3 days in Big Island (Hilo, Waipio: rent, hotels, restaurants)

[cooloestone]

We (I and my wife) are visiting Hawaii in November. We are visiting Oahu and Maui before going to Big Island. We will be in Big Island for almost 3.5 days. We will reach Big Island on Thursday evening around 4:45pm at Kona Aiport, and will be leaving from Hilo Aiport on Sunday around 8:30 PM. This is our first trip to Big Island. We know it is very short duration, to cover the entire island but we wish to cover as much as possible.

We have found the following things which can be visited, although we may not be able to cover everything. We would like to know what will be the best itinerary we can have for these 3 days/3 nights.

Places near Kona

1. Kailua-Kona (Historic Kailua Village)

2. Keauhou Bay

3. Hulihee Palace

4. Puunhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park

5. Kohala Coast

Things to do on the way from Kona to Hilo

1. Puukohola Neiau National Historic site

2. Waimea

3. Pololu Valley Lookout

Places near Hilo:

1. Volcano National Park

2. Akaka Falls State Park

3. Hamakua Heritage Corridor

4. Hilo downtown

Our plan is to do the things near Kona on Thursday evening and Friday entire day. We will stay in Kona on Thursday and Friday. Then on Saturday leave Kona to go to Hilo and do the things on the way and stay at night in Hilo/ near Volcano. Sunday visit the volcano and places near Hilo and leave on Sunday evening from Hilo Airport.

We might not be able to cover all the places mentioned above. Also, not sure if there are any other places which should be visited, if so we might skip some of the places we mentioned and go to those. We are from California, so we don't really care about spending too much time on beach.

We would like to know if what we are planning can be done, and also what are good places to stay in each area, and whether we should stay in Hilo or near Volcano.

We have also read about various tours, should we take tours or just rent a car and go around the places we want to go?

[OpenD]

Aloha,

Somebody else just asked nearly the same question, to which I gave a lengthy answer, so to save some effort, I'll just link you to that post... https://www.city-data.com/forum/36450020-post4.html

And don't miss this link to a post I wrote about driving all the way around the island. You may not wish to do the whole circle tour, but just grab the part(s) you're interested in. https://www.city-data.com/forum/29950840-post34.html

My number one tip for visiting the volcano is to make it an overnight stay in Volcano Village, so you can view the Volcano at night, and also during the day. It's two entirely different experiences, both unforgettable. And bring a warm jacket, rain hat, and long pants so you are prepared for whatever weather shows up.

Also, if you enjoy beautiful art and exquisite crafts from local artists and artisans, the Volcano Art Center Gallery, near the Visitors Center in the Park, is well worth a visit. http://www.volcanoartcenter.org/

[whtviper1]

I'll chime in there are so many online travel sites. Fodors, Tripadvisor, Lonelyplanet, etc.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Your first evening in Kona you can walk along Ali'i Drive and see most everything. Except that you may not get into the Palace (I don't know their hours). Most of Ali'i Drive is shops and restaurants, not really much in the way of an "historic village".

Your first full day, I strongly recommend as #1 The Place of Refuge(Pu'uhonua o Honaunau). It is my favorite place on the Kona side, with it's combination of cultural facilities and a gorgeous beach. It's about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes south of Kona, and I suggest that you plan on spending several hours. Then you could head back up north, maybe stopping at the Honokohau Harbour for lunch at Bite Me, and go to the Kohala Coast and Puukohola Heiau. I'd skip Keauhou, there really isn't anything there to see.

Leaving Kona, take Highway 190 (Old Mamalahoa Highway) to get a different view of the west side. Instead of trying to get to Pololu, which is quite a long drive to a dead end, I suggest that you go to the Waipio Valley near Honokaa. It's a much shorter detour and it is a magnificent view from the overlook. And you can stop in Honokaa for lunch; it's a cute town.
You can also stop at Akaka Falls on your way into Hilo. There really isn't a whole lot to see in downtown Hilo. It's very quaint, but you could probably just stop and walk around for a short time. The best time to be there is on Saturday, when they have the farmer's market.

This gives you one day to go to Volcano National Park. I agree with OpenD that you should stay in the Volcano area, so you can maximize your time there. I hope that your flight out is late, because there is so much to see in the park. The good news is that the Hilo airport is really small and you can get through security and to your gate in about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!!

[mdand3boys]

Hulihee Palace - I am in Kona once a month or so for fun, just to get away from "the other side of the island", generally staying at the Marriott (aka Courtyard King Kamehameha') by the bay and have yet to ever be able to see the inside of the palace. It is always closed, with some sort of sign stating a different reason each time. Maybe you will get lucky?

While there, take a look across the street at the church - fabulous building. It is open all the time. Just walk in and take a peek. They don't mind.

[JoDan]

Agree with Dreaming of Hawaii:

"Leaving Kona, take Highway 190 (Old Mamalahoa Highway) to get a different view of the west side. Instead of trying to get to Pololu, which is quite a long drive to a dead end, I suggest that you go to the Waipio Valley near Honokaa. It's a much shorter detour and it is a magnificent view from the overlook. And you can stop in Honokaa for lunch; it's a cute town."

And you can stop at Tex's for malasadas!

[davephan]

Three and a half days is way too short to see a lot on the Big Island. Even a week is still way too short. It takes a lot of time to drive around. In the car, bring beech gear, shorts, t-shirts, long shirts, long pants, a medium jacket, and umbrella. If your not prepared with warm clothes in the Volcano National Park, it will be a bad experience. There could be a nasty cold breeze there, like Minnesota in the late fall. There could be popup rain showers, so you need to be prepared for that too, especially on the east side of the island. It's easy to go through several climate zones with drastically different weather when driving around only a few hours.

If you want to go to a beautiful beach area that is not crowded, go about 30 minutes north of Kona to the Hapuna Beach State Recreation area. Parking will cost you $5. We went there several times.

[J.vick]

Originally Posted by JoDan

Agree with Dreaming of Hawaii:

"Leaving Kona, take Highway 190 (Old Mamalahoa Highway) to get a different view of the west side. Instead of trying to get to Pololu, which is quite a long drive to a dead end, I suggest that you go to the Waipio Valley near Honokaa. It's a much shorter detour and it is a magnificent view from the overlook. And you can stop in Honokaa for lunch; it's a cute town."

And you can stop at Tex's for malasadas!

Yes .... I agree we have been to the Big Island 5 times and we go Waipio every time!
Be sure to cruise down the highway to Hilo it's a beautiful drive.

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by davephan

Three and a half days is way too short to see a lot on the Big Island. Even a week is still way too short. It takes a lot of time to drive around. In the car, bring beech gear, shorts, t-shirts, long shirts, long pants, a medium jacket, and umbrella. If your not prepared with warm clothes in the Volcano National Park, it will be a bad experience. There could be a nasty cold breeze there, like Minnesota in the late fall. There could be popup rain showers, so you need to be prepared for that too, especially on the east side of the island. It's easy to go through several climate zones with drastically different weather when driving around only a few hours.

If you want to go to a beautiful beach area that is not crowded, go about 30 minutes north of Kona to the Hapuna Beach State Recreation area. Parking will cost you $5. We went there several times.

It's not really that far to drive around the island--especially compared to road-trips on the mainland. I agree that 3 days is never much for a trip, but sometimes you just have limited time.

I was just on the Big Island last week for 6 days but we spent the first three driving around the island:

Monday: We flew into Kona in the morning drove south stopping for lunch around Captain Cook, then stopping at South Point and the black sand beach at Punalu'u--driving to Volcano Village area to stay--and went to see Kilauea at night--that was about 2 hours to 2.5 hours of driving.

Tuesday: Hiked the Kileaua Iki trail in the morning drove to Pahoa for lunch, stopped at the Hilo Zoo then stayed in Hilo and spent the afternoon at Richardson Beach for snorkeling, went to Hilo Bay Cafe for dinner. Maybe an hour or more of driving.

Wednesday: Went to the farmer's market in Hilo. Drove up the coast to the Hawaii Botanical Garden and Onomea Bay along the old highway. Stopped at Akaka Falls and some farmstands and drove to the Waipio Valley lookout. Drove to Kailua via Waimea. Had time for an afternoon at the little Kona beach and walking around town and leisurely drinks and dinner. Maybe like 2.5 hours of driving.

The rest of the trip we stayed in Kona and took day trips around that side of the island until Saturday afternoon(coffee plantations, City of Refuge and Two Step snorkeling, Hapuna Beach area).

It didn't feel especially rushed, and we saw a lot of stuff and had time to get to our hotels in the afternoon to relax for a little bit. But I'm used to places where on a roadtrip you might get up early and drive for 5-7 hours easy and see stuff along the way. Driving around the Hawaiian islands, even the Big Island, feels pretty manageable to see a lot of stuff in comparison.

[GraceKrispy]

Your first evening in Kona you can walk along Ali'i Drive and see most everything. Except that you may not get into the Palace (I don't know their hours). Most of Ali'i Drive is shops and restaurants, not really much in the way of an "historic village".

Your first full day, I strongly recommend as #1 The Place of Refuge(Pu'uhonua o Honaunau). It is my favorite place on the Kona side, with it's combination of cultural facilities and a gorgeous beach. It's about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes south of Kona, and I suggest that you plan on spending several hours. Then you could head back up north, maybe stopping at the Honokohau Harbour for lunch at Bite Me, and go to the Kohala Coast and Puukohola Heiau. I'd skip Keauhou, there really isn't anything there to see.

I mostly agree with this- and really agree with visiting Pu'uhonua o Honaunau. It is one of my favorite places on Kona side as well. I also agree that there is not much point in driving down Keauhou, at least not with your time frame. It is hard to get Kona "done" in 3 days, let alone the entire island. Hulihe'e is technically only open 10-3, Tuesday-Saturday, so the hours are super limited. (I also agree with another suggestion to check out the church across the street). I'm not a huge fan of Bite Me, so that's where I differ from this post I've only been there three times, but once was great, once was awful, and once was "meh." With that kind of inconsistency, I took it off my list. Maybe it's gotten better.

I love the Pololu hike, but agree it's probably not really time-friendly based on your itinerary. Honoka'a is a cute town (Tex's!) that offers some nice scenery and will cut hours off your trip (skipping Pololu, I mean).