Big Island, Hawaii

Big Island Hawaii

There is so much to see and do on Big Island. It is twice the size of the other Hawaiian Islands. Rain forests, snow capped mountains, tropical waterfalls and beaches of many colors are found here. They have it all.

ACTIVITIES

There is some of the best golf on the greenest fairways, you can watch whales and dolphins or play a game of "lets count the waterfalls". I have never seen so many waterfalls.

Go snorkeling to see beautiful colored fish and be amazed at the abundance and easy access to turtles. You can hike amazing trails or follow them on horse back.Take a helicopter or small plane over the volcanoes and get a fantastic view of them.

Play in the snow on Big Island's Mauna Kea summit and do what the locals do, bring some back and build a snowman or have a snow ball fight.Visit the Mauna Kea visitor center at 11,000 feet and look at the stars through the giant telescope.

Big Island has so much to do and you need to make sure you have plenty of time to see it. We had 5 days which wasn't anywhere near enough time.

TRANSPORT

On Big Island, there is no public transport to get you around other than taxis. Most people hire a car. Make sure you have booked one well in advance. We didn't and as it was New years day and holiday time, the cars were all booked until the 5th January, the day before we were flying out.

We were saved from disaster by the owner of a tour company who took pity on us and organised discounted tours for the duration of our stay. This ended up being better as we had guided tours into areas you are not allowed to take hire cars. It also ended up costing about the same amount as a hire car and the bonus of a guide telling us all there is to know about the areas of interest.

In Kona on Big Island's west coast, there is a tram style bus that is free and takes you from the center of the town to the outlying hotels and places of interest. It takes about an hour to do 5 miles though as it goes to the same places a few times in one round. It is ok for a free tour of the area but if you needed to get somewhere quickly don't bother. Take a taxi instead, if you can get one. We tended to walk but remember the distance is in miles not kilometers. It was easy to forget so when a sign said 2 miles you automatically thought it was 2 k's. A few blisters proved it was further.

Big Island Tours

Big Island tour 1

We went on an Arnotts tour to Mauna Kea summit. The company supplied us with drinks and jackets and stopped at a convenience store for us to stock up on coffee and snacks to eat on the trip. This was because it was an afternoon/evening trip and would not be getting any dinner.

At the summit we were able to watch the sunset which as the young would say it was, 'awesome'.

Mauna Kea summit is famous for star gazing and it is one of the best places in the world as it is relatively free from dust and pollution. There are 13 giant telescopes at the 13,000+ feet summit.

Warning: If you have a breathing problem or under the age of I think it was 16, you are advised not to go past the visitor center at 11,000 feet due to the thinness of the air. Our tour guide had tanks of oxygen just in case there was an emergency situation.

Big Island tour 2

This tour was with Brandy from Torro del mar and began around the town of Hilo. There is a Tsunami museum in the old part of the town that offer a guided tour which gives you all the info re tsunamis and the one that demolished the town. There is also a Japanese Garden near the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and is the oldest in Hawaii.

Our tour then took us to a Macadamia nut farm (where I had a macadamia ice cream cone) and then onto a lava tree garden.

After that we hit the coast where the lava hits the ocean. This tour was an afternoon/evening tour as well. We drove over the lava where it has buried roads, homes, forests and bare lava rock. There are houses dotted here and there where people have built directly onto the lava. I guess it is cheap housing as no one in their right mind would build in the path of a possible volcano flow. We were given torches for the walk over to see where the lava hits the ocean. The guide also had snacks and drinks for us as well as chairs to sit on whilst waiting for the sun to go down. The sight of the red lava flow coming down the mountain in the distance was amazing as was the steam coming up from the sea once the hot lava flowed into it.

Big Island tour 3

From Hilo, which is on the east coast, we toured north then south to Kona on the west coast. It isn't very far but it took us a half a day as we stopped at several places of interest on the way. The coast is very rugged but also very tropical on the east side. It rains a lot and therefore is very green. The color is so vivid green that it almost looks fake. Once you get to the west coast it is barren landscape with a lot of old lava flow covering most of the ground. The climate is also quite hot and dry.

Kona is a touristy beach town. We loved it, because it wasn't over the top. As we didn't have a lot of time here we spent most of it visiting Kona brewery and the shops and cafes. There is also some good turtle watching whether it is snorkeling or watching from the rocks. I was also lucky to see dolphins go past each morning whilst I was eating my breakfast on our balcony.

SHOPPING & DINING on Big Island

In Hilo, there is a big market where you can barter and get some great bargains. Check when it is running as it isn't open every day.

We stayed in the older area and found the shops there were quite good. But we only were there for 3 days.

Kona was easier for shopping because it wasn't a very big place and the shops are mostly on the beach front. We mainly bought souvenirs but a few clothes for ourselves too. The price was ok but when spending Australian dollars against US it is pricey.

The food here was probably better than elsewhere even though it still seems to be very fattening. We did like Bongo Bens and another place we tried called Splashers Grill had the best waffle chips. We found one plate of food could easily feed two smaller eaters. Don't order salad as you will pay a lot for a plate of lettuce with barely anything else.

Macadamia ice cream is so delicious and macadamias are everywhere. There is a group of shops called ABC and they have lots of reasonably priced snacks and souvenirs. You can get macadamia chocolates at reasonable prices like US$2 a box. Of course we ate lots of macadamias. You can also get fruit and sometimes salad snacks there too. Overall the food in Hawaii is very fattening and they like everything sweet so you get sugar on everything. We saw for sale in a supermarket sausages with maple syrup. Yuk.

ACCOMMODATION

We stayed in the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel which is a bit run down but supposedly the best in Hilo. It does have a nice view over the bay, or over the gardens. Some friends who were staying in HIlo a week, rented a private house for cheaper but they had a car.

If you want to you can book rentals over the internet at reasonable prices. By doing that you can cook all your own meals as the food in the supermarket is reasonably priced. Alcohol especially is cheaper than Australia and you can buy it all in the supermarket. If you register with them and get a store card (no cost) then you also get a discount.

In Kona we stayed at the Kona Bali Kai apartments. We had a beach front apartment with two double bedrooms and two bathrooms and full kitchen and lounge with a large balcony. It was beautiful and the sunsets were amazing. We had a rock pool just beneath the balcony where we could watch the turtles.

Not a great swimming beach but a short walk along the lawn was a small sandy beach and we also had a swimming pool and spa.

It wasn't up market at all but just right for us. We had our youngest daughter and her partner with us and they just loved it. Of course they would as mum and dad are paying for everything.

The only down side was the distance away from the main town area was 2 miles. Now that doesn't sound far but try walking it. It is easy to think it is 2 k's (not miles) but when walking and getting blisters it is a long way. Anyway it would have been better to have had a car. The bus didn't run all the time and as I said before it was an hour trip.

Catching a taxi on the last day to the airport was easy as we just booked it the night before.

CLIMATE

On the east side of Big Island it rains constantly, in fact the locals say it is the wettest place on earth. It didn't bother us though as it is warm and if you have an umbrella or a spray jacket you kept quite dry. I hate getting wet so for me to say it was ok is something.

On the west side it is hot and dry most of the year. In fact the temperature only varies a couple of degrees. So be sure to wear sunscreen as we found the sun quite biting.

WHEN TO TRAVEL

You can't fly direct to Hilo on Big Island from Australia. You fly to Honolulu and get a connecting flight.

Go off season as it is cheaper for flights and accommodation.

The only way to get to the islands is by plane or Ferry. Make sure you book your inter island flights well in advance. I booked through the Hawaiian Airlines and found that there are lots of cheap prices available depending on the time you want to fly. Be aware though that they tend to overbook so you may be in the airport for hours waiting to get onto an alternative flight.

But a word of warning, try to remain calm because they will not stress over it.

Also be aware that Xmas season is the wet season. As I said before it didn't bother us but it may have been better if it was a bit drier. My daughter who go married picked the time because she, her husband and most of the wedding guests are surfers and xmas is the best time for big surf.

WHERE TO GET MORE INFORMATION

The lonely planet books are good. You can get a Big Island individual book or buy the full Hawaii one. Most of the info I got off the official Big Island tourist site. They sent me a brochure which had a large map and different itineraries to choose from. If you want my help in any way just use the contact form and I will reply to you asap. Remember I am not a travel agent or affiliated with anyone. I am a traveler like you and am interested in sharing my experiences. Contact me for any information re Big Island Hawaii