Any suggestions on where to stay/what to do from people who have been there? Googled, but keep finding conflicting answers. Kona or Hilo? Thanks.
I stayed at Waikoloa village, which is like an artificial Disneyland kind of resort. Didn't find it particularly memorable. Driving around the island, to the volcano and to somewhat deserted beaches was a lot more interesting.
The big island is awesome! It's been a long time since I visited, but the one thing that stuck with more than anything else is the observatory and high-point. The whole island is under a light-pollution ordinance. The observatory itself is nothing special, but they have an observation area, and if you stick around until it gets dark, you'll see more stars than you can imagine. It's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen.
We go every year, just love it! We always stay at the Mauna Lani Resorts. We prefer the Kona side because it rains less there and it's almost always sunny. World class golf, scuba ( manta rays), resorts ( Hualalai, Mauna Lani, Waikoloa, Hapuna, Mauna Kea), and the town of Kona is nice too. If you decide on the Kona side, you should try the drive to Hawi up North Kohala, then drive back down the road that cuts thru Parker's Ranch. It's so beautiful up there... If you don't like hotels or have kids, the Halii Kai condos are reasonably priced and have an awesome pool area right next to the ocean. It rains more frequently on the Hilo side so it's more lush and tropical there. Waterfalls, the Mauna Loa Macadamia Plantation, and depending where you are staying it is closer to the volcanoes from here. We usually make the 2 hour drive to visit but have never stayed there. It's got an Old Hawaii feel...
Definitely do a snorkel trip to Kealakekua Bay, it is absolutely spectacular. The Akaka Falls zipline is really good too.
Get a car. The big Island is bigger than you might think. I went there for my honeymoon and we did the following (enjoyed them all): Snorkeled at Kealakekua Bay - This was probably the best snorkeling I've ever done and I've snorkeled in Belize, Cancun, Palau, Grand Cayman and Roatan. Volcanoes National Park - This was pretty cool. Bring good walking shoes. Helicopter ride over the volcano - Very expensive but it was our honeymoon so we splurged. The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden was nice. There are several gardens to tour. To be clear, in general these are not formal gardens but paths through the rain forest where you get to see waterfalls and all the plants are labeled. We also went to a Luou but it wasn't that great. The food is not good and the drinks were watered down. The fire dancing was neat for the first two or three performances but you can only take so much. It's one of those thing that you do just to do since you are in Hawaii and, if you are with a group of friends (or make friends easily), it's still a nice setting to get drunk in. I mean, your still in Hawaii!
Ka Lae (South Point) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka_Lae http://www.greensandbeachhawaii.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papakolea_Beach About a 45 minute hike from the end of the trail will net you an ancient blown out volcanic crater. The beach left over is olivine, an olive green semi-precious stone. The sand is a really cool green hue. Do not swim there...the currents are deadly...but the hike and scenery is breathtaking. It's different...and you probably won't find it listed on too many "to-do" websites. And I agree with the Saddle Road trip (the road that goes from Kona-side to Hilo). Just make sure you're not violating any rental car agreements by driving across.
the best thing I've ever done on any vacation was actually on the big island. This was just a couple weeks ago. It was a volcano hike -- we got right up to flowing lava -- 1 foot from it many times. It's incredibly hot (duh). Lava was also flowing into the water, causing the ocean to boil and steam. It was unbelievable. You had to walk 2.5 miles on cooled lava to get out to this site. Once there you could see all this lava, plus whales in the ocean and crazy rainbows from the edge of this lava cliff we were standing on. You need to be in very good shape to do this, as you actually end up walking over 6 miles on very sharp, cooled lava, with the return trip in the dark. Volcano Discovery was the tour company. It's very near the national park. highly highly recommend.
My parents stayed at Waikaloa when they came to my wedding. I went over there a few times and it felt like any resort anywhere, honestly. If you want a real island experience, don't bother with Waikaloa or really any resort on the Kona side of the island. Near Volcano National Park there are some really cool places to stay (not hotels, more like bed-and-breakfasts or just a house to rent). The weather is nice and cool up there. Waimea is another really nice area visually; the wet-to-dry side switch in scenery is pretty awesome. Personally, I like the wet (Hilo) side of the island a lot more. Less tourists, more nature. While I've been to the big island about 6 times, I haven't gone around much. I enjoyed the Volcano, Kalapana, and Akaka Falls. (and if you're wondering why I've been there so much, my wife is from Pahoa, HI (pot capital of Hawaii) and her folks still live there and run a business) Edit: I heard the helicopter rides, while fun and awesome, crash several times per year.
Check out vrbo.com for some deals on condos, houses in Kona/Kohala/Hilo. Sometimes you can find a deal there or at least you can ask for last minute deals with the owner.
How was your vacation? We are tossing around the possibility of going and staying on Oahu, west of Honolulu, for a week in December.
It was great! Ended up staying more on the Hilo side, we found there was more to do there actually. We went sight-seeing a lot, and snorkeled in Kaleakakua Bay and Manta Ray snorkeling at night. Awesome vacation.
If it all possible, stay half on Oahu and half on another island. I found Oahu to be very stressful because of traffic (it's a mini Houston!). The island is beautiful, but really congested and crime is high on the north side (saw some big Samoan dude breaking into cars with his bare hands!). I really really like Kauai, very green and took the boat ride to Na'Pali coast.
