Hawaii Big Island Trip Report
 

It's been a while, but I finally finished my Big Island travelogue.
My husband and I spent 5 nights in Kona in August '04 in an oceanfront condo rental.
You can see our trip, including photos, on our travelogue website
http://www.wired2theworld.com
We visited the volcano, a couple of great snorkeling sites, and had some amazing meals.
Thanks!

What a great report and website you have! We also were on the Big Island in August, and went to some of the same places you did. We are going back to Hawaii in August to try Kauai!

Mahalo for your trip report!

My husband and I are going to Big Island in May - thanks for posting the prices at Pahuia restaurant so we won't be suprised!

Wonderful trip report, Kristina. Love the turtle photo!

Interesting comment about the mosquitos. I remember being on Maui in a VRBO property right on the beach. One of the things we looked forward to was opening the sliding glass door at night to feel the ocean breezes. Well, the little buggers managed to get into our unit even though the screen door was closed. It was quite comical each night as we tried to swat that last one that kept buzzing in our ears as we tried to sleep.

Anyway, good report. I feel the aloha spirit!!

Thanks everyone! I spend so much time researching for my trips before I go, I always like to share what I discover with others when I get back.

Beachgirl-We began our trip around the world in Aug 1998 with 4 days on Kauai. If you look at my other travelogues (same website, look at the RTW trip) you'll see where we went there. Be prepared for rain. :-)

Topping for Monday morning.

Thank you for your trip report. We'll be spending five days on the Big Island the end of May.

We've been reading the BI Revealed; it sounds like you found this guidebook helpful.

We were also looking for a good sushi restaurant -- thanks for the tip!

We've also been wondering about attending a luau. We're hesitant as the prices seems exhorbitant, and it's not really our kind of thing. Any more thoughts on the luau?

Thanks!

Kureiff-
Yes, I liked the Big Island Revealed book very much.
As for the luau, yes, I've never wanted to do it before because I thought it too "tacky-touristy". But, I thought I had to do it at least once. Plus, I really wanted to see how they cooked the pig.
That said, the food wasn't really all that good (with the exception of the pig). I'm glad we found the discount coupon in one of the freebe books around town, but it was still overpriced.
If you choose not to do it, it's no big loss (IMHO). If you do it, it's an "experience".
Have fun! And enjoy the sushi place! Make sure you sit at the bar or out on the patio to feed the cat.

Thanks alot! We plan to stay at the FS BI so that restaurant review was interesting to us. We're not rich by any stretch, but we REALLY want to stay somewhere special like this just once. We ARE staying 6 nights mountainview at the FS Maui, and you basically said you'd never do this again. Was the non view THAT bad? It's all we can afford for Maui, and we really wanted to try the FS there. I guess after a few nights we could always move to a different hotel if we didn't like the non view that much...

Steve
Maryland

Stever-
Well, it's been about 10 years since we stayed at the 4S Maui. It was a bummer not to have an ocean view in Hawaii. The view wasn't horrible, but it wasn't sunsets over the ocean. Still, the rooms were lovely. But I'm a "view" person and I'll always pay a little extra for my "room with a view". That's why we went with the condo this time, better bang for the buck. I highly recommend it.
As for the 4S Big Island, it was a beautiful hotel, but we didn't stay there, only dined. The meal was fantastic, but ridiculously expensive. It's also very far away from the main part of town, so you'd really need a car there.