Background: Five in our party (two daughters, 7 and 10) plus sister in law (SIL). We have been to Maui and Kauai before but this was our first trip to the BI. SIL’s first Hawaiian trip.

We had a great flight from Michigan to LAX, spent the night, and continued the flight to Kona the next day.
Day one: We arrived early afternoon, ate lunch at Wendy’s in Keauhou (great view!), and then checked into the Sheraton in Keauhou. We liked the Sheraton! We got a great deal (225 per room) for two ocean front deluxe rooms, connecting. We could easily hear the ocean waves crashing on the shore from our room and had an awesome view of the manta rays from our lanis. Our daughters enjoyed the pool and it was close to the activities that we did.
After enjoying the pool, we went into Kona to shop. I enjoyed a shaved ice at Scandinavian Shave Ice (sunset flavor with vanilla ice cream on the bottom: YUM!). Then we headed back to our hotel where we ordered room service while watching the mantas on our lanais.

Day two: We went on a boat trip to Kealakeku Bay using Fairwinds II. We all enjoyed this activity. The water clarity was great and the water warm. We saw two spotted eels but no dolphins. The food was tasty (pastries and fruit for bfast and hamburgers and hotdogs with chips and pasta for lunch) and the crew was helpful and friendly. I even tried the slide!
After the boat trip we went to Place of Refuge where we saw a turtle. We were too tired to snorkel at Two Steps (next time!). We stopped quickly at Painted Church (interesting cemetery) before heading to Kona for dinner at Bubba Gumps. We arrived early (5pm) and got a great ocean front seat. The girls enjoyed watching the fish ride the waves! The service was friendly and the food was tasty. We ended up enjoying pool one last time before calling it a night.
To be continued...

Thanks Ashley24!! We leave in 22 days, going to BI and Oahu, from Grand Rapids!!. Been to Maui and Kauai before too-last October. We're staying in Kona and Makaha. Condos on both islands. We'll be in Kona the 2nd half of our trip, and I appreciate all the info you share! I'm looking forward to hearing more.

Day three: Today we checked out of the Sheraton and had breakfast at Island Lava Java (large cinnamon rolls). Then we headed to Waimea where we went horseback riding with Dahana Ranch which allows younger children. Both of my girls were on a special saddle with a seat belt and were led by a worker. It was fun but I thought we were going to see the Waipio Valley overlook and we did not. I kept waiting to see it so I guess I was a bit disappointed. The water was chilly up in Waimea and went from misty to raining during the ride. Afterwards we ate at Merrimans where I tried the fish tacos (Yum!).
After lunch we continued to drive toward Volcano Village where we would be staying for two nights. On the way there, we stopped at the Waipio Valley overlook (since we didn’t see it earlier) where there was a suspicious looking person by our car so we kept someone close to the car and took turns going to the overlook.
When we got to Akaka Falls it started pouring so only my younger daughter and I braved the elements and went to see them. Pretty!
Then we took the scenic drive which was so beautiful I would HIGHLY recommend it! This reminds me of the road to Hana and is very worth a drive through. We stopped at What’s Shakin on this road for some very thick delicious smoothies.
Finally, we made it to the house rental in Volcano Village, Hala Kahiki. This turned out to be a very cute house but it was located behind another house which was occupied by the rental owners. When I pulled up in the driveway, I was a bit alarmed as I didn’t realize that it would be located behind a house and it was very obvious that someone lived in that house. Then I found out that the rental company did not tell these rental owners that I was staying for two nights (originally I had scheduled only one, but I even called a few days in advance to confirm). The owners quickly put in towels and were very gracious about the situation. The house turned out to be very nicely decorated and in a great location as far as closeness to Volcano Nat’l Park.
After arriving, we had planned on going hiking to the flow at night but it was later than we had planned and it was already getting dark so we decided to chill out instead.

Day four: We went to Volcano House for the breakfast buffet. Great view from the restaurant. Then we drove around Crater Rim drive, stopping several times to see the views. We brought headlamps so going the full distance in Thurston Lava Tube was a great treat. LOVED IT! Then we drove down Chain of Craters Road. Here we saw our first Nene geese. We walked down the Pu’u Loa Petroglyph Trail which was ok. Quite a walk for not that impressive of a display. We also walked out to the road that was covered up almost completely by lava (old Chain of Craters Rd. at the Alanui Kahakai turnout). At this point we could see the steam from the lava entering the ocean. We were told that it was flowing through lava tubes into the ocean directly so all you could see was steam. We decided to try hiking a bit anyway. All of us did a short portion of the hike, and then my SIL took my younger daughter back to the ranger station while we continued on past the area where the marked trail ends. However the views did not improve much. Thankfully we enjoyed the hike (even my 10 year old daughter) and didn’t get hurt. However, we never did get to see the lava at night.
Lunch, by the way, was at Lava Rock Café in Volcano which we didn’t care for. My younger daughter ordered chocolate cake and even that wasn’t good. I bought banana and pumpkin break at Kilauea General store which was good. Dinner was at the house.

Last day on the Big Island: We had breakfast in the house and then went to the Ka’u Desert Trail right outside VNP. This trail leads to footprints made during the explosion during 1790. Long hot hike for just so-so site. Wouldn’t recommend unless you have nothing else to do. For some reason, younger daughter was interested in this so we did it. Then we did older daughter’s plan of visiting the Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo which was free. It was ok. We went through it quickly. I was surprised that you could get so close to some of the animals. Not the barriers that we have here in Michigan. I could almost reach out and touch the water buffalo…maybe I could even touch it but of course I didn’t want to try! We also saw monkey squirrels, and a white bengel tiger. Then we did the adults’ wish of going to the Big Island Candies facory. Lots of freebies and delicious! Then we headed to the airport to go to Kauai. At the airport I tried Saimin (it was on the scavenger hunt list)and it was ok.
More later…

Day three: Today we checked out of the Sheraton and had breakfast at Island Lava Java (large cinnamon rolls). Then we headed to Waimea where we went horseback riding with Dahana Ranch which allows younger children. Both of my girls were on a special saddle with a seat belt and were led by a worker. It was fun but I thought we were going to see the Waipio Valley overlook and we did not. I kept waiting to see it so I guess I was a bit disappointed. The weather was chilly up in Waimea and went from misty to raining during the ride. Afterwards we ate at Merrimans where I tried the fish tacos (Yum!).
After lunch we continued to drive toward Volcano Village where we would be staying for two nights. On the way there, we stopped at the Waipio Valley overlook (since we didn’t see it earlier) where there was a suspicious looking person by our car so we kept someone close to the car and took turns going to the overlook.
When we got to Akaka Falls it started pouring so only my younger daughter and I braved the elements and went to see them. Pretty!
Then we took the scenic drive which was so beautiful I would HIGHLY recommend it! This reminds me of the road to Hana and is very worth a drive through. We stopped at What’s Shakin on this road for some very thick delicious smoothies.
Finally, we made it to the house rental in Volcano Village, Hala Kahiki. This turned out to be a very cute house but it was located behind another house which was occupied by the rental owners. When I pulled up in the driveway, I was a bit alarmed as I didn’t realize that it would be located behind a house and it was very obvious that someone lived in that house. Then I found out that the rental company did not tell these rental owners that I was staying for two nights (originally I had scheduled only one, but I even called a few days in advance to confirm). The owners quickly put in towels and were very gracious about the situation. The house turned out to be very nicely decorated and in a great location as far as closeness to Volcano Nat’l Park.
After arriving, we had planned on going hiking to the lava flow at night but it was later than we had planned and it was already getting dark so we decided to chill out instead.

Day four: We went to Volcano House for the breakfast buffet. Great view from the restaurant. Then we drove around Crater Rim drive, stopping several times to see the views. We brought headlamps so going the full distance in Thurston Lava Tube was a great treat. LOVED IT! Then we drove down Chain of Craters Road. Here we saw our first Nene geese. We walked down the Pu’u Loa Petroglyph Trail which was ok. Quite a walk for not that impressive of a display. We also walked out to the road that was covered up almost completely by lava (old Chain of Craters Rd. at the Alanui Kahakai turnout). At this point we could see the steam from the lava entering the ocean. We were told that it was flowing through lava tubes into the ocean directly so all you could see was steam. We decided to try hiking a bit anyway. All of us did a short portion of the hike, and then my SIL took my younger daughter back to the ranger station while we continued on past the area where the marked trail ends. However the views did not improve much. Thankfully we enjoyed the hike (even my 10 year old daughter) and didn’t get hurt. However, we never did get to see the lava at night.
Lunch, by the way, was at Lava Rock Café in Volcano which we didn’t care for. My younger daughter ordered chocolate cake and even that wasn’t good. I bought banana and pumpkin break at Kilauea General store which was good. Dinner was at the house.

Last day on the Big Island: We had breakfast in the house and then went to the Ka’u Desert Trail right outside VNP. This trail leads to footprints made during the explosion during 1790. Long hot hike for just so-so site. Wouldn’t recommend unless you have nothing else to do. For some reason, younger daughter was interested in this so we did it.

Then we did older daughter’s plan of visiting the Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo which was free. It was ok. We went through it quickly. I was surprised that you could get so close to some of the animals. Not the barriers that we have here in Michigan. I could almost reach out and touch the water buffalo…maybe I could even touch it but of course I didn’t want to try! We also saw monkey squirrels and a white bengel tiger. Then we did the adults’ wish of going to the Big Island Candies factory. Lots of freebies and delicious! Then we headed to the airport to go to Kauai.
More later…

Oops! Sorry for double posting. I tried to edit my first post and instead it posted the mistakes. The second one has the mistakes fixed. I will write about Kauai later.

Ashely 24,

Ohhh...I feel your pain! Welcome back. I can't wait to hear about the Hell-Hole.
-Bill

Ok...Time to talk about the Hell hole!
Arrived in Lihue and stopped at Walmart for beach essentials and a few food items. It's a zoo in there! Ended up eating Burger King for lunch since we didn't have anymore room for a grocery stop with our luggage and Walmart purchases in our car.
Then we pulled into the driveway of our house rental in Princeville called Keoniana Kai. It is gorgous! The house itself is decorated beautifully, it's definately a upper class house, but best of all, it has an ocean front view from almost every room including all the bedrooms, the kitchen, the living room, dining room, etc. No other houses between us and the glorious ocean! Heavenly! We had great sunrises every morning from the bedroom lanai! We would LOVE to stay her again in the near future. By the way, we rented from Remax Kauai.
After exploring the house we went to Hanalei Bay to see the sunset and went to Zelos for dessert (yummy grasshopper pie).
2nd day in Kauai: We grabbed some food from the Village Snack and Bakery Ship in Hanalei before heading to the Kalalau trail. Ok! No one warned me enough how strenuous this hike is! We ended up making it to the beach but I was so tired of everyone heading back telling us only 20 more minutes. Liars! My SIL was really having the hardest time. She had to sit a lot and really hated it! Of course she is not used to strenuous exercise. I am a regular exerciser but I was not prepared for the amount of climbing up and down we did. I can't imagine going any further. Hats off to all of you that have! I would love to hear your stories. For me, it's been there, done that. Don't care to do it again. I am so proud of my girls for making it the whole way. Not even too much complaining! We ended up not having enough water, so make sure you come prepared. I would have paid big bucks at the end of that hike for a cold drink of water.
For dinner we had Bubba's Burgers. The young girl who took my order was singing while I was giving my order. Strange! I wasn't sure if she heard me or not. And she didn't look like she cared. We had a huge wait...teenage boys flipping burgers and not in a hurry. When I placed my order, we were the only ones there. Not sure why we had to wait over 30 minutes for burgers and fries since that is all they serve pretty much. There was a HUGE line of people waiting after us. Some of these people got their food before us! Not sure of their system but the food was only ok so we won't go again.
I decided to rest in the hammock at the house, while my dh, SIL and kids hiked down to Sea Lodge Beach which is right next to our house. They said it was steep and only ok.

Day 3: Went to Kountry Kitchen in Kapa'a for banana pancakes. Although they were very busy, they are efficient and we didn't have to wait long. I would return again.
Then we headed to Kipu Ranch to do our ATV tour. We were too early so we let the girls play at the Bridge Playground at Lydgate park and then shopped at Hilo Hatties.
The Kipu Ranch ATV tour was fun. We did this the last time we went and enjoyed it so much we wanted to go again. This time we did the waterfall tour. After getting red dirt ALL OVER me (they now give you handkerchiefs to cover your face while riding), I felt like a huge mess (and now we couldn't eat at Coconuts restaurant!). The waterfall was more of a trickle and wasn't worth the extra money to swim in the pool under it. The waterfall part is the last 15 minutes of our 4 hour tour and it's located right next to the place where we started, not way out on the ranch like I imagined. They didn't have enough food so my dh and SIL didn't get a lunch (the workers offered their food but dh and SIL said they weren't that hungry). All in all, I wouldn't care to do this again.

We came back to the house and showered and washed our filthy clothes. Ended up eating at the house.

Day Four in Kauai: Had Sunday Brunch at Café Hanalei. Great view, great food, but our most expensive meal of the trip. Then we went to Anini Beach. I was not that impressed with this beach. It was very windy and the sand kept blowing on our faces as we tried to sun ourselves. We went to the Polo Match in the field across from the beach; this was enjoyable.
In the evening we went to Queen’s Bath to watch the sunset. Since no one else was swimming here, I felt too insecure about it and didn’t do it. We did see a turtle and a beautiful sunset though. I would recommend a stop here.

Day five: After having breakfast at the house we snorkeled at Tunnels Beach. This was our favorite beach! Beautiful and lots of fish to be seen. Is the water just as calm here in the winter???
We tried to go to Ke’e beach afterwards but couldn’t find a parking spot. Tried to four wheel in next to the bathrooms but a ton of cars tried to do the same thing after us, and everyone had to back out as there weren’t any spots. Very rough area too. So we headed to Kilauea and that is when I realized that I left my flip flops on the beach. My poor husband offered to walk to the lighthouse barefoot! We bought some at a store afterwards.
By the way, we stopped at End of the Rainbow in Wainiha but the lady had not arrived yet even though the sign said that she should have been there over an hour ago. So no Aloha Chicks for us! Oh well!
In Kilauea we stopped and bought a few candles at Island Soap and candleworks before going to lunch at Ono Charburger. We took the food to Anahola Beach park. We then hit one more beach, Moloa’a Bay where my girls enjoyed net fishing in the tidepools.
We topped off the day by eating dinner at Zelos. I had the chicken parmesan which was very tasty.

Day six: Today we checked out of the perfect house rental and dropped off our stuff at the greeting place for Whaler’s Cove in Poipu. We ate lunch at Keoki’s Paradise (pretty good) and then headed to Waimea. My younger daughter and I attempted to go across the swinging bringe In Waimea but it was very creaky and I couldn’t force myself to go the rest of the way. Anyone else do this? Do I sound like a scardy cat, or what?
Finally went to Kikiaola Harbor to go on the Napali Explorer boat ride. We waited around and I couldn’t see anyone to check us in. That’s when I called and found out that they had a checkin point a ways down the road. It would have been nice if they told us that! Anyone, this boat was a rigid hull zodiak. We had a great time. It was the sunset tour but we never did see the sunset because it finished too early. Oh well. After going on this ride, I would definitely recommend starting from Hanalei. You do see a bunch of ho-hum scenery before the good stuff. And then you begin heading back and wonder what you missed since you didn’t go all the way to Ke’e beach. Next time!
On the way to pick up our luggage, we picked up a pizza from Brick Oven (I couldn’t believe the line! Thank goodness we called ahead!) and then went to our condo (Whaler's Cove). I must confess that we were all very underwhelmed at the condo. I know we are tainted by the house in Princeville, but it was truly only ok. I was expecting more luxury and bigger. It was right on the ocean and had a nice size lanai for a condo.

Day seven: Last full day in Paradise (or was that Hell-hole?!?) My husband went on an ultralight with Birds in Paradise and said that it was the best! That left us with no car so we walked to the Sheraton for breakfast. He picked us up on the way back. Then we swam at the pool (small but good enough), had lunch at Tomcat’s Grill (didn’t see a single cat but husband said this place had the best Lava Flow of the whole trip!), shopped in Old Koloa Town, went to the blowhole, and then cleaned up for dinner at Beach House.
We changed our reservation that morning from five people to two (SIL watched the girls) and that is when Beach House said they didn’t have a reservation for us! Thankfully they said they would put us down for two and we ended up getting a prime seat! I am not sure what all the fuss is about the sunset. You can’t actually see the sun go into the ocean. There are buildings and trees in the way. Much better in Hanalei! However it was fun to watch the surfers and the food was pretty good. It was nice to have just the two of us to reminisce (SP?) about our trip and talk about when we would be returning. That night we walked Poipu beach in the dark.
The last day we got a late checkout for free (12:00) and went shopping again in Old Koloa Town. I like this little town! I usually don’t shop this much on vacation but the SIL does and I had fun too! Also I saw a HUGE cockroach in one of the stores! My eyes couldn’t believe the size of that beast! We ate our final meal in Lihue at Pizza hut. We were a bit too early for our flight so we took the girls to Lydgate Park to play while we soaked in the final rays and memories of our trip.

By the way, we had a ton of fun doing the scavenger hunt. These were the items we could NOT find:
Macademia Nut pancakes (we ate mostly in our house/condo)
Woody (real one, not a model)
Wedding dress
Wedding ceremony
Rings of Saturn
Jupiter (didn’t end up going to the top of Mauna Kea)
PoPo;s cookies
Fruit stand on the honor system
Monk seal
Yellow Escape (Ford: This was our car in Kauai on our last trip)
Orange beach towel
Gecko tail
Fire knife dancer
Jelly fish
Purple convertible
Loco mocco (no one would order it!)

We DID find 70 items and we gave the girls souvenir money on the last two days, one dollar per point (one, two and three point items based on difficulty level). My older daughter spent all of her money at the Blowhole souvinir stands on gifts for us! How sweet is that??? Anyway, we had an awesome time and can’t wait to return! Thanks (Mahalo!) for all of your help in planning this trip!

Ashley,
Thanks for the report. So, which island is next?

Isn't Makua (Tunnels) Beach simply the best? We found it very calm with pretty clear water. Apparently the place rocks during the winter.

We had the exact same experience at Bubbas! At least they are consistent.

Have a great year with your new class!

-Bill

Thanks, Bill! I hope you have a great year too. Teachers begin work this Monday with students arriving on Wednesday. So my time on the computer will be very limited. Plus we just got a puppy so my hands are full!
By the way, there was a front page story in the newspaper on the BI about needing 400 teachers in two weeks. Believe me, I was VERY tempted! Don't know how to afford the expensive housing though! Got any ideas????

Nice trip report.