I am so confused. I'm making myself sick trying to make the right decision. Honeymoon in September I fell in love with the Hapuna Beach idea because I've read in several places that it's THE BEST!

But, how can I go to the Big Island without seeing Volcano's National Park? It's on the opposite side of the Island (at least 3hr. drive) and we do not want to split our trip by staying on two different sides.

Has anybody been to both sides? Which is nicer? Any suggestions?

I'm desperate

Relax for Pete's sake. You can see the volcano on a day trip from the Kohala Coast. Yes, it's a long drive but plenty of folks do it. We're going to do it next week, in fact. If you don't want to do a day trip, what's the big deal with staying a night or two in a B&B at Volcano? They have some really lovely places up there. How long will you be in Hawaii? Are you interested in hiking in Volcano National Park, or do you just want to see the flowing lava? If you really want to see a lot of the Park and the lava at night, spend a night or two over there.

I've been to the BI without seeing Volcanos National Park and I lived to tell. We stayed on Kohala Coast and drove where we wanted to go. Parker Ranch is interesting and Waipo'o Valley is amazing.

I went to the BI for a week two years ago, stayed at Mauna Kea, Hapuna Prince's sister resort, and we did the volcano trip in one day, there and back. The lava wasn't flowing like it is now, so we didn't stay for nighttime viewing, but we had no problem. On our way we stopped at the Waipo'o valley lookout and at a few other falls, had lunch near the volcano, spent several hours in the park (Thurston lava tube, etc.) and drove down Chain of Craters Road. Dinner on the way home at Cafe Pesto, I think? Yes was long, long day, but great. We only drove through Hilo, but am sure I wouldn't want to stay there - unless for a night or two in the Volcano area to hike ,etc. Loved the Mauna Kea.

I would think twice about Hilo. We took a helicopter ride around the Big Island when we were there (we stayed in Waikoloa on the Kohala coast) What I distinctly remember from the pilot was info regarding rainfall. He said it was substanstially wetter in and around Hilo than our resort area. It is also really not as developed for tourists as the Kohala area and Kona are. We did the drive to volcanos nat. park and it was scenic, fun, full of mac nut farms, coffee mills, antique stores etc... We enjoyed the twisty road there as much as we did the lava itself! The only way it could be a negative is if you were planning a night viewing of the lava and didn't want to drive in the dark. Have an awesome vacation, the Big Island will not dissapoint you!

Don't stay in Hilo, just drive over there and stay at the beautiful resorts of Kona and Kohala.

We stayed at both. It rains more in Hilo and there's no beach. If you can go direct to Kohala coast, do it.

First off, RELAX. thats it---easy.
Now.--I have been to the B.I. several times and have covered it pretty well. Always stayed on the Kohala coast side.
Hilo is not really a tourist place and I really doubt you would be happy trying to stay several days there.
You can drive to the Volcano's Nat'l Park and back in a day. I would simply get up early and get started. You don't want to wait til 11 or 12 o'clock and start. The Kohala/Kona side is dryer--Hilo is wetter and more lush.
Just go, relax and kinda go with the flow.

Trust me, stay on the Kohala coast (Hapuna Prince, Mauna Kea, or Mauna Lani are all very nice)and drive to Volcano park. I used to live in Hilo (heavy emphasis on past tense if get my drift) and would not encourage anyone to spend any more time there than necessary. However, I would recommend spending one night at the Volcano House (hotel) so you could spend a whole day and night touring the volcano park area. Relax and Enjoy!

What's wrong with Hilo? We are going to the Big Island this summer and plan on staying on the Hilo side of the island because that is where everything is that we want to see.

Nothing is "wrong" with Hilo - it's lovely there. But it rains a lot. Given that there's another part of the island to stay on where it hardly rains at all, most people prefer the sunny side of the island. It's very easy to access everything from Kona or Kohala; the volcano park is an easy day trip.

Depending on the time of year, Hilo can be a very nice and beautiful area. However, having lived there for two years, it can be a very dull spot. If it were me and my honeymoon(and it's obviously not), I'd stay at the volcano house but take my time driving to and through Hilo (checking out Akaka Falls, etc).

We went to the B.I. two months ago and stayed there 6 nights. Divided it up as follows: 3 nights on Kona Coast. 2 full days there, 1 day exploring up and down the Kona/Kohala coast, 1 day snorkeling at the Captain Cook Monument (don't miss out on this!!). Then across to Volcano for another 3 nights, stayed at Volcano itself. Arrived in time for a drive round and down to see the lava glowing at sunset/dark. 2 full days there. One day, drove to Hilo and right up the coast stopping at Hilo (Saturday farmers market), Akaka Falls etc, dinner at Cafe Pesto in Hilo. Second day, round of golf at the Volcano Golf Club, then Thurston Lava Tube and 2 hour Kilauea Iki hike.

For us the balance was just about right but it depends what you want to do. If you want to spend more time relaxing on beaches, I guess you'd want to stay on the Kohala Coast and do the Volcano in a day trip. But I think you'd miss a lot by not staying at least a night or two in the Volcano area.

We just returned from Hawaii and, while on the Big Island, stayed in Kona and spent one day driving over to the volcano and back. No big deal. The drive over was wonderful but next time I'd leave earlier in the day in order to see more. We arrived at the park by about 2 and meandered, explored, went into the Thurston Lava Tube, and got down to the parking area at the end of Chain of Craters Rd. by 5. It was early enough so that we could find a comfortable spot to view from but just late enough, too...only an hour before sunset. We had a wonderful time and both the plume and the flow were glowing by the time we left around 7:30. We drove back to Kona via Rt. 11, the southern route. (Grabbed something at Wendy's once we were back rather than taking the time to stop & eat.)

Next time I would either leave earlier in the day, pack along some food for lunch & supper and make a long day of it, or plan on a night in Hilo so to allow for more park time and so that we could drive through the southern part of the island in daylight.

We were there in 2002, and also stayed on the opposite side from Hilo. We took the tour (we like having someone knowledgeable to tell you the fun weird facts about places) to the Volcanoes - and I really recommend that. Eventhough it was raining that day - and you really didn't see all that much - we at least learned a whole lot about it and visited all the other places mentioned in the posts below. We happened to use Polynesian Adventures - which we were very pleased with - but there are lots of tour companies. But as Dr says - Relax!!!!!!!!!!! It's no big deal. Stay at Hapuna Beach - and just do day trips. And Waipo'o valley - definitely go there!!! We drove there ourselves, and then hooked up with a local tour. It's all driveable and fun. Have a great honeymoon. and breath......