Looking for Hawaii Big Island Experts

[cardaway]

Other than the obvious (beaches, volcano) what are some of the fun things to do and best places to eat in the Kona area?

We will be staying at the Hilton Waikoloa Village during the week of July 4th.

 

[LuvTigger]

I LOVE the Hilton Waikoloa! I've stayed there 3 times.

Here are some of my favorite places to eat:

Kamuela Provision Company (at the Hilton Waikoloa) - try the Kamuela beef: http://www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com/dining/kamuela-provision.asp
This is a higher end table service restaurant.

Cafe Pesto (Kawaihae, a short drive north of Waikoloa): http://www.cafepesto.com/
Table service, very casual.

Merriman's (Waimea):
http://www.merrimanshawaii.com/
I'm not sure how it is during dinner, but at lunch, you can get away w/ wearing shorts here. It's not really high end, but maybe a little above casual.

Rainbow Cafe (Hawi - north shore of the Big Island) - try the lamb burger:
http://www.gokohala.com/business/dining/KohalaRainbowCafe.html
This is a counter service hole-in-the-wall across the King Kamehameha statue, but it's very good! A great place to stop if you're driving around.

I could seriously spend a week at Waikoloa without leaving -- check out the vendor by the pool or lagoon and see if they have any length-of-stay recreation specials. We were there once where we payed a flat fee and could use all of the kayaks, floats, waterbikes, etc., that we wanted during our stay.

I love the drive up to the north shore, Hawi, too. If you get all the way to the top, you can see wild horses and islands off the sheer cliffs. I think there's a hiking trail too, if that's your kind of thing.

If you have time to drive to Hilo, the drive up the Hamakua Coast is also beautiful. You can see Rainbow Falls and Akaka Falls there. If you go to Hilo, stop by the Big Island Candy Company and buy the chocolate covered shortbread cookies. Expensive, but awesome! They make great gifts for people at home too. They're chocolate mac nuts are also really good -- much better than the cheapy Mauna Loa mac nuts, but again, expensive.

There's a mac nut farm tour somewhere in the Hilo area too. And if you're in Hilo, there's Ken's Pancake House. It's a casual table service restaurant, with big portions, lots of choices, and good food.

 

[*Susan*]

I love the Big Island! We have gone several times, most recently last Spring and we are headed back in a few months. We've never stayed at the Waikoloa but have visited and it's really amazing. It is also EXTREMELY expensive! I'm talking $56 before tip for 3 drinks, 1 non-alcoholic smoothie & a plate of nachos expensive. If you are the type who wants beer/water/sodas/snacks in your room I would recommend a stop at the Wal-mart or K-Mart (normally I'd choose the former over the latter but I find the Kona Wal-Mart pretty yucky whereas the Kona K-Mart is quite nice - but that's just my opinion). When you leave the Kona airport, you'd turn right toward Kona town to go to K-Mart or WM, if you turn left you head to Waikoloa. They have a very cool dolphin encounter if that's your thing at the Waikoloa too.

I strongly recommend getting "The Ultimate Hawaii Guidebook" (Hawaii being just the Big Island in this case) by Andrew Doughty, Wizard Publications. He has a book for each island and they are fabulous. His directions are great, his restaurant recommendations are great, etc. We have recommended this book several times and always hear back how much people enjoyed it.

The best food we had all trip was at the Hilo Bay Cafe near the Office Max in Hilo - it's in a strip mall. Casual but very good food. As LuvTigger said, all of the different falls are near Hilo and IMO they are worth a visit. Also on the outskirts of Hilo is the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory with a self-guided tour and gift shop (and free samples, yum). There is a Tsunami museum in Hilo which is quite interesting too. If you drive to Hilo from Waikoloa try to take some of the 'Old Highway' which has really beautiful sights (if you get the aforementioned book he has a driving route for you to take). Lots of places to stop, get out and take pictures. Southwest (I think!) of Hilo is Ahalanui Park which has a very neat volcanic spring pool which is thermally heated to 97 degrees - it's a very popular place to swim.

We always stay in or near Kona so here are my recommendations for that area: U-Top-It is a restaurant in Kona Town with taro crepes for both dinner and dessert (they have other stuff too), kind of different and fun - again, casual. Huggo's is a popular waterside place - you pay for the view - the food is just OK but it's nice for a special night out. If you want a window seat get there early or be prepared to wait. There is also the Kona Inn which is very nice for drinks - there is a giant outside area right on the water. We didn't eat here, but my parents did and said it was good.

In the Keauhou Shopping Center (Keauhou is slightly south of Kona) on Friday nights there is a free show called Polynesian Paradise with hula dancers. The lady who runs it has been doing it for over 20 years - its a fun and free show if you are interested in Hawaiian dance. In this same shopping center there is a Drysdales Bar/Grill - just OK, my parents love this place but we thought it was just ok, kind of like a Chili's but not as good. There is also a hole in the wall Mexican place called Los Habeneros in this center - very good! I think it's next to the Subway.

Teshima's is a nice casual Japanese restaurant south of Keauhou (south of Kona), right on the highway. It's near the Place of Refuge which is a national park and VERY worth a visit. It's on the way to the Volancoes if you want to stop by (although I think the Volcanoes is really a whole-day thing). Also near the Place of Refuge is St. Benedicts aka the "painted church" - if you are Catholic or just like churches, it's beautiful.

Also heading toward the Volancoes is the Punalu'u bake shop - they have FABULOUS shortbread cookies (yes all we do is eat when we are in Hawaii) and breads. They sell their breads throughout the island, we got some at Costco. After the bakeshop but before the Volcanoes is South Point, the southernmost point in the U.S. - watch out for the wind! There is a giant tree there that has been permanently blown in one direction from the wind.

The book describes the different options on seeing the Volcanoes. Of course I have a restaurant recommendation for the Volano area: the Kiawe Kitchen in the city of Volcano. Thin brick oven pizzas, good salads.

Let me know if you have any questions - I'm sure I've forgotten some things here!

 

[*Susan*]

Oink oink

I forgot about the Malasadas - Portuguese friend doughnuts! Heading toward Hilo from Waikoloa is Tex's (there is also a Tex's on Highway 11 right before the Volancoes), they have GREAT malasadas, some with vanilla or chocolate filling, but my favorite is just the plain (note they give you a bag of sugar to roll them around in). Buy a whole box.

 

[Sherlee]

I also love this resort! We stayed there for springbreak two years ago and I can't wait to go back! There is so much to do right on the property. The Dolphin programs are a must! My daughter loved the kids club and the spa was wonderful. One night, they had "glow ball" mini golf on the putting course that was fun.

All of the restaurants on site are really good, in addition to the Kamuela Provision Company, we had a great dinner at the Japanese Tepanyaki restaurant and dim sum lunch at the Chinese. We also walked to the King's Shop's in Waikoloa Village and there are 2-3 good restaurants there. In Kona, we just went to Bubba Gump's, so-so food, but the location can't be beat! We had an outside table overlooking the bay and it was beautiful!

The absolute highlight of our stay on the Big Island was taking a Humvee Tour on the north end of the island. It went way up into the hills and we even stopped and got to swim in a hidden waterfall pool. The ride can get a bit rough at times. It used to be called HMV Tours, but when I did a search it was coming up under new management under Big Island Hummer Tours.

Have a great trip! The Big Island is my favorite!

 

[Honu]

There is surprising little to choose from. It's nothing like Oahu or Maui.

The only pizza on the island that is good is at Kona Brewing Company. They brew some pretty good beer too.

There is a place by Safeway called Oodles of Noodles that has really good healthier fare, and take out.

The best shave ice is in downtown Kona at Scandinavian Shave Ice. Get the snopcap.

Bubba Burgers are the best burgers.

The best nice restaurant/fine fare is Brown's Beach House at the Four Seasons. They often have beachfront buffets that are awesome.

Ohh, and there is Mrs. Barry's Cookies in the industrial part of town. Worth hunting down.

Avoid the Hard Rock, Lulu's, Bubba Gump or Outback in Kona. They are all pretty bad.

If you drive to the volcano, make sure to stop at the bakery in Punalu'u for fresh baked Hawaiian bread.

The FairWinds snorkle cruise to Kealakekua Bay is the best on the island. Do the morning cruise. The afternoon gets too windy.

The night manta snorkel/dives are not to be missed. Jack's Dive Shop usually gets a good tie up spot in the bay, so I'd go with them for snorkeling.

We also love the horse ride down to Kealakekua Bay.

 

[GoodFairies]

And if you're in Hilo, there's Ken's Pancake House. It's a casual table service restaurant, with big portions, lots of choices, and good food.

After a few years we still rave about Ken's Pancake house. I think we ate there almost every day we were in Hilo.

We did the Mauna Loa Macnut farm also, saw Rainbow Falls (gorgeous, one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken), drove up to Volcanoes National park, and went to the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo.

Unfortunately we didn't get over to the Kona side. Hopefully next time!

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

We were at the Hilton Waikoloa last June.

Cafe Pesto is a great low(er) price option for lunch (this is Hawaii afterall so it's still not cheap). Great food and service, close by.

The drive to Kona gets bothersome, some nights traffic is TERRIBLE, so search for local dining options. Hilton Waikoloa has little to no casual dining and pretty much dining without reservations is non-existant after dark (although room service is very reasonable). So just be aware of that and plan accordingly and you'll do fine. Also be aware that the Hilton does not have a real beach, so know where those are. After a few days the lagoon beach is really old!

If you aren't a member of the Hilton Rewards program I suggest joining. I signed up just before we arrived and was able to use my printed from home membership card to check in at the members desk (can save ALOT of time) and recieved a free upgrade to an oceanview room.

I also highly recommend snorkeling Kealakekua Bay. We went with Fair-Wind and had a great time. It is a bigger (ie crowded) boat but we've done both smaller and bigger tours and this was a great one. The bay is big so it didn't feel crowded. And the water clarity was AMAZING. I spent way to much to buy the dvd of our snorkel trip because they had footage of my then 3 yo being the first kid to go off the waterslide into the ocean from the 2nd floor of the boat (when all these 8 and 9yos were daring each other to go, lol) and lots of footage of him and my dd (then 5) snorkeling all over the bay (in floaty suits). http://www.fair-wind.com/

Enjoy, we LOVED the Big Island. I've been to Maui, Oahu, Kauai, and Big Island is my favorite. But next time we plan on splitting time staying between volcano, Kona, and Waikoloa (at the Mauna Lani though) to spend more time relaxing and less time driving. I don't say that to discourage you, only to prepare you that Waikoloa is pretty removed from lots of the fun destinations, so you can plan for that.

 

[DawnCt1]

Just to add to what others have said. If you are into kayaking, you can rent kayaks anywhere south of Kona. We rented doubles and kayaked to Kealekakua Bay and put in at Captain Cook's monument. It is the same area that the outfitters will take you to but it is fun getting there on your own. Also, if you are in Hilo, check out the Tsunami Museum. We had a great morning there. The guides are very good. One woman we had was a child on a school bus when the ocean pulled out of Hilo Bay. Her bus driver drove up hill and she never got her feet wet while many others died. If you like horseback riding, Waipio Valley is gorgeous. You need to get picked up at the top and taken down, the grade is very steep. Here is another vote for Cafe Pesto as well. The Kings Plaza has some affordable, or more affordable dining. I would also recommend Roy's. One of our favorite places. If you plan to visit Volcano National Park, be sure that you plan to be there after dark. You can see the lava on the pali and perhaps a moonbow.

 

[Oreo Cookie]

I second the suggestion of eating at Roy's, also one of our favorites. W've been to Roys on the Big Island and both locations on Maui (plus they havee several locations on the mainland that we've been too). The food and the service are both excellent!

 

[damo]

We thought the black beach with the sea turtles was pretty cool. You might want to check out some of the waterfalls.

We stayed at the timeshare at the Hilton Waikoloa and it was gorgeous. One day we did an island loop and we were amazed at the scenery changes minute by minute.

I suggest you avoid the Luau at the Village. The food was pretty awful when we were there. There must be better ones to visit.

We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe one night, sitting on the balcony overlooking the ocean. It was really nice!

 

[cardaway]

We will certainly be doing the kayaking,snorkling, and the volcano trip at dusk.

We are also pretty set on doing the Dolphin encounter. Anybody else done that?

We had already talked about skipping all luaus, not our favorite kind of food.

We'll have 7 days so I think we'll be able to do many of these ideas. Thanks for the info so far. Money is not an issue so please give us the best options.

 

[DawnCt1]

We will certainly be doing the kayaking,snorkling, and the volcano trip at dusk.

We are also pretty set on doing the Dolphin encounter. Anybody else done that?

We had already talked about skipping all luaus, not our favorite kind of food.

We'll have 7 days so I think we'll be able to do many of these ideas. Thanks for the info so far. Money is not an issue so please give us the best options.

DS#4 did the Dolphin Encounter. It is a very controlled situation so you won't actually be swimming with dolphins a la "Flipper". We signed DS up well before our vacation. At the time adults were selected by lottery. If it is something you are committed to doing, I would call and get all the current details. I guess I am a sucker for luaus. We have to do one (me and the DSs) per trip. DH would be happy to skip them. Behind the King's Plaza there is a trail that will lead you to the ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs. Ancient history really feels like just "yesterday" in Hawaii. You may want to drive to the Place of Refuge where the condemned could escape to receive absolution from the Kahunas for violating kapus. There are some interesting heius on the Big Island as well. Have you read James Michner's Hawaii? It is fictionalized but based roughly on Hawaiian history. If you have, then the Shoals of Time by Bishop would also be a good book. BTW, I like Roy's better the Merrimans. I also like the atmosphere of Roy's in Waikaloa. Waimea, where Merrimans is, reminds me of Ct. (sort of). You may want to visit the Parker Ranch while you are there. You may also want to consider taking a tour to the Onizuka Observatory on Mauna Kea. I have always wanted to to do that but the Hilton was so nice that I couldn't get anyone interested in leaving. Also, in the cove of the Hilton, there are a group of green sea turtles that come and go. They are very friendly and will allow you to get close enough for an underwater picture. I bought a new camera that arrived yesterday. You may want to consider it. For the price it's a good deal with great reviews. The Olympus Stylus 770SW. It is shock proof and waterproof to 33 ft. I found it for $310 at the Digital Foto Club. Free shipping.

 

[mcnuss]

I'm so excited to have stumbled upon this thread. We're off to Maui on June 25 followed by a week on Hawaii from June 30-July 7. We are staying at the Kona Coast Resort II timeshare and all of these tips will serve us well. (Has anyone out there stayed there by any chance?)

Thanks very much!

 

[Honu]

We've stayed at the KC2. It's nice. You have to drive to the beach, but it has a golf course and a nice pool with the poolside bar/snack bar. There is small shopping center right up the hill with a grocery store, pharmacy, gas station, etc. Avoid the pizza place there though.

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

Also, in the cove of the Hilton, there are a group of green sea turtles that come and go.

Yes the lagoon has lots of sea turtles and other animals (eels, crabs, tons of fish). It was a great primer for our kids before snorkeling other places. We loved taking walks around the lagoon in the morning before it opened for snorkelers, at the base of the steps (which drop right into the lagoon) there would always be sea turtles feeding off leaves and my kids (with permission) would scramble around finding leaves and feed them right to the sea turtles.

Mauna Kea has a fantastic beach for wave surfing, body boarding, etc. I read in many guide books that it can be extremely hard to get a parking pass from the resort (they only give 6 a day and prefer to give them to golfers) but we had no problem and spent an entire day there it was so nice.

Just remember the Big Island, is well, BIG. On other Hawaiian trips 7 nights was more then enough. Next time for the Big Island we will plan for 2 weeks (or plan on skipping alot). The volcano trip will take a full day, unless you helicopter in. That sounds fun, but they crash ALOT. If you are going to do that I suggest not turning on the news beforehand. We were and chickened out after seeing 2 crashes on the news in our first few nights. I don't mean to obsess over this point. I was just really surprised by how little we could do (due to length of time to get around, and distance between key sights) in our time, and I wished someone had really explained that to us.

 

[Catananche]

We are also pretty set on doing the Dolphin encounter. Anybody else done that?

I didn't do a dolphin trip specifically (I was lucky to have visited during humpback season: went on a fantastic whale watching boat trip from Kona) but there were plenty of dolphins right up by the boat, and apparently there are other whales all year round, inc. pilot and sperm whales. The tours are easy to organise from around the pier area.

The Place of Refuge, south of Kona, is an interesting place for a bit of history.

Kens House of Pancakes! Now that brings back memories! Used to go there as a kid, and revisited on my last trip. Passion fruit syrup, yum.....

Any moment now I going to break out into song: "I wanna go back to my little grass shack....."

 

[Jeafl]

We LOVED the Hilton Waikoloa! There is a small mall not too far from the entrance of the resort that has an excellent restaurant for breakfast. It is actually a steakhouse, but the food there for breakfast is very reasonable. The pancakes there are the size of a dinner plate and almost an inch thick. You get two of them, and the two pancakes can feed 3 or 4 people. They are used to people sharing, and in fact the waitress encouraged it. She said she had worked there for years and she only saw only a couple of people finish them on their own.

If you eat at the resort, be prepared to pay big bucks. A tiny 8 oz. carton of milk was around $3.00, and a plain donut was about $3.00 as well. A cup of coffee was around $4.00 with no refills! My husband kept saying "Now I know how Paris Hilton can afford her lifestyle"

I have to say though, the Italian restaurant there was outstanding. The food was wonderful and the service was first class.

You are going to love it there.

 

[Honu]

We loved taking walks around the lagoon in the morning before it opened for snorkelers, at the base of the steps (which drop right into the lagoon) there would always be sea turtles feeding off leaves and my kids (with permission) would scramble around finding leaves and feed them right to the sea turtles.

I've seen the staff at the Hilton do this a lot with the turtles. Unfortunately, they aren't the ones that can grant permission and their approval won't help if you are prosecuted.

Honu are protected by Federal and State laws. The laws prohibit any interaction with them and Hawaiian law states you have to stay 20 feet away. If they happen to swim near you while you're in the water that's fine, it was their choice, but you cannot chase, touch or interact with them in any way. The fines for breaking these laws are hefty.

These laws have resulted our being able to observe so many turtles along the coast and in the water. When we stay clear, we are not a threat.

 

[DawnCt1]

I've seen the staff at the Hilton do this a lot with the turtles. Unfortunately, they aren't the ones that can grant permission and their approval won't help if you are prosecuted.

Honu are protected by Federal and State laws. The laws prohibit any interaction with them and Hawaiian law states you have to stay 20 feet away. If they happen to swim near you while you're in the water that's fine, it was their choice, but you cannot chase, touch or interact with them in any way. The fines for breaking these laws are hefty.

These laws have resulted our being able to observe so many turtles along the coast and in the water. When we stay clear, we are not a threat.

Thanks for stating that. The distance required for monk seals is much greater. I find that the turtles are curious and if you pretend as if you are ignoring them, they will come closer.