The Big Island

damo

Proud Redhead
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Jan 1, 2001
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Has anyone spent a week on the Big Island in Hawaii? We are looking at spending two weeks in Hawaii and have booked one in Kauai and have a timeshare resort on hold on the Big Island. We are staying at the Shell Vacations Beachboy in Kauai and we have the Holua Resort at Mauna Loa Village on the Big Island on hold.

Is there enough to do there for a week or should be hold off and book one of the other islands? How is the golf?

I'd appreciate any opinions about which island is the nicest and where you like to go the best!

Thanks!
 
This past August we spent 7 days on Maui and 3 on the Big Island. If I had to do it over again, I would have switched the two. I absolutely loved the Big Island. There are all different kinds of climates (cool mountains, hot lava fields) all there, The Volcano is awesome. I wish we had more time to explore the Kona area where the coffee farms are. So much to do there.

I found it less commercial and more accessible - the tourist attractions are well marked and you don't feel like you're trespassing like we did on Maui all the time. Don't miss the lava tubes and the volcano park (and it you're lucky you'll get to see the active flow). To me, those are the reason to go to Hawaii in the first place.

DH golfed on Maui (Plantation, I think?) but didn't have time on BI.
 
I have family in Hilo and I always go there more so than Honolulu where it is congested and too commercial.

The volcano is a good place to explore. Be sure to bring a poncho because it rains a lot and lots of camera film/memory card space/etc. Good basic and more advanced hiking trails, too. You have to drive in to really get to where the action is (lava flow) so be prepared for that, too.

There's a winery in the Volcano area which is unique and lots of bed and breakfasts in that area, too.

I would recommend driving around the island and seeing the sites. You can start in either Kona or Hilo, but many rental cars don't allow travel on Saddle Road which is a short cut. There is a surcharge if you rent at one location and drop off at another location so be aware of that, too.

You might want to check www.gohawaii.com/bigisland and check out the golf section, too.

HTH and have fun for me! :wizard:
 
We didnt spend a week on the Big Island we split out week between the Big island and Oahu--Honolulu area. And yes it looked like we were staying downtown any city USA.
I loved the Big Island. We stayed in Kona but did drive over to Hilo for a day. We loved hiking in the Volcano's and the snorkeling was wonderful! lots to see and its also a wonderful place to relax.
 

The snorkeling is great on the Big Island. For something different: My favorite thing I did on the Big Island was join a small tour going to the top of Mauna Kea (an inactive volcano). It is technically the highest mountain in the world (with most of the height being below sea level) and home to a bunch of astronomical observatories. There is very little light pollution, so many countries have built observatories up there. When I was there, it was freezing and snowy at the top and the tour group gave us parkas to wear while we explored the top and watched the sunset. Then we came down the mountain a bit, and the tour guide set up a telescope for the group. I have never seen so many stars. You could see the milky way with the naked eye and a nebula through the telescope (among other things). The tour guide was very informative and the group was small - only about 10-12 of us. Such a unique experience. If you're interested in astronomy or stargazing, you might like it as much as I did.
 
We spent 8 days on the Big Island in 2004. I could have spent more time exploring because we didn't do everything that I had hoped. Our favorites included Volcano National Park, snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay and malasadas at Tex Drive In.

DH did golf at the King's Course in Waikoloa.
 
The Big Island is BIG! I don't think you will be bored. Ideally, I would stay one or two nights in Volcano National Park. It is spectacular during the day and night. I saw my first "moonbow" in VNP while we were driving the Chain of Craters Road. The hiking and the visitors' centers are well worth the time spent there. We also enjoyed the Tsunami Museum in Hilo. The woman who showed us around the museum survived a tsunami as a child. She said that she was on the school bus en route to school when her brother noticed that there was no water in Hilo Bay. Her driver, knowing the warning signs headed towards the hills. She never got her feet wet. The beauty of the Hilo side is really not to be missed. Akaka Falls, Waipio Valley for horseback riding, the overlooks, Waimea (Kamuela). We rented kayacks and paddled to Captain Cooks monument across Kealakekua Bay. The place of Refuge is also a nice way to spend a couple of hours.
 
Well, it sure sounds beautiful! I think you've made up my mind.
 
I live in Honolulu and the Big Island is the neighbor island I've visited the most. On at least 2 occasions, I've stayed there an entire week, and activities were never lacking. We usually stay at the Hilton Waikoloa on the Kohala Coast, which is an attraction in itself!

Like DawnCt1 said, the Big Island truly is big! Keep in mind that it will take at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours to get to Hilo on the other side of the island, but it's doable in a day trip.

I agree that you should check out the Volcano, which is kind of on the other side of the island. You can drive around the southern side of the island to Kau, which is the southern-most tip of the United States. There's not much there, but the sheer cliffs are pretty amazing.

In Hilo, be sure to stop off at Big Island Candies and pick up their chocolate covered shortbread cookies. Their chocolate covered macadamia nuts are very good too. They make great gifts. They only sell them on the Big Island, or online thru their website. North of Hilo is the Hamakua Coast, which is breathtaking. It rains a lot there, so it's very green, and there are a lot of cliffs, making for great views. Lots of waterfalls. Be sure to go to Akaka Falls along that coast.

There is also a road between Kohala and Hilo called the Saddle Road. There are ranches and farmlands there. In Kamuela, along Saddle Road there are a couple of well-known restaurants: Edelweiss and Merrimans. I haven't tried Edelweiss yet, but we stopped at Merrimans for lunch and really enjoyed it. If you get a chance to try Kamuela beef (I think quite a few Big Island restaurants serve it), try it, it's excellent!

In Kawaihae, just north of Kahala, there's a restaurant called Cafe Pesto that we really enjoy. I think they have a couple of other locations too, but that's the only one I've been to. Also in Kawaihae, there's a National Monument (the name escapes me right now -- I think it was a burial ground).

The northern part of the island, Hawi, is beautiful too. We drove around there and came by a pasture with wild horses. There is also a hiking trail there. The King Kamehameha statue is there, and across the street is a little hole in the wall counter service place, I think it was called Rainbow Cafe, that was great. I tried a lamb burger, and it was one of the best burgers I've ever had! There is also a flume thingy there -- again, the name escapes me, but you ride in these banana-looking rafts down a flume.

One year we did a Zodiac raft ride that left from Honokohau Harbor (south of Kona) and went to Kealakekua Bay, where Captain Cook arrived. It was really one of the best things I've ever done on vacation, we had dolphins swimming really close to our raft, and we were able to go into some lava tubes/caves.

Anyhow, I'm sure there are more things I'll think of later, but I'm almost certain you can find nice ways to fill 7 days there! Also, I'm not a golfer, but I don't think the island is lacking in that area either!
 
We were there in June and stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village as well. We absolutely loved it. Volcano National Park is not to be missed.
 
Where is a nice place to stay over by Volcano National Park for a night?
 
damo said:
Where is a nice place to stay over by Volcano National Park for a night?



Try checking-The Volcano House. They also have an online site.
Or, you can drive back into Hilo which will be around a 20-30 minute drive.
 
damo said:
Where is a nice place to stay over by Volcano National Park for a night?

I'm not 100% positive, but I think the Volcano House is the only place to stay! Here's a link I found:
http://www.nps.gov/havo/visitor/lodge.htm

I haven't stayed there myself, but I recall having lunch or something there. I know people who've stayed there who liked it.

Here's another link:
http://www.volcanohousehotel.com/

The second link is the official site, which says it's the only hotel in the park, and the first link was the National Park Service site.
 


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