I’ll definitely visit the coffee farm. Thank you for all of your suggestions. Much appreciated.

 

[pjacobi]

I like the Grand Naniloa hotel in Hilo. You can shower and still see the ocean through the 1-way mirror in the bathroom wall.

I had reservations at the Volcano House, but they were cancelled due to the eruption when we were visiting three years ago.


-Paul

 

[cgattis]

You can shower and still see the ocean through the 1-way mirror in the bathroom wall

Shut the front door……that is awesome.

 

[pjacobi]

Bathroom view through the 1-way mirror, out the window and to the ocean!

 

[The_Banking_Scot]

Hi, I have stayed on the Big Island a few times ( have done the observatory tour and the circle tour- very good). I stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village which is beautiful but huge. The landscaping is excellent with lots ofg features and lots of art work in the walkway. They have large pools and waterslides and a lagoon to swim/ rent kayaks snorkels etc. It can be a walk from the furthest tower to the car park but there are 2 small shopping centres ( good for grocery shopping and lunch) within a 20min walk or a short drive. One of the towers is becoming a Hilton Grand Vacation ( Ocean Tower). Since the last time I was there I think the food options have declined at the resort.

 

[abdgeek]

Hello abdgeek,

Thank you very much for all of your suggestions and insights on things to do and see on the Big Island. I’m really leaning toward your recommendation of booking a tour with Circle Island Tour-it seems like a fun filled day full of sightseeing and learning. We usually book tours/excursions on our cruise port days but never considered it for vacations when we have several days to explore.

We usually prefer staying in a timeshare too, which we have with DVC, but their resorts are mainly around the Disney theme parks. I know there are a few different brands of timeshare on the Big Island, but there is little to no availability as they get booked up early by their owners. We may consider buying a different brand timeshare to open our vacationing choices now that our kids are getting older. We really like staying together in one room (1-2 bedroom) instead of being in two separate hotel rooms.

We’ll definitely eat at Da Poke Shack. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my all of my questions. We really appreciate your help.

I’m a DVC member too and use my points to book thru DVC RCI whenever I travel somewhere other than WDW, which is often. I stayed at Kona Coast Resort 2 the last time I was on the Big Island and am looking at staying in Waikoloa the next time I go. I normally start looking 1-2 years out for an RCI property and book online at the DVC RCI website the minute I see the accommodation I want for the dates I want at the property I want. I do a lot of research ahead of time using the DVC RCI website and look at the TripAdvisor reviews for the properties I’m interested in. Once the properties become available, they don’t last long(some are gone in minutes). Definitely don’t try to call DVC to book it because you will lose it. I’ve had that happen and learned my lesson. You can also do an ongoing search for specific properties by calling DVC. DVC will then email you when they get a match and you call them to confirm the reservation. Otherwise, you need to check daily to see what is available. So far, I’ve used my points to stay in RCI properties in San Diego, Maui, Big Island, Aruba, and Las Vegas. I have RCI properties already booked for my travels this year and next in Waikiki and Bali. I mainly stick with gold and silver crown RCI properties. Just keep in mind that RCI properties don’t always have the same amenities as DVC units(not all units contain kitchens or washer/dryers, etc). Make sure you read the fee and room description on the website so that you know what to expect. Depending on when you’re traveling you may still be able to find availability for the dates you want. Whenever I decide travel somewhere, I first look to see what RCI properties are there before I decide whether to book a hotel. Good luck. I hope you can get the accommodation you’re looking for.

 

[sdoll]

Hello abdgeek,

Thank you very much for all of your suggestions and insights on things to do and see on the Big Island. I’m really leaning toward your recommendation of booking a tour with Circle Island Tour-it seems like a fun filled day full of sightseeing and learning. We usually book tours/excursions on our cruise port days but never considered it for vacations when we have several days to explore.

We usually prefer staying in a timeshare too, which we have with DVC, but their resorts are mainly around the Disney theme parks. I know there are a few different brands of timeshare on the Big Island, but there is little to no availability as they get booked up early by their owners. We may consider buying a different brand timeshare to open our vacationing choices now that our kids are getting older. We really like staying together in one room (1-2 bedroom) instead of being in two separate hotel rooms.

We’ll definitely eat at Da Poke Shack. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my all of my questions. We really appreciate your help.

I don't own a timeshare but have found renting from owners to be incredibly easy and very budget friendly. Check redweek.com for rentals. We have had great success renting and haven't stayed in a hotel while on vacation in over 10 years.

 

[Stargazer65]

I don't know your background and if you have military eligibility, but we stayed at KMC every time we went to the Big Island. That was inexpensive and nice, but dining options are limited if you don't bring your own food. They have full kitchens so you can stock up. The cafeteria was....well...kind of institutional, and food at the Volcano house was expensive. Nothing else is nearby, it is literally out in boonies, but great for volcano watching/hiking.

 

[Twohsieh]

I’m a DVC member too and use my points to book thru DVC RCI whenever I travel somewhere other than WDW, which is often. I stayed at Kona Coast Resort 2 the last time I was on the Big Island and am looking at staying in Waikoloa the next time I go. I normally start looking 1-2 years out for an RCI property and book online at the DVC RCI website the minute I see the accommodation I want for the dates I want at the property I want. I do a lot of research ahead of time using the DVC RCI website and look at the TripAdvisor reviews for the properties I’m interested in. Once the properties become available, they don’t last long(some are gone in minutes). Definitely don’t try to call DVC to book it because you will lose it. I’ve had that happen and learned my lesson. You can also do an ongoing search for specific properties by calling DVC. DVC will then email you when they get a match and you call them to confirm the reservation. Otherwise, you need to check daily to see what is available. So far, I’ve used my points to stay in RCI properties in San Diego, Maui, Big Island, Aruba, and Las Vegas. I have RCI properties already booked for my travels this year and next in Waikiki and Bali. I mainly stick with gold and silver crown RCI properties. Just keep in mind that RCI properties don’t always have the same amenities as DVC units(not all units contain kitchens or washer/dryers, etc). Make sure you read the fee and room description on the website so that you know what to expect. Depending on when you’re traveling you may still be able to find availability for the dates you want. Whenever I decide travel somewhere, I first look to see what RCI properties are there before I decide whether to book a hotel. Good luck. I hope you can get the accommodation you’re looking for.

I’ve never used RCI through DVC. I will explore what types of hotels are offered on the exchange. Thank you for sharing your experience with me about the RCI platform. Much appreciated.