fireflyparents

So we are all set to leave for our vacation after all the reading, planning and guidance from all you wonderful Fodorites

I dont have an itenary as such but have a rough sketch of all the places we want to visit. Our younger son is one yr old so we want to keep it flexible and relaxing.

Here is what all we having in mind :
Palace of refuge
Hapuna bay
Honokohau Harbor
Kona coffee farm
Submarine tour
Luau
Sea Horse farm ; Akatsuka Orchid Gardens
Painted church ; snorkelling (have'nt decided where)
Lapakahi State Historical farm
North Kohala tour
Waipo Valley
Akaka falls ; Nani Mau
Hawaii tropical Botanical gardens
Rainbow falls ; Kapoho tide pools
Liliuokalani Gardens ; Hilo zoo
Hilo farmer's market
VNP


The list is not in order, I randomly jotted down whatever I could remember. We will be there for 2 weeks and dont plan to visit any other island. I am starting from Kona and going down to VNP, then to Hilo and then back at Kona again. I will appreciate your input on this post. The part I am looking forward to is no cooking, no cleaning and sea bathing! Things that I am dreading is the 9hr flight (we are flying from dallas) and the 5 hr time difference....specially with the 1yr old. My 6yr old is a good traveller and I am sure he will have a blast wherever we go.

Thank you again for all the help and posts which definitely helped me to plan my trip.

girlonthego

Have a great trip! We went last spring and really enjoyed the big island. My kids are bigger and so I don't envy entertaining the one year old on the flight! Good luck. I did fly to Hawaii with my one year old (she is now 14) and it was from NJ. She was awake the entire flight and slept in LA during the two hour lay over. She was an easy kid though. I don't remember it being too bad. I just remember it seeming like a long flight home (she was on my lap and I was 5 mos pregnant.)
Back to the present, you will enjoy the big island. I don't know where you are staying. We were at the Hilton and it had everything.
There was a beach we went to in Kona and they called it Turtle beach. It was amazing how many giant turtles swam by us. Also, there were lots of fish all around.
We did the Luau at the Marriott and that was fine. I haven't been to one in so long, I had nothing to compare it too. My kids enjoyed it and the food was okay. The show was cute.

egret

We are going to the Big Island in October. Please give us a trip report when you return. Have a great time.

beanweb24

It's Place of Refuge (not Palace of Refuge) and I highly recommend both a visit to the National Park there as well as snorkeling right next to (but outside the park) at Two Steps. The day we did the park and the snorkeling was one of our favorites on the Big Island. (Just returned 2 weeks ago)

fireflyparents

I have never written a trip report but maybe I will try it this time. Yup, That was a spelling mistake on my part.
I have not booked the submarine tour or the helicopter ride yet, should I book it before leaving or do I get a better deal from the hotel tourist desk? The prices on the internet looks good but I have no idea if its gonna cost me more if I get it from there.
Any more recommendations as to what else I am missing on the list?

girlonthego

With children as young as yours, I would wait until I got there to book things. You are there two weeks so you can be flexible with day and time. The first several nights, you will all be going to be real early and getting up really early.