Hi everyone:

In planning our trip to the Big Island...we were planning to fly into Kona and make our way to hilo..and then fly from there to maui...does this make sense.....or is the island small enough that we could have one base point.

Sure, it makes sense. The drive from Kona to Hilo is lovely by either the northern or southern route. If you give me a few more details--like how long are you going to be on island, what do you want to experience while you are there--I could give you more advice. (DH and I are BI veterans--20 plus trips and counting !)

It's only about 1.5 hours drive to/from Hilo to Waikoloa or Hilo to Kona (via newly paved Saddle Road), so it's easy to make day trips. But, if you want to see the glow from the crater at night, or check out more sights on the east side without rushing around, you could stay a night or two in Hilo (or Volcano village; driving at night isn't a good idea; not a lot of lights due to the observatory). If that ended your trip, it would make sense to do it that way.

"via newly paved Saddle Road"

Great news. Does this mean no more being stuck behind tank convoys? lol

They seem to be staying on their (parallel) bad road; haven't encountered them except on the Queen's Highway in a couple of years! (but, timing is everything...)

Sun and beaches are NW in the Kohala Coast area. Volcano is SE, with nice accommodations in the town of Volcano (less wonderful in Hilo). Northern route from Kohala via Waimea and down Hamakua Coast is pretty with waterfalls along the road as you get close to Hilo.