Where can I take my kids while at Waikoloa? (Hilo: rental car, real estate)

[naners22]

We will be staying at the Marriott Waikoloa for 10 days in April. Kids are ages 6 and almost 2. 6 year old is great, but 2 year old is in the throes of the "terrible 2's." (I apologize in advance to the folks in front of us on the flight from LAX). Can anyone suggest some good activities for this age range (besides the obvious beach)? What about restaurants. I've heard the hotel restaurants are not very good and really expensive. We've never been to the big island, but have been to Oahu, Maui, and Kauai several times. Is a trip to see the volcano reasonable in a rental car from Waikoloa - or is it too far for 2 kids? Also, I've heard that kids are not allowed all the way up anyway. Is it worth it just to go to the visitor center? Are there good viewing places without taking a helicoptor ride, which I am terrified of? Is it possible to do the dolphin experience at the Hilton even if we are not staying at the Hilton?
We are also thinking about purchasing an investment property. Any suggestions as to good areas for this? Any comments are welcomed! Mahalo.

[wika]

aloha naners22 & kiddies,

the great thing about your hotel is they have a concierge that can make excellent suggestions... about 5 - 10 minutes is a hotel area called mauna lani. the mauna lani bay resort, has a nice beachfront restaurant in a lagoon filled with stingrays, sharks, and other fish & turtles... fun for the kids to see... and its free with free parking. also right along the beachfront where there are hammocks and sea turtles on the beach. in that same area is a park with ancient hawaiian petroglyphs and caves and such. they have information and advertisings about them on the hotel website (maunalani dot com).

realistically speaking, a drive from waikoloa to the volcano would non-stop be about an hour and a half... there won't be too many places to stop along the way to get out and entertain the children... but there are many scenic lookouts, small towns, and a lot of cows and horses along the way LOL... the volcano national park is something like $10 per vehicle or maybe $20, i'm not too sure, but it is children friendly. sulfur bluffs, steam vents, old lava tubes, kilauea iki crater... lots to see and learn about... might be real fun for the 6 year old!

in kawaihae, (about 15 minutes from waikoloa) there is a super groovy restaurant called "cafe pesto" it's very reasonably priced.. hell, it's downright cheap, but the food is outstanding! they also offer an organic salad which is primo cause i personally prefer organic foods.

in waikoloa village, there is a restaurant called sharky's... it's also a great place to eat... or there is a supermarket there where you can just buy your own food (or snacks etc for road trips and while at the hotel) (it's in a local district so it's not overpriced like the hotel areas tend to be). there are also smaller take-away restaurants there that have plate lunches.

having done helicopter tours on all the islands, big island was my least favourite. the vast size of the island limits what you can see, and majority of it is old lava flows with little pockets of greenery here and there. very long, and very expensive considering what you see. i wouldn't do it again. if you do decide to do it... right in waikoloa is blue hawaiian helicopters tour company right off the main road. you cant miss it.. they're the safest & best!!

a handful of your other questions would probably be better directed towards your hotel concierge... they're very helpful.

as far as the investment properties... waimea (wet side) and waikoloa are my favourite parts of the island and do well in the rental market. kona is the typical choice because it's the "big" city for big island. even pacific palisades is pretty popular for rentals, and it's near kona, so that might be a wise choice.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by wika

realistically speaking, a drive from waikoloa to the volcano would non-stop be about an hour and a half... there won't be too many places to stop along the way to get out and entertain the children... but there are many scenic lookouts, small towns, and a lot of cows and horses along the way LOL... the volcano national park is something like $10 per vehicle or maybe $20, i'm not too sure, but it is children friendly. sulfur bluffs, steam vents, old lava tubes, kilauea iki crater... lots to see and learn about... might be real fun for the 6 year old!

Actually, the drive from Waikoloa to Volcanoes National Park is more like two and a half hours non-stop. It would be better to stay overnight (or spend a couple of days) in Hilo or Puna instead of trying to drive to the volcano and back from Waikoloa. Children seem to enjoy the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo (free admission), the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo ($14.50 admission for adults, $7.50 for children ages 4-12, free for children under 4), the Mauna Loa Visitors' Center in Hilo (free admission), the Queen Lili'uokalani Gardens in Hilo (free admission), the Kapoho Tide Pools in Puna (free admission), and Ken's Pancake House in Hilo.

As for investment properties, check out the Hilo side. Hilo is the second largest city in the entire state of Hawai'i and there are quite a few real estate bargains to be had here.