Big Island plans
 

Hello Big Island experts,

We are planning a counterclockwise trip of the Big Island in the beginning of September. We'll be renting a car and staying in B&Bs.

The plan so far is as follows:

3 nights (aug. 31st - sep. 3rd) near Captain Cook, south of Kona to do snorkelling, seakayaking, visiting the Place of Refuge and just hanging out in this area. I'm worried we won't have enough time here as due to a late arrival the first night, we will only have two full days. Any comments? We don't plan on taking any tours.

From there we will drive to Volcano, stopping at Ka Lae to hike to the green sand beach and spending some time at Punalu'u Beach Park on the way.

2 nights (3rd-5th)in Volcano to 'do' VNP, hopefully seeing lava while doing the night hike.

On the 5th we will drive from Volcano to Hilo through a detour to Pahoa where we would like to snorkel in the tide pools.

We plan on spending two nights in Hilo (5th-7th) since we would like to drive up to Mauna Kea to watch the stars at night, and I expect that we won't feel up to this after a full day of exploring around Pahoa. A second night would also give us plenty of time to have a look around Hilo.

However, then we are left with only two nights in the Kohala area, which I fear is too short, since we would like to cover both Akaka Falls, Waipi'o Valley as well as Waimea, Hawi and Hapuna Beach.
Due to a very late flight on the 9th, we will also have the major part of that day to make our way down the Kohala Coast and eventually to Kona airport.
Would Waimea be a suitable place to stay in this area? To me it seems to be the most central location.

Generally we would prefer just taking our time and doing what we feel like that particular day but since we also wants to avoid driving too much (i.e. driving back and forth) we will rather be changing accomodation and to ease my husbands mind, we then need to make advance reservations.

For your information, we are in the beginning of our 30's, travelling without kids, and prefer to limit the driving as much as possible.

Thank for you for any comments!

/Ronine

Also: we don't expect to be spending any full days on the beach, but more something like going snorkelling in the morning before heading of to a more 'land based' activity (which could just be lunch and browsing in some books shops) and then maybe come back to the beach for a late afternoon swim.

Ronine, my husband and I did a counterclockwise trip to the Big Island last Oct/Nov. We did 3 nights near Kona, 2 near Volcano, and then 5 on Kohala Coast.

From the volcano area to Kohala Coast, we drove the northern route, and we also drove up to Hawi on the way (well, it's out of the way, but we went there on the way to the Kohala Coast). Hawi is a good place to stop for lunch.

The only part of your plan that I wouldn't personally do is 2 nights in Hilo. We weren't that impressed with Hilo, and we were able to "see" it during one evening when we stayed near volcano, and during our drive through Hilo to get to Kohala coast.

We did the night hike, and it was beautiful.

If you click on my name and search the posts, you can find my trip report.

Thanks a lot Samsaf. It's great to read a trip report from someone having roughly the same amount of time available.
Considering what you managed to do after your arrival at Volcano and that you managed to drive from Volcano to the Kohala Coast via Hawi in one day (despite getting up before we might!), I think I might have over-estimated the driving times somewhat.
I'll definately reconsider the two nights in Hilo since an extra day might be more useful somewhere else.

if you want to cut somewhere to spend more time on the Kohala coast I'd spend 2 nights near Captain Cook. The first night you get in late, spend the first day snorkelling, seakayaking etc. spend the night. next day you can stop at Place of Refuge, green sand beach and Punalu'u on your way to Volcano. Spend 2 nights there. first day spent at the park (and the night hike if the lava starts flowing again) 2nd day you can drive into Hilo, see Rainbow Falls, Akaka Falls, Boiling Pots and the museum, then back to Volcano for a nice dinner at Kilauea Lodge. Next morning drive to Hilo or get a B & B in Pahoa and snorkel in Kapoho, then up to Mauna Kea. Next day drive to Kohala coast. Stopping off at Waipio Valley. Nothing much to see in Waimea so I wouldn't stay there and it's only less than 30 minutes to the coast. That would leave you 4 nights at the Kohala Coast from where you can go to Hawi etc. The only day with much driving would be from Volcano to Hilo/Pahoa and up to the summit, but not an overwhelming amount. 45 minutes Volcano-Pahoa. 1.5 hours each way to the summit.
You really don't need 3 nights in Captain Cook or 2 nights in Hilo and really, no need to stay in Waimea. From one of the Kohala Coast Hotels you can go to Kailua-Kona, Hapuna Beach, Waikoloa or Hawi.

A quick tip--per my hubbie, snorkeling at the tidepools in Puna is best at high tide--so check a tide chart.

I would definitely NOT do any nights in Hilo; just drive through the area to see the beautiful spots around it. The Kohala Coast is WAY MORE worth your time! Have a great time! :)

elsie, the reason they wanted at least 1 night in Hilo was to go up to Mauna Kea. More convenient and less travel time than from the Kohala Coast.

Matnikstym has it right!!
That itenerary makes sense and is doable.
((Bamboo Restr. in Hawi))

Hawaii...it's all good!

We like Hilo and stayed 5 nights there in Feb, try the Emerald Orchid for dinner, the ono with ginger black bean sauce over parmisan risotto was amazing, and there is live music performances.