Which island for my activities? Thinking Honolulu or Kailua-Kona (restaurants, price)

[diznanl]

I'm going to be visiting Hawaii during the last week in July and need advice as to which city / island to visit. I'm 33, single, and am looking for a decent nightlife, but am not a clubber... I'll be traveling alone, but would love to meet locals and/or fun tourists from other locals.

Here are some of the activities I'm looking to partake in:
Cultural festivals and/or events & sightseeing
Hiking -- not a HUGE hiker, but it'd be fun to visit a waterfall, volcano, or cool secluded area
Scuba Diving -- I'm a certified diver, but will need a master diver for refresher & guide
Nightlife -- good pubs, not clubs
Good food -- from street food to moderately priced restaurants
Relaxing on the beach and/or at the pool with a good drink

Sorry for the title of this thread, I know Honolulu and Kailua-Kona are not islands, but those are the cities on Oahu or Hawaii I'm currently considering. If Maui or Kauai would better fit the above activities or would offer more, I'm completely open to those as well!

The question is: are the opportunities on the Big Island (better beaches, scuba diving, exploring volcanos/rainforest, traditional culture) more available? Besides nightlife, what would I be giving up by going to Kailua-Kona vs Honolulu?

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks,
Dan

[OpenD]

Honolulu is a bustling city in a county of about 963,000 people. The city itself is urban, buzzy and has lots of nightlife.

Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated area of about 33,000 people with a small town feel. It's much more relaxed, and most places close by 9.

Other than that, the very different general atmosphere, both destinations have abundant opportunities for hiking, diving, good eats, etc. But, the only place to see an active volcano, if that's on your bucket list, is about a two-hour drive from Kailua-Kona.

There are a ton of posts on both destinations to be found in the archives here. You can pull them up using the Search function. Enter a keyword, like scuba, then highlight Oahu or Big Island to narrow the search, or Hawaii to bring up the whole forum.

Happy hunting!