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My wife and I get to spend a week in Waikoloa for her medical training, and I have put together a possible itinerary. She is in school till noon, then we are on our own. I would like as much feedback, good and bad, as possible. Keep in mind that I am 50 years young, do not swim, and we have a convertible for the week.
Mon Jan 18th - North loop drive 19 to 270 to the King statue, back down 250
Tues - drive to South Point
Wed - We have reservations for the Marriott luau, because it is across the street from where we are staying.
Thurs - Akaka Falls State Park
We don't have anything planned for the Fri/Sat/Sun before, or the Fri after, just to relax.
I greatly appreciate any and all feedback.
We wanted to go to Pearl Harbour, but the net says that should be a full day trip, with airfare, etc.
At each destination, we were thinking of dining somewhere special, just don't know where.
January 18 -- sounds like a good plan. When you stop in Kaapau at the King Kamehameha statue (I wasn't sure if you were talking about Elvis), walk across the street to Ackerman Gallery. They've got some beautiful stuff at reasonable prices. Continue down the road to the Pololu Overlook. You can even walk down part of the way to maximize the views. Don't forget that, wherever you stop, either take valuables with you or lock them in the trunk. Better yet -- leave them in the hotel room or at home!
January 19 -- assuming that you are at the Waikaloa Resort and not Waikaloa Village. It will take you at least two hours to drive to South Point. That's without any stopping or traffic backups along the way. Please double check your car rental agreement as I've heard that some companies don't allow going to South Point. When you return to the highway, go right towards Hilo and go about 5 miles to Naalehu. Visit the Punalu'u Bakery and get some yummy malasadas.
January 21 -- Akaka Falls State Park. I assume that you will be driving over the Saddle Road. It used to be off-limits to rental cars, but has been majorly improved. While you are there, plan to spend time in Hilo and perhaps the Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Gardens. Drive back to Waikaloa by way of 19 (goes from Hilo to Waimea.Leave yourself time to visit Laupahoehoe and the overlook at Waipio Valley. You could do dinner in Waimea but just realize that the roads will be very dark as there are no street lights.
Hopefully you are Costco members. Usually the cheapest gas on the island.
There are many beautiful beaches near the resorts. Check out Anaeho'omalu Bay (A Bay) near the Waikaloa Resort, as well as Hapuna Beach, Mauna Kea, etc. There are some interesting historic and cultural sites at the Mauna Lani resort.
No, you do NOT want to fly over to Honolulu to go to Pearl Harbor. Save that for another trip.
When getting directions, nobody will refer to the roads by numbers, always by names or by where they go. Most folks call 19 Mamalahoa Highway, or just 'the road' in many areas since it's the only road. Not sure which is 270 and 250, but if you come back down from Hawi by Waimea, you'd have places to eat for dinner.
Driving up to Hawi is lovely, loads of scenery. Pololu overlook is lovely, there is a trail down to the beach, but it's really steep and takes about a half hour down and about an hour or more back up. Plus the beach is more rocky than anything else. Folks like the Bamboo restaurant up in Hawi, otherwise, there's eating places in Waimea.
You'll probably head up to Waimea or into Kailua-Kona for food fairly often since the resorts are generally known as pricey places to eat.
Rental cars aren't supposed to drive to South Point that I know of, but ask your rental car people, they'd know.
How about Volcano? It would be worthwhile to stay overnight there, though, so you don't have to make the drive all in one day. It's over a hundred miles between Waikoloa and Volcano and the roads are slow and twisty. The fastest posted speed on the island is 55 and our "highway" probably resembles what you consider to be a two land rural black top type road.
Waipio Overlook is scenic and nearby Honokaa is an interesting little town. Lots of old wooden stores full of little shops and such these days. Lots of little eateries, one of the favorites is Grandma's Kitchen, should you like Portuguese food? There's also an Italian place with a few tables on the sidewalk as well as inside. The Landing makes a nice burger and good pizza. Honokaa has an ice cream shop and fudge shop, too. A lot of folks drop into Tex Drive Inn on the highway above Honokaa town for malasadas. Honokaa is on the way to Waipio overlook, so schedule that in so you'll have time before or after looking at Waipio. Rental cars can not go down into Waipio valley. It requires a true 4WD with low lock, not an AWD and I'm not even sure if the 4WD rentals are allowed down there.
Laupahoehoe point is very scenic and has a monument to the tsunami victims from the '48 tsunami.
Hilo is a nice quaint town, too. Lilioukalani gardens is a nice walking spot, wandering through Bayfront area is fun. There's Anuenue 'Rainbow' Falls in Hilo. Very easy to see, no hike necessary. Akaka Falls requires a hike. In Hilo is the candy company which has really tasty stuff. There is another King Kamehameha statue just like the one up in Hawi as well as the one at the post office across from Iolani palace on Oahu. Not sure why there's three of them. One of them was lost overboard at sea and then found again after they'd made the replacement, I'm pretty sure that's the one up in Hawi. But that still means they'd made two others.
The zoo in Hilo is nice. It's small and half botanical garden, but for a free zoo, it's lovely.
If you stay up late at night, there's the star gazing at the ranger station halfway up to the observatories. Another night time thing is to swim with the manta rays. That's in Kailua-Kona.
Thanks for the replies, seems I have more homework this weekend. I didn't know Akaka Falls required a hike. My knee doesn't like walking to the back of WalMart, so any hike is probably out of the question unless it is flat .....
I read more reviews on the South Point excursion. This seems way too much trouble just to see the ocean from a different view. I do believe Hawaii is surrounded buy water ( ;() ), so I am sure there are plenty of other "drive right up to the edge" overlooks. I will research the ones hotzcatz mentioned, and really appreciate the input.
A vacation, even if it is for business, is supposed to be stress free. I might just find myself under a palm at the Lava Lava Club every night.....
Akaka Falls 'hike' is on a sidewalk, but it's still about a half mile long and also involves some stairs, so you may prefer Anuenue (Rainbow) Falls in Hilo. Anuenue may not be as tall as Akaka, but it's got more presence, I think. Probably because you're closer to the falls when you're at the viewing spots. And it's right close to the parking lot, which makes it really easy.
Folks like Imiloa astronomy/science museum in Hilo, although I've not been there yet. They say the lunch place there is good. There's also Lyman museum in Hilo as well as a Tsunami museum. Laupahoehoe has a small train museum and there's supposed to be food now at the nearby old Papaaloa General Store which has reopened. I've not been there yet, but have heard good things about it. A lot of the island is sort of vacant, so you have to figure out where things are before wandering off too far. Laupahoehoe has the only gas station between Hilo and Honokaa which is a forty some odd mile stretch. Going over Saddle Road, there's not any gas stations or towns. Also, when using the word 'town' it's probably comparable to 'hamlet' or 'small village'. Just because there's a name on the map doesn't mean more than a few houses and maybe a tiny post office of some type. I think Ninole's post office is the smallest free standing post office in the United States. That's along the Hamakua Coast if you want to mail a post card from it.
Volcano National Park can be experienced without a lot of walking. There's the visitor center along with a nice nearby art gallery with parking adjacent. The Jagger Museum and Scientific Observatory is right near the edge of the volcanic plain created by a long ago caldera and overlooks the current caldera. Good view of Halemaumau (the steaming caldera) from there with very little walking. The Steam Vents are pretty much drive right up. Volcano House is a lovely place for lunch or dinner with great views overlooking Halemaumau. To go through Thurston Lava Tube, there'd be a hike with some stairs. There's also some longer hikes off into the Ka'u desert but they don't let folks hike across the caldera at this time due to volcanic activity - not that you'd want to hike it anyway.
If you're at the Waikoloa resort, they should have lots of loafing areas around. Big swimming pool with lots of 'features', if I remember right. Doesn't seem fair that hotels have much nicer swimming pools than most towns do.
Up in Kawaihae is the Blue Dragon Musicquarium which is an interesting place for dinner with music. Hawi has Bamboo, Waimea has Merrimans, Honokaa has The Green Cafe. Those are all the higher end eating places with Merriman's on top of the list. Not as much ambiance as some of the others, but the food is probably the best. Merriman's also has a lovely little garden right next to their restaurant which is where they grow a lot of the herbs and probably some of the kales and lettuces used in the restaurant, I'd expect. It has benches and arbors and is a lovely small garden if you have to wait for a table. If you like gardens and want a very tiny stroll, it's worth a stop just to see the different plants.
Most of main street in Honokaa is about two short blocks with parking directly in front of the shops, so that would be worth a drive through. Old bayfront area of Hilo is similar. You can park in front of small shops and not have to hike across acres of parking lot and then wander more acres of concrete inside a building. Lilioukalani Gardens in Hilo is scenic and you can drive through most of it. Also, Banyan Drive in Hilo has lots of banyans planted by famous people. Their names are on little signs in front of the trees they planted. It's a short drive, but right next to Lilioukalani park. If you start at Ken's House of Pancakes, just head towards the ocean and that's Banyan Drive. We don't have a whole bunch of roads so you won't get too far lost. Plus, if you go way too far, you end up back where you started.
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
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I read more reviews on the South Point excursion. This seems way too much trouble just to see the ocean from a different view
The cliffs at South Point are pretty cool and there is quite a bit to do in that area (such as Green Sand Beach). But unless you are willing to do some hiking, rent a 4wd or pay to be driven out there, then you are really only going to see the cliff area. It's still one of my favorite places to go. If you are going to drive around the South end of the island from Hilo, then it's worth doing, but unless you are a cliff-diving adrenaline junkie, then it's probably not worth a separate trip.
If you need more details, you can buy a map. Your GPS won't work everywhere, but it works most places. One of the most important things is to bring two sets of clothes in the car with you in addition to umbrellas. When you're driving around the island, the temperature can change drastically. We made the mistake of only wearing T-shirts and shorts and found it to be nasty cold and windy around Volcano. It would have been a better experience if we brought long pants and a wind breaker with a hood for the nasty cold conditions when we visited that area. Personally, I wouldn't rent a convertible. They are more expensive and I don't think I would like the sun blasting down on me.
You're already staying at the best beech area on the Big Island near the Hapuna State Beech Recreation area.
Waipio Valley is worth seeing. Don't try to rent a 4 WD that can go there. Instead, take a tour. There's an outfit that does tours only less than 1 mile from the parking lot at the Waipio Valley. It will be a better experience. You won't have to drive through the small creek, the guide will tell you a lot of information about the area, the tour drives on some private roads because they have an agreement with the people who live in that area, plus you will help out a local business with your tourist money, which helps the local economy. The tour makes several stops, and you can walk around on mostly level ground. You could walk down there, but it would be hike and you'd have to walk through the creek(s) and it is kind of rough terrain for someone that has trouble with stairs.
The Pololu valley overlook is worth seeing, but if you can't handle rough and steep terrain, it isn't for you! It took us more than 30 minutes to go down and less than an hour to go up. The first time we visited the Big Island, we stopped at the warning sign about 1/4 the way down. The sign says the land could give way under your feet and you could be severely injured or killed. The second time we visited the Big Island, we went past the sign to the bottom. When your'e standing by that sign, you can see other people down by the beech several hundred feet down. One thing you would need to carefully consider is if you were down at the bottom, and it started to rain a lot, you'd be trapped down there. It might be extremely difficult and dangerous to try to go back up the hill if water is pouring down the trail. Many people forget to take water on the hike, don't forget your water.
Costco has the cheapest gas, about 50 cents cheaper than others, but you have to wait in line about 15 minutes along with all the other people that want to buy the cheaper gas. The gas is still about 50 cents higher than the mainland after the reduced price. We were told that we could drive anywhere that had pavement.
The new Saddle road extension is a nice drive, the fastest and easiest way to get to Hilo. The northern or southern coastline 'highways' are more scenic, but take a lot longer and are sometimes very twisty. The worst area for twisty roads is south of Kona. You might also drive through VOG south of Kona. We drove through some VOG and it started to make my throat sore, a little bit like the very polluted Gary Indiana was 50 years ago, before the heavy industry was off-shored to China.
There are two botanical gardens not far from Hilo. Both are worth seeing. The one near the coastline is bigger and a little nicer. However the people at the other botanical garden are much nicer, they gave us a Jackfruit and other things that they cut right off the trees for us. They even hauled the fruit to the parking lot for us and refused to take any money for the fruit.
There are times when you can run into mosquito areas. There was just a few mosquitoes in the botanical gardens, barely enough to use the mosquito repellent. It's a wise idea to have the mosquito repellent with you just in case you need it.
Akaka Falls State Park is well worth seeing. There are trails, but I think it's the equivalent of about 6 or 7 stories of steps.
We only stayed in the northern areas while visiting the Big Island, in Waikoloa Village, which was nice. A nice cool breeze at night. We also stayed near the Waipio Valley Lookout. There were a lot of mosquitoes there and the birds are very noisy all night long, except for between about 1:30 AM and 3:30 AM. We found that we could visit the southern areas, but it required a lot of driving and consumed a lot of time driving. I think it would have been a better experience to stay several days in the south.
Well ! I sure appreciate all of the feedback.
I have revised our stay just a whole lot.
Fri - Arrive at 5 and eat at Condo
Sat - Shopping nearby
Sun - Lunch in Waimia, then to Pololu Overlook
Mon -Rainbow Falls , Botanical Garden
Tues Tex Drive in / King / Bamboo House for dinner
Wed - LUAU
Thurs - Open
Fri - Volcano park for lunch, then south around back to Hilo for the flight back
Seems all so short looking at it like this, and we may or may not follow it to a "T", But I figure wherever we wind up each day, it will still be in paradise.
Waipio Valley is worth seeing. Don't try to rent a 4 WD that can go there. Instead, take a tour. There's an outfit that does tours only less than 1 mile from the parking lot at the Waipio Valley. It will be a better experience. You won't have to drive through the small creek, the guide will tell you a lot of information about the area, the tour drives on some private roads because they have an agreement with the people who live in that area, plus you will help out a local business with your tourist money, which helps the local economy. The tour makes several stops, and you can walk around on mostly level ground. You could walk down there, but it would be hike and you'd have to walk through the creek(s) and it is kind of rough terrain for someone that has trouble with stairs.
Do you happen to know the name of the tour or have any contact information for them? We'll be in Hawaii in mid February, and we'd both like to try taking the tour into the valley. I didn't see reference to it in "Hawaii: The Big Islad Revealed". Thanks in advance :-).
Do you happen to know the name of the tour or have any contact information for them? We'll be in Hawaii in mid February, and we'd both like to try taking the tour into the valley. I didn't see reference to it in "Hawaii: The Big Islad Revealed". Thanks in advance :-).
I'd love to know which one is good. I'll be on the island first two weeks of Feb. I was looking at Volcano Tours and one with a Mercedes shuttle ( can't think of the name right now)
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