Puako is not too far south of Kawaihai (the harbor gigib mentioned) and there are a few restaurants there that will not be as expensive as the big resorts somewhat further south. Hawi (ha-vi) is about 20 miles past Kawaihae. The Bamboo Restaurant is fun, and has live local music on weekends.

Public access to the good beach at Mauna Kea resort is restricted to about 60 cars at a time, and it usually fills up by 10:30. Then you have to sit in line and wait until someone leaves. The beach at Waikoloa has a big public access parking lot and there's no problem there.

The very best snorkeling is at Kekalakakua Bay. In fact, it is a National Marine Reserve. But if you don't take a kayak or snorkel boat the hike down the Pali is steep and sunny for two miles. The climb up is tough. Not one to take in flip-flops!! the other great snorkeling is right in Kona at Kahalu'u Park, but it is crowded because it's so accessible to tourists.

I suggest you buy "The Big Island Revealed" for the best info,

Hi emhelmke-

Yes- we finally decided and booked some cottages! After reading The Big Island Revealed (yes Charnee- it is a great resource- highly recommended!) and doing more research, we ended up settling on THREE locations for our 15 days.

We decided that we wanted to start on the sunny side or it wouldn't feel like we were really on vacation. Yes, I am a sun-worshipper! I can't imagine being on vacation in Hawaii and not being tan. I know it is wrong but I am olive skinned and never burn, and I love being in the sun. We also love to dive and snorkel, we LOOOOVE having a view, and we love small funky towns of the beaten track, so we kept coming back to Puako. I really had my heart set on walking out of the door and onto the beach with my coffee each morning but our budget was limited. We looked at all kinds of houses and ended up booking this one in Puako:

http://leecaptures.smugmug.com/Aloha...2925&k=T94JVDP

The house is sort of dumpy with no AC but look at the view! and the pool! and cheaper than a resort (which we would hate anyway.) We heard the warnings about heat and bugs in Puako, but we are from ultra humid, 95 degree DC, with tiger mosquitos all over our neighborhood, so we think we can tough it out for that view. We actually lived with no AC for our first few years together here, and took cold baths before bed every night to cool down enough to sleep, so we figure the pool right next to the bedroom nook will serve that same purpose. We are not super picky about fancy furnishings and amenities as long as the view is great, so we hope we will love it.

We also heard the warnings that the beach in Puako is mostly coral/lava, not white soft sand, but we usually go to Bonaire to dive so we are accustomed to iron shore rather than sand- the raves about the snorkeling and diving in this area make us see the shore there as full of interest rather than lacking in white sand. We are excited to explore the sunny side and do a lot of snorkeling and diving.

From here we head over to Puna for 4 nights on the Kapoho tide pools. In the end, after more research and talking to a friend who went to the BI last year, we decided to spend less time on this side of the island. We do tend to prefer sunny to lush but misty, so we think this should give us enough time to explore this part of the island. We aren't too worried about long drives to other areas because it looks like all the drives are gorgeous and we enjoy driving, actually. We are also perfectly happy spending an entire day at home relaxing, cooking stuff from the farmer's market, and looking at the view. Here is where we are staying:

http://www.vrbo.com/147778

Love the tide pools right outside the door! And the hot tub!

I've always loved driving around upcountry when we go to Maui, and I've always had a fantasy of moving to a farm, so when we read about the Puakea Ranch, we just knew we had to spend a few nights there. They bring you free range eggs every day! You can pick veggies from their garden! There's a hot tub!! (Is is the Big Island the northern California of Hawaii? So many of the houses we looked at had hot tubs, which we love.) We also decided we needed to spend some time in the Kohala area with easy proximity to Hawi, so this fit the bill in many ways.

http://www.puakearanch.com/james-cottage.html

We are excited about all three locations. I love the process of researching and looking for vacation homes, and I agonize while making the choices, but once we decide, I just get pumped for where we are staying and forget all the other options. Good luck with your search and planning!

You will have the best time. The places in Puako & Kohala look gorgeous. I'm in Hawi/Kapa'au now. It is paradise. Many good restaurants. Wonderful spirit and musical traditions, and interesting history.

I've written a bunch about this area, if you want to search Kailani and Hawi.

Puako is gorgeous, and there are many sleepy Honu (sea turtles).

One thing about driving, is that the scenery is beautiful. So, plan to explore it all, and experience treasures along the way.

Spot on plan. I have been to Big Island for our Honeymoon (a week back in '86 - couple nights up at Volcano House and a week in a condo on Ali drive south of Kona) and 3 or 4 times since - and pretty much all over. My wife and mother in law loved being at an artist's retreat up at Volcano Village (daughter in law of my mother in law's neighbor) - Kate's Volcano Village Inn - and I did drive east of Hawi when I stayed up there for a coople of days and the Ranch you have selected seems perfect.

We also loved a night dive off Kona side - where the Octapus were moving fast - and I touched down once - during the day - at 130 feet - on just air. Came right back up though. :)

Have a blast.

BlueSwimmer: We just returned from the Big Island and I just finished posting my trip report, except I need to add photos. You'll love it! Since you like snorkeling, I recommend you snorkel at a place called Two Step. My husband watched an octopus swim and change colors there and saw tons of fish, and everybody who got out of the water was excited about what they had seen. If you park at the nearby park (cost you a few dollars to park), you can walk to Two Step. The nearby park is worth seeing, especially at sunset...the Place of Refuge. It's the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park.

We had the Big Island Revealed book with us...along with "Lonely Planet Discover Hawaii the Big Island" guidebook. We found the Lonely Planet guidebook to be more useful when you are driving around, because it has a better index. Using the lonely planet guidebook, you can look up all the little tiny towns in the index as you are driving around, and it is really helpful. But the Big Island Revealed guidebook makes it a lot more difficult to find little towns in the index or to find anything quickly. When you are on the Big Island, you won't have time to fuss around with a book that takes too long to find things in. Just read the Big Island Revealed book at home and mark some things. If you have the Lonely Planet guidebook bring that with you.

The locals can best guide you to the good places to eat. The guidebooks get quickly outdated about the rapidly changing restaurant scene. I included our favorite spots to eat in my trip report.

Have fun! WE loved exploring all the sides of the island...ran out of time to go to the southernmost part. We stayed in Hilo on the east side, and also in Mauna Lani hotel on the Kohala coast (west side) for our 30th anniversary trip. WE love finding good casual local spots to eat.

Thanks for the tips Kailani, tomsd, and Melissa- We are excited about the Place of Refuge and Two Step (and turtles and octopi!).

Melissa- we will check out the Lonely Planet guide- thanks for the tip. I loved your restaurant reviews and trip report. Congrats on conquering your fear of snorkeling. I faced my irrational fear of sharks years ago to get scuba certification with my husband and have loved it ever since (although I still do an underwater scream whenever we actually see a shark!) Can't wait to drink the Kona coffee every morning while looking at the view and feeling the soft breezes!

We just got back too. I am working on trip report. I will be the descending voice re <b>Two Step</b>. We found it very difficult to get out of the water. I am a very experienced snorkeler, and I was almost in tears trying to get out of the water. There were tons of sea urchins tucked into holes in the rocks/lava all along the areas to exit. There was so surf, but not any warnings and I had a terrible time getting out. A kind man helped me out without injury but it wasn't fun - at all. There were so many other great spots, that I would pass this one up.

When you land - pick up some tourist mags at the airport. They have good maps and the island broken down in sections - and a lot of coupons, places to see, etc.

Blue Swimmer- I am very interested in the Puako house, but your link to the website brings up a site that is full of fotos, but short on info about the house, such as location, rates, a physical description of amenities(washer-dryer,internet connection, etc.) Can you help me out here, please? Thanks.

Blue Swimmer and everyone- thank you so much for the info! Great to have and much appreciated!

Here is the link to the rental agency website for the Puako house.

http://www.hawaiioceanfront.com/puako_OF_cottage.asp

The rental agency is called Aloha Debbie. Lots of great vacation homes on this island!

Suggest a 2:1 ratio of East:West side - Please see my thread "World's Worst Mexican . . " sorry about the title, but I have some recommendaiton in this trip report - esp. the restaurant "Thai Thai" in Volcano.