Big Island- Is doing both sides a must?
 

We are planning a trip for 14 days to the Big Island. Right now, we are looking at booking a great cottage on a tide pool in Kapoho for the entire stay. I'm getting cold feet that we'll be sorry we decided to stay on one side of the island once we get there.

Should we think about doing 4-5 days on the west coast (Puako) or in Hawi? Everything I've read says that we will see sun in Kapoho but is the lack of white sand beaches frustrating? Is the distance to everything on the west coast just too far to make day trips feasible?

About us: On vacation in the tropics we love:

secluded, private single family cottages with a funky and relaxing vibe

hitting the farmers' market and health food store (and local fisherman if possible) for ingredients to cook and eat on our lanai looking at a gorgeous view.

hiking, snorkeling, shore diving, exploring, reading

funky small towns with local music

We don't enjoy: resorts, crowds, mass-produced fun food, noise, wild nightlife, getting dressed up, golf, tours, or shopping.
(not condemning any of these things, we are just "granola" types)

We usually go to Maui and we always rent a little cottage down the highway from Paia, which we love (the town and the cottage). We do drive over to the south shore (Makena Beach/Wailea) for diving, body surfing, and beach time at least a few of the days we are there.

So...my gut (and my research) is telling me that if we want to body surf, scuba dive, and sit on a sandy beach, we need some time on the west side and that driving from Kapoho isn't really doable for day trips.

My hubby is telling me that it will be much more relaxing to stay in one place and just enjoy the Hilo side of the island and what it has to offer.

Any insights from people who know the island well? No marital counseling necessary- He always fights for the one location option and I always think we need to explore more locations:). Once we get there, we seem to always enjoy ourselves either way!

Where are you flying into? I think the Kona side is definitely worth seeing - and if you fly in there - why not stay there a couple days - drive up to Hawi, Waimea, etc - and then kick back the rest of the time over in Kapaho - and also from there - get up to see the Volcano - and above Hilo - Akaka Falls, etc.

BTW - from down in Kapaho - it would take at least a couple of hours to get over to Kona side. Doable if you left early - and then you might come down from Waimea - along the east side.

We scored the frequent flier tickets from Virginia to Oahu, and still need to book the short flights to the Big Island, so we can fly into either.

Kohala Coast Kona have least rain my fav stayhawaii.com will have many options.Usually fly into Konaweb.com carrentals.com
bop around stay in neat places have circumnavigated the
whole island even did the UltraMan Hawaii which was a swim
run bike around the whole island got a proclamation from
the state legislature for that.Can get super rainy around
Hilo usually spend most of my relaxation time on the dry side. Havi is nice ran to Kona from there a bit more than
a double marathon. Have fun!

Just edged this guy marshallulrich.com out
to win the masters it was a great race.

Stay half the time on the west side.

You are really going to want some nice sunny sandy beach time after a couple of days of rain and bugs in Kapoho.

we had 10 days on the BI, and split it with 4 on the Hilo side and 6 on the Kona side. I was very glad we did both. its really very long to do daytrips, and there are lots of things to see and do on the west side. I would split the time.

set up your flights to fly into one side and out of the other.

I think you might get very tired of spending the entire 2 weeks on one side. While you can drive back and forth, that's a lot of driving and it would not be all that restful [My hubby is telling me that it will be much more relaxing to stay in one place and just enjoy the Hilo side of the island and what it has to offer. ]

When is the trip?

As has been said, east side has more rain, west side has better swimming, snorkeling etc. With 2 weeks, it would be really easy to spend a week on each side and not have to do lots of driving back and forth and changing accommodations would be easy since it would be only once.

IF you are going to split your time, fly into one side and out of the other to save you from doubling back at the end of your trip.

We are going in a few weeks and are splitting are time between east and west. We want the lushness of east, but the more protected swimming and snorkeling areas of the west. This is our second trip, so we have a bit of knowing what it's like to drive there etc.

IF you need a car rental site that so far has the best prices, check out: HAWAIICARRENTALS.NET and keep in mind IF you want to drive from Saddle Road up to Mauna Kea Observation area, only Enterprise, Dollar and Thrify allow you to do so.

"? Is the distance to everything on the west coast just too far to make day trips feasible?"

Depends on how many day trips you're talking about. If you're talking 4 or more in 2 weeks, then it probably makes sense to just split up the trip between 2 locations and spend less time driving and more time doing.

Would you really want to drive a couple hours or more one-way just to go to a beach or body surf?

Sometimes it's nice to be in a place where you can just walk to a restaurant or a beach. Kapoho ain't it.

Thank you all for the great advice! Now to convince my better half.

If you can fly into Hilo - it's a beautiful flight (assuming it goes down the East side) - and maybe you stay a week at the Kapoho villa and then decide if you want to do more exploring, etc.

Moi - I would definitely spend at least some time on the Kona side, and don't miss getting up to the Volcano. They have some nice B & B's at Volcano Village - or the Volcano Inn at the Visitor center is also a trip.

You all convinced us! We were able to change our tickets to fly in and out of Kona. We are thinking of doing the east side first, so that if we do see little sun, we can look forward to it for the second half of our trip.

Now we need to figure out where to stay for the west side week. I am looking mostly at Puako, which seems low key with some affordable ocean front beach houses and proximity to great snorkeling and beaches. Any negatives to Puako?

On a post from a few years ago, when we were thinking of this same trip (but had to stay home for family reasons) someone mentioned humidity and bugs being an issue there. We are from DC and New Orleans, so our tolerance of humidity is pretty well honed (but we are used to battling it with AC and most rentals don't seem to have it.)

Any VOG issues in that area we should be aware of?

We are also thinking we should spend the first night in a hotel near the airport (plane arrives around 8:00) and do the drive to the east side in daylight so we can enjoy the views (and find the rental house!). Any good budget options for one night?

Mahalo everyone!

Oh- and we will be there in August if that makes a difference weather-wise.

BlueSwimmer, we rented a home in Kona at the end of August a few years ago. We found the temperature comfortable--the tradewinds help a lot when you're close to the ocean. We encountered some tiny ants and the occasional roach, easily vanquished by the can of Raid in the cottage, but no mosquitoes. We loved our stay on the Big Island. Here's the link to my brief trip report: http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...big-island.cfm.

Another vote for a few days on the dry side, especially if you are snorkelers/divers.

We rented a condo in Puako in the one several story building there, no charm, but serviceable. Puako is very cute and peaceful, snorkeling is good if the water is flat, loads of turtles. Very close to the gorgeous Hapuna Beach. Restaurants are a bit of a drive, though. You have the expensive Kohala resorts, uphill to Waimea, and a couple of places at the little harbor to the north (name is forgotten). It's about a 40 minute drive down to Kona. Heck, with your 14 days you could even do a few days in Puako and a few in Kona! Like someone else said, don't miss the volcano.

A night snorkel with the mantas is an adventure, plus do not miss Kealakekua Bay and Honaunau (Two-Step). You can actually hike down to Kealakekua, 2 miles down then 2 sweaty miles back up, but it beats going on a crowded or expensive snorkel boat. There is talk of limiting the number of kayak rentals allowed in the bay.

The snorkeling on the west side of this island is drop dead incredible.

The sandy parts of the beaches in Puako are fairly small and rocky. I had some problems avoiding small sea urchins on the rocks. For a big long sandy beach more suitable for swimming or playing in the waves, Hapuna or Mauna Kea beaches are much better. Not any places to eat in Puako. The Waikoloa or Mauna Lani areas have more restaurant and beach access.

<<The snorkeling on the west side of this island is drop dead incredible.>>

Yes, it is!!

I still remember the snorkeling day we spent there. We just went to one of the public access beaches (behind one of the big hotels) and snorkeled from the shore. There were TONS of beautiful fish, and several turtles came by and checked us out. It was really like snorkeling in a big aquarium!

Definitely go up and see Haiwi. Neat little village with a real artsy, funky vibe. Oh, and go have a malasada donut at Ted's Drive In. Mmmmm...

Blue Swimmer- did you ever decide where to stay and for your trip? We sound like we have very similar likes/dislikes and I am planning a trip for our family as well. We absoultely love Paia but want to try a new island! I was thinking about splitting the time between the 2 sides and possibly staying in Kapoho and either Puako or Kealekakua Bay (S. Kona). If you have any leads I would love to hear about them! Some of the comments on this thread have me hesitant about Kapoho now. We love to be able to walk to restaurants, town, etc.