Hi everybody,

We have 8 days in BI. Our plan is to start in the east side with Volcano and the area and then move to the west side. We were wondering how many nights should we stay in the east side? We want to explore the volcano park (that is, more than just drive around) so is 2 days a good estimate? Also, is there anything else interesting in the east side that is worth exploring while staying there, like Hilo? We don't want to move to the west side and then drive back to see other things on the east side.

Joshpal: I have not been (yet), but have been planning for about a year. The general concensus I've received is this:

1-2 nights at VNP and another on the north east side (if you aren't wanting to drive back to it). I have chosen 1 night at VNP and one in Hilo.

There are several waterfalls and gardens to see on the north east side. I'm sure someone will chime in here with the specifics.

Definitely include a look see at Hilo - esp. the farmer's market.

Also, if you do a search, you should be able to come up with some other trip reports for info. Two I remember offhand are sistahlou's (or was it Roxy?) and DebitNM.

Hi, Joshpal. My husband and I spent 10 nights on the Big Island a few months ago. We started out in the Kona area (3 nights), then Volcano area (2 nights), then Kohala Coast area (5 nights).

We felt like 2 nights near the Volcano was perfect. The only thing we did that wouldn't work with you arriving on the east side is that we drove the southern route from Kona to the Volcano, and then we drove the northern route from the Volcano to the Kohala Coast area. Both directions were wonderful and had lots of sightseeing. If I had a choice of only one, it would be probably be the northern route.

When we return to the Volcano area we will stay at the Kiluau (sp?) Lodge instead of a B&B. The B&B we stayed at near the Volcano National Park was our only disappointing lodging during our stay, even though it gets good reviews on tripadvisor.

Have fun planning!

Thanks for the info. A couple of more questions:

1. You mentioned Kiluau Lodge, isn't it a B&B. Also, what B&B didn't you like? It seems like the tripadvisor gives top scores to nearly all the B&B there.

2. Someone mentioned above another idea of staying part of the time at the north part of the island. Is it a long drive from Kona area to the north part?

3. Isn't it a better idea to stay all the time near volcano or Hilo instead of moving between them? BTW, from what I read there is nothing really interesting in Hilo itself but rather around it. Did I miss something?

Thanks

Another question so Samsaf. We will land on the Kona side and then drive to Volcano, so in fact we can drive one way from the south and one way (back) from the north. I assume the south side has fewer points of interest, right? Is half a day enough for it? BTW, when you mention two days in Volcano do you think we need to days just for the park or is that too much?

I would do 2 days at Kilauea Lodge (not a B&B) at Volcano Village, seeing both the park and north of Hilo in that time. (I wouldn't stay in Hilo ... gray and rainy.) The other 6 days I would stay on the Kohala Coast, driving to South Kona to see attractions there. I don't think there's enough of interest on the South end of the island to spend time there. Some travel books recommend you do the Northern route over and back, actually, only going as far South as the coffee plantations and the Place of Refuge, i.e.. Big Island is so unique; I'm betting you'll love it!

Joshpal: two days is enough to see the main attractions in VNP. Other than the park, the Puna/Kau districts offer some hot springs (not worth the effort IMO, but some people love them), South Point (again, not everyone's cup of tea, but I love the Green Sand Beach), Punaluu (a stunning black sand beach), even the remains of what was once Kalapana make for some interesting hiking.

But most of the BI's attractions and tourist centers are on the north and west sides of the island. If you haven't already, pick up a copy of Big Island Revealed and start deciding which ones are of most interest to you.

If good weather is a priority you should spend as much time as possible in the Kohala or Kona districts. The east/Hilo side gets a LOT more rain than the west.

Joshpal, Kilauea Lodge is more like a lodge/hotel than a B&B. We stayed at the Country Goose in the King room. I've written a review on tripadvisor. Most people seem to like staying there (there are several different units), but we felt the place smelled musty, and it was too "cutesy" with little decorative geese everywhere. Just not my type of place.

If you click on my screenname, you can bring up my Hawaii trip report. I'll also try to find it and top it for you.

Going the southern route, we went down the road toward the southern point of the island. It was only later that I realized we weren't supposed to take our rental car down that road. It was great, though. We felt we were on another world.

We got to Volcano National Park in the early evening. We went to the information center and got some info, and then we came back the next morning. We spent most of that day in the park. Around 3 p.m., we started driving down Chain of Craters road. We walked across the lava while it was still daylight, and then we stayed there until after dark. It was incredible.

I think you should drive the southern route to the volcano, and then the northern route back to the west side of the island.

We didn't find much in Hilo to see. We went there for dinner a couple of nights.