Hi all, DH and I decided on a last minute trip to the Big Island (got one more month to prepare!). I've got the blue book (Hawaii Big Island Revealed) and am looking thru the boards for itinerary recommendations.

We are planning to stay in Kona for 6 nights, Hilo for 3 nights. Our priorities are scuba diving, beaches, and hiking. Any recommendations on must-do's/must-see's would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance!

I don't scuba, but there are plenty of excellent tours.

Beaches

Kua Bay, Hapuna, Beach 69, Muana Kea (go real early for a pass).

snorkeling: two step, kahalu'u and kapoho tidepools (out reef only).

places of interest: Honaunau (place of refuge), Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Garden (by Hilo), coconut island and garden nearby, downtown Hilo (old town), Volcano National Park, Waipio Overlook.

hikes, any hike into the caldera, Kilauea Iki, Thurston lava tube, the rim hike from Volcano house to Kilauea Iki, hike into Waipio Valley over to the Z trail. At place of refuge there is the tax trail. Hike the coast at the national park by the small boat harbor by the airport.

Thanks wbpiii! I will look up these places you've listed!

We loved the Big Island. We stayed at Holmes Sweet Holmes B$B in Hilo. Lovely couple, not that we saw much of them as we were out all day.She used to work at the Volcano Information Centre.
http://www.holmesbandb.com/

Diving with the Manta Rays at Kona was by far one of the best things we have ever done.
http://www.jacksdivinglocker.com/cha...mantanight.htm

Kona coffee is fabulas, but expensive. This one is arguably the best.
http://www.greenwellfarms.com/

The painted Church near Kona is great and it is not far from Honaunau (place of refuge), which also has good snorkelling/diving.

Captain cook Memorial is a nice kayak trip and snorkel/dive.

The Petroglyphs near Kona a worth a look. If you want to see the one of Captain Cook's ship. It is about 15 metres off the track near the first tree on the right as you walk out of the marina into the park.

The beach at the park also had turtles.

The Volcano is terrific. The volcano man will take you on atour to the lava if it is possible. The crater is fantastic. Go there at night and look at the glow. They also have telescopes to look at the stars.

We loved the Chain of Craters road and the road that heads off into the desert.

Pu'u Huluhulu is a great walk and you can download a information booklet form the website or buy one for about a dollar at the park. Kilaua Iki likewise has a booklet.

http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/hike.htm

The green sand beeach is another highlight as well as the rest of the coast there. It is rough track but very clear.It takes and hour or so each way to walk there, but is well worth it.

Take plenty of water on all the walks. The combination of wind and sun is awesome!

For a taste of what you can see, have a look here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersa...7624839368466/

BTW, I know many of my scuba friends who love two-step. I see scuba tour boats all the time when I am there, but you can park and walk to the steps. Also, Puako is noted for its scuba diving. The north end of the Old Airport also is known for diving.

If you are consider a scuba tour boat, check out ones that go to Pawai Bay. I've hike and snorkeled around Pawai and it seems to be a super place for scuba.

enjoy

I assume you will have a car...

The drive up to Mauna Kea is beautiful. Once you reach the education center, however, you must have 4-wheel drive to continue on the last 8 miles. I did not have 4-wheel drive, but I did enjoy the drive up to the ed center.

I also enjoyed the cowboy country... vast open spaces, around Waimea. There is a drive that goes north out of Waimea into the fartest northwest corner of the Big Island. Great drive!

Thanks peterSale, wbpiii, simpsonc510! Your replies have made me more excited for our trip! So much to research in so little time so your recommendations are very helpful!

We want to go on the Manta Ray Dive so I will check out Jacks Diving Locker's website.

I was lucky to spend 8 nights on BI last spring. Due to being in a cast from adventuring on Kauai I was unable to do the Pololu trail. I would highly recommend taking the drive to do the hike and then take in Hawi, where we stayed for 4 wonderful nights. Hawi also has two fantastic restaurants and Tropical Gourmet Ice Cream too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oofSnsGkops&ob=av2e
I'd take the high road one way and the low road the other way.

http://www.bamboorestaurant.info/restaurant.html

http://sushirockrestaurant.net/

Our favorite beach was Pole 69 in Puako. Also Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel has beach access parking which offers security and less crowded area of beach compared to Hapuna Park.

BTW, I hated the Revealed maps - they were confusing and not so easy to use. We found the local free maps much more helpful. And all over the island you will see beach and public access signs eveywhere. Just comes down to which sign to follow, as your time and options will fly by.

Oh gosh, don't bother with that first link. Copy/Paste failed me.

Pololu

http://gohawaii.about.com/od/bigisle...u-Valley-Hike/

http://www.letsgo-hawaii.com/pololu/

Thanks Keakalani! We are planning to check out the Pololu Valley Hike!

Sorry, I misspelled your name! Thanks Kealalani!

The Hapuna Beach Prince now charges $15 for self-parking. If you get there by 10 or 10:30AM you shouldn't have a problem finding a space in the free lots.

Thanks fdecarlo! I was just reading your trip report and taking notes!

Here's our itinerary so far. I'd appreciate feedback on the logistics, etc.

Day 1:
Beach Day
Mauna Kea - early in the morning to get in
transfer to Hapuna Beach in the afternoon

Day 2:
8:30am-1pm - 2 Tank Dive, leaving from Kona
Afternoon - relax on the beach/snorkel near Kona (maybe Two Step or Place of Refuge)

Day 3:
8:30am-1pm - 2 Tank Dive, leaving from Kona
4:30-8:30pm - Manta Ray Dive

Day 4:
TBD - decide from the list of beaches, hikes or drives above
Pololu Hike today?

Day 5:
TBD - decide from the list of beaches, hikes or drives above

Day 6:
check out of Kona hotel
drive to Volcano, stay there for a few hours (Jaggar Museum, Chain of Craters) before driving on to Hilo

Day 7:
Drive to Waipio Valley, horseback riding at 12:30pm
Drive back to Hilo

Day 8:
Volcano National Park Tour with Phil (Volcano Discovery)

Day 9:
Last full day before flying out at 10:45pm - which route should we take from Hilo?


Questions:
- we're thinking of doing the zipline in Hawi. Not sure if we should do this on Day 9 (drive from Hilo to Hawi) or on Day 4 or 5 (drive from Kona to Hawi)
- restaurant suggestions (still looking thru the boards and writing them down) - we don't want anything fancy as our city is restaurant central. Just good food, preferably places frequented by locals.

Thank you in advance!

MK is the nicer experience and usually less crowded than Hapuna. If you use the free parking lots at Hapuna, then take the hotel shuttle to the MK and back, you can see both beaches with no cost and little effort. I don't know if the hotel frowns on non-guests using the shuttles but we've never run into a full one, so I doubt they care or should care.

Great scuba spots abound in Kona. The Manta Ray dive was a major highlight for us several years ago, and don't miss the reefs off the Natural Energy Lab. Also directly offshore of KOA airport is Garden Eel cove, ask the locals about it. Another highlight from years past.

What will you do on your last day if you don't do the zipline? If you have something else you'd like to do, I'd zipline on day 4 or 5, otherwise do it on the last day--which mean you would drive the northern route back to Kona airport.

BTW--Place of Refuge and Two Step are synonymous (it's also called Honounau Bay).

some restaurants--Bamboo and Sushi Rock in Hawi
Tex Drive-In in Honokaa
Ken's House of Pancakes in Hilo
Lava Rock Cafe in Volcano
Pakini Grill in Waimea
Kalama on Napoopoo Road on the way down to Kealekakua Bay
Adriana's in the shopping center where Choice Mart in located in S. Kona (lower level)

fdecarlo - thanks for the advice on the parking lot/shuttle situation at Hapuna and MK! Is there food to buy at the beaches or do we need to bring lunch/snacks? We are very excited about the Manta Ray dive. I hope they show up! Will jot down the other reefs you mentioned.

martym - I don't have anything else scheduled for last day. If we don't zipline, we'll probably just hit more sights along the Hilo-Kona airport route. Thanks for pointing out that Place of Refuge and Two Step are the same , and thanks for the restaurant recommendations!

jmoy, there's Hau Tree at MK and a beach bar at the Hapuna Beach Prince. Both serve lunch and awesome drinks.

That's great! 'Glad to know that we can buy food and drinks onsite. Thanks fdecarlo!

You're welcome jmoy! The beach bars are expensive, one alternative is to buy pre-made sandwiches, sodas etc at Cafe Hapuna (on the 8th floor of the HBP, across from the front desk). Prices are much more reasonable.

Have a wonderful trip!

fdecarlo - good point on the $$$ beach bars! We're hoping to get up early enough (jetlag on our side) to get some food supplies at a local store before heading out to the beach. But we'll keep Cafe Hapuna in mind as an alternative so appreciate the tip. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!