Hi all,

Leaving in two days for our first trip to Hawaii..very excited!! We land Friday at HNL around 3:30. We are staying at Waikiki Beach for two days then flying to Hilo Sunday evening for a week on the Big Island. This is the (vague) plan so far and just looking for recommendations from those that know the area. We are a family of 4 with girls ages 17 &14 and enjoy being active and places with less crowds. We like local places to eat and are definitely not foodies!
Friday-pick up rental car, dinner and sunset then bed...I am sure we will be exhausted.
Saturday- 8am surf lessons then not sure.
Sunday-9am reservations at USS Arizona then to Punchbowl, flight out at 5:30. Arrive Hilo then rental car and staying in VNP for 3 nights.
Monday-VNP (any must sees)
Tuesday- Southeast part of island (must sees)
Wednesday-leave early morning and drive to other side of island sightseeing along the way. Arrive in Captain Cook.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be exploring southwestern and west side of the island. We fly out Sunday night at 10:30.

I have many things we are planning on seeing but wanted to hear the favorites from Fodors!! Thanks ��

Tina

3 nights in Hilo or a week? It's unclear where you are staying at the end of the trip. If it's Hilo for a week you'll be doing a LOT of driving.

We liked the Thai restaurant in Volcano.

Sorry, 4 nights in Captain Cook then flying out of Kona.

Good! Do you plan to snorkel? Highly recommend it -
http://www.adventureinhawaii.com/bigisland_fairwind.htm

Last time we visited the Big Island we snorkeled with the manta rays. We have been to the Big Island many times, and this is the best snorkel trip we have taken.

http://www.bigislanddivers.com/MantaDive.html

Have a great time in Hawaii.

Suze recommended Me's BBQ, and it was inexpensive and delicious. We stayed at the Waikiki Sand Villa Hotel, so it was an easy walk from there.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mes-bbq-honolulu

We had a great lunch at Wally Ho's, which is close to Pearl Harbor, but it's closed Sundays. You might have time to grab dinner there Friday night, though. http://wallyhosgarageandgrill.com/

Another option closer to Waikiki is Rainbow Drive-In. We had breakfast there the morning we left Honolulu.
http://rainbowdrivein.com

Oh - stop at Leonard's Bakery and get some malasadas. Yum! http://www.leonardshawaii.com/

Lee Ann

Enjoy the trip!!!!

Oh yes, ditto the malasadas at Leonard's - the daily special was mango last time we were there and it was fabulous (even the plain ones are great!).

I would take one of the days you have on Oahu (after surf lessons), rent a car and drive around the island - first I'd head to the north shore beaches, then to Haleiwa for a shave ice, then cut across the middle of the island on the spectacular H3, to Kailua/Lanikai, then Diamondhead, and back to Waikiki. Not sure if you'll have time for all that, but it would be a great day! If there's not enough time for both, I'd still do Honolulu to Haleiwa and the North Shore Beaches, or Honolulu to Kailua, across the H3 and back.

Three nights in Volcano in winter are going to be cold and wet. So, make sure you have packed enough warm clothes. If possible, you might want to drop that down to two nights in Volcano. Make sure you see the glow from the crater at night from the visitors center. Super cool. Drive Chain of Craters road and do the Kilaua Iki hike.

I would drive the Hamakua Coast down to Capt Cook instead of the Southern route. The Southern route is kinda boring with no real interesting stops. There is a black sand beach but the island is volcanic and there are other black sand beaches that are more interesting in other places. Go the Northern route. which I think it is much more interesting. You can stop at Akaka Falls, the Botanical Gardens and Waipio lookout. If you plan ahead, maybe do a horseback ride into the Waipio Valley on your way over. Have lunch at What's Shakin along the way. There are quite a few heiaus on the way...if you have time stop at one of those.

The best beaches are in the Kohala area and so you can plan a day or so to drive north and see those while you are in CC. Kuana'oa at the Mauna Kea is the most gorgeous beach on the island but you need a parking pass to get there and those tend to be all used by 9am. So, if you go early, that is a great beach. Maybe spend the morning there and then drive up to Hawi and have lunch and some shaved ice and hike down to the Polulu Valley and visit the black sand beach there.

Great snorkeling would be at the Mauna Lani or Honaunau Bay. If you go to the Mauna Lani have someone drop off the people and gear at the gate to the Beach Club and then drive to the parking lot and park. The walk to the beach is cool with all the ancient fish ponds. The whale breeding grounds appear to be up in the Kohala area so you will see a lot of whales if you go to those beaches. You can combine Honaunau with a visit to Pu'uhonoa o Honaunau which is super cool to see. Honuanau is best if the water is calm. The entrance (the "two step") can be tricky in rough water. The Fairwinds snorkel tour is fun and Kona Boys do one on kayaks that is super fun as well as long as you are comfortable getting into and out of the kayak in water (can't land kayaks on the monument). Fairwinds does a great manta ray snorkel which would be a bucket list type of item. So super cool. Many of the other tour operators have started to get into the chasing/harrassing dolphin business and Fairwinds seems to be the only one left that is leaving the dolphins alone so I highly recommend them.

Hapuna is a great beach for boogie boarding so try that.

If you don't bring your own snorkel gear, you can rent from Snorkel Bobs. They allow you to rent on one island and return on another so you can use it both in Oahu and Hawaii Island.

Have fun!

With such a very short time in Waikiki, I'd probably just spend the rest of Sunday looking around. Go to the beach, check out Fort de Russy and Kapiolani parks (at either end of the beach).
If you really want one more activity I love the Iolani Palace. I bet your girls would too.
For local-style food inexpensive ME Korean BBQ (glad you liked it!) or Ono Hawaiian or Rainbow Drive Inn are all Fun places.

Thank you all so much! Will write a trip report when I return!!

In case you check back

If needed, I'd stock up on beverages and any snacks at food land, in Kea'au, which is at the fork in the road on 11 and Pahoa rd. I would check in to lodging and head out to see the glow. The gates are usually open 24 hours. In the morning I would start early and enjoy the park before the day trippers and tour busses arrive. You definitely want to head down to Pahoa. The lava has stalled just yards from the transfer station, and they have opened a viewing area , I think from 10 - 4?

If you do this in one day, you could explore Honokaa coast instead of your travel day. Both the falls and area are gorgeous. This would open you up to taking Saddle rd, which cuts straight across the island and has been 100% upgraded. Just don't travel it in the dark. It will be more direct, but choose the longer northern route if you don't get the chance to explore.

Hope this is helpful,

I agree with sf7307 - "first I'd head to the north shore beaches, then to Haleiwa for a shave ice,". The day we drove around Oahu was our favorite day on the island.

Loved stopping here -
http://matsumotoshaveice.com/

You've received great advice so far. I've been to the Big Island probably 5-6 times, mostly family trips but one romantic getaway, always staying at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. Went last February with family, and for the first time we went zipling with Kohala Zipline (http://www.kohalazipline.com) We had more fun than we thought we would, and some of the views of the northern part of the Big Island (can see Maui on a clear day) were fantastic. My dad, a very skeptical, grumbly sort of guy, absolutely loved it.

We've mainly explored the west/southwest/VNP areas in prior trips, but the zipline experience and lush contrasts of the area have me thinking about more time there next time. Just an idea!

I forgot to link my trip report. If you're interested, the first part covers what we did on Oahu.
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...awaii-2014.cfm

Lee Ann

When (if) you do your island drive on Oahu, stop at one of the shrimp trucks for a meal!!!!! Delicious. This is something I always do when on Oahu. There are a number of them, some will be busier than others. I have not found any one of them that particularly stands apart from the others. All of them have a very tasty garlic shrimp, my favorite. It usually comes with a bit of salad, maybe rice... usually about $11-12 for a plate full.

I was just on Oahu and the big island in late August. I had a car on both islands and did a lot of driving to scenic areas. On Oahu, one of the prettiest drives is on the southeast area of the island, AFTER you pass the road to Hanauma (snorkeling) Bay. Beautiful! I can't tell you how many photos I've taken of this part of the drive, over many many trips to Oahu. If you stay along this beach highway all the way up to the north shore you will see some lovely quiet (often empty) beaches. The mountains in the center of Oahu nearly reach the shore in some places giving you some very scenic spots. This is also the drive that passes by the various shrimp trucks, and it also passes Turtle Bay Resort, where I stopped for dessert many years ago.