You'll get a better deal if you stay a full week in a condo. Maui Kai gets good reviews. Maybe scratch one night from Big Island?

Volcano Lodge is great; is that what you mean?

I don't know Honu Kai B&B. Where is it? Not Kona or south of Kona, I hope. Kohala Coast is out of the vog and has the beaches. I don't 'get' B&B's. One room, no kitchen or washer/dryer. I don't know about Big Island, but on Maui no B&B can serve hot food.

Glad you scratched the stay IN Hana. Hope you don't regret staying West Maui over the more convenient South Maui, since you want to do RTH, Haleakala and Iao Valley. Honokawai adds 40 minutes each way to each valley crossing, and it's only two-lane road between Maalaea and Lahaina. (Leave plenty of time to get to OGG on departure day.)

If ChiSue can say the she is "glad you scratched the stay IN Hana", then I can say that I think you are making a mistake not to follow your original plan and your gut and stay IN Hana.

The decision not to actually stay in Hana had more to do with making it back to the airport on time, since we had planned to leave from there and head to the airport for the Big Island.

The bed and breakfast I had hoped to stay at near Kona is now full so I'm looking for where to stay on the Kona side. Suggestions?

Thank you all for your input, and I hope I'm doing this right. I'm a little nervous.

IMHO, you are putting too much pressure on yourself. You're going to Hawaii for vacation and you will have a wonderful time, I'm sure.

A few years ago DH and I did a Maui and Big Island trip and we ended our Maui stay in Hana and drove back to the airport the day we were flying to the Big Island. As I recall, we left Hana after breakfast, had lunch in Paia at Mama's Fish House (much less expensive than dinner) and arrived at the airport in plenty of time for departure to Kona on an early/mid afternoon flight. So I'm just saying, depending on when your flight to Hilo departs, it would be possible to stay in Hana the night before you leave Maui.

We just returned from a 4 week trip to the Big Island (3 weeks in south Kona)and vog was not a problem and did not interfere with anything we wanted to do. In fact in our more than 20 trip to the BI, vog has not been a problem for us and we always stay in south Kona.

Here is a link to a place we stayed several years ago which we liked - great view of the coast and cooler because of the altitude--http://www.hawaii4two.com/

And here is another place we have stayed the last couple of years--it is a wonderful house and the estate is very private http://www.vrbo.com/343436
There is also a cottage on the same estate - with the same gorgeous view of the bay and the coast as the big house http://www.vrbo.com/141871

Some friends stayed at the Horizon Guest House last year and loved it http://www.horizonguesthouse.com/

Hope this has been helpful.

BTW-some of the best snorkeling on the BI is 5-10 minute drive away.

Like I have said, your original plane looked fine to me. Perhaps you were doing it right before you started asking questions. It wouldn't be the first time that has happened here.

On my first trip to Hawaii, with a small group (1980 - I was still single then), I zoomed around a lot, went on several half day tours, and saw lots of the recommended "tourist" things. So I learned a lot, quickly, about the islands, the culture, and what I preferred, and shared it with the others.
On several return trips since then, to all the islands, our pace is considerably slower, and we focus on what we want to do. But I still wouldn't change the way I did that first trip. I guess I caught enough of that magical Aloha spirit, that it keeps me coming back.... despite 12 hour plane rides!
I wish the same for you.

Thank you all for your suggestions and comments.

We are doing three islands in 14 days, so your original plan looked good to me also.