Trip Reports - Hawaii Ironman Trip Report - Big Island

This report is from October 2005, during the Ironman. The report has a few thoughts on Hilton Waikaloa Village and some other Big Island stuff, but mainly concentrates on the Ironman and viewing tips. For events with really big crowds, I appreciate hearing from others what worked for them, and decided to provide what worked (and didn't) for me.

Big Island Hawaii Trip Report, including Ironman Viewing Tips

My wife and I had wanted to go to the Big Island of Hawaii for some time, and we decided to schedule a trip there during the Ironman event this year on October 15, 2005. We were lucky enough to find an award ticket there on Northwest. Although I was a Silver Elite at the time, there was only a choice of one day there and one day back for October. Even as a Platinum now, the award availability is not much better. American, where I have some miles, had the exact days I was looking for. However, I didn’t have enough miles for two people.

We flew out Thursday, October 13 and arrived that evening in Kona. The flights were fine. Having 14A and 14B (exit row where boarding occurs) on a NW757-300 sure makes the flight a lot nicer. Got to chat with the F/As.

Picked up the rental car and headed to the Hilton Waikoloa Village (HVW), where I had pricelined a room for $140. I wanted to get points for the incidentals (meals, purchases) and the check-in clerk had no problem adding my number. Ended up getting the 2 free bottles of water that a Silver gets, but my key wouldn’t access the workout room. I didn’t expect it to, but after she gave me the coupons for the bottled water attached to the Silver benefits letter, I thought I’d try.

The place really impressed me. The (fake) art was very impressive and extensive. The HWV was a choice I made for my wife. I personally am more easily satisfied with more basic accommodations (she says cheap), but I knew she’d like the place.

Our room was in the Palace Towers, not making it too bad of a walk to the lobby. I was concerned that we’d have the room next to the dumpster based the way the room was purchased, but it was fine. I thought the rooms were fairly impressive, with the expected marble bathroom, multiple extra pillows on the bed and upscale décor.

My biggest concern about the place was the wait for the monorail or boat. As such, we walked every time, unless we heard a monorail or boat coming. Our only bad experience with transportation came at checkout. I called for a bellboy, but because the place is so spread out, they said it would be 20 minutes. As we wanted to leave right then, I figured we’d wheel the bags to the monorail and save the wait. I was happy to see a large group of people waiting, figuring the monorail had to be very close to arriving. Wrong! Another 7 or 8 minutes later, I walk in and ask the concierge if something happened to the monorail. He replies there is only 1 running and the wait can be up to 20 minutes! Several minutes later, the monorail shows up, running the wrong way. My wife and I decide to wheel the bags ourselves to the lobby. A horrible last impression. And judging by the other peoples faces waiting for the monorail, they were frustrated too.

The place was pretty empty. I swam in the main pool with the water slide briefly, but the water was too cold for me.

The grounds were impressive as well. I can’t imagine the maintenance costs. And there was no deferred maintenance. Everything looked realy good. With grounds this large, that’s a lot of work.

We drove all the way up the coast to Hawi, then followed the road to the end and hiked in to Pololu Valley. Fairly nice, but Waipi’o Valley was much more impressive.

That Friday night before the race, we drove into Kona and parked near the King Kamehameha Hotel. This is where many of the triatheletes stay, as well as the organizers. The race start is right in front of the hotel. We walked around and soaked in the atmosphere. There were many workers putting up barriers for the course.

We drove back to the Hilton. Critique #1- We should have stayed in Kona Friday and Saturday nights. Why- We planned on being at the start of the race at 6:45. What time you need to get there to get a decent view, I don’t know. But 6:30 is too late. Also, the bike course runs north out of Kona. The quick road (19) to the hotels to the north of Kona would be closed until at least 3PM. If you are staying north and driving down for the race, there is a huge gravel area just west of 19 and just south of Palani Road. The walk to the race start is about ½ mile down Palani. The nice thing about this parking is you can go south on 19 if you want a break from the race and return easily. If you park closer, you stand the chance of getting trapped by the race course. My recommendations would be the King Kamehameha or the Kona Seaside Hotel across the street. On side of the Kona Seaside overlooks Palani Road, which is where the competitors and spectators are to watch the bike and run. It would have been great to be able to duck into a room and get a cold beverage, instead of viewing from the sidewalk in the mass of people.

We watched the swim from the sea wall and watched some of the bikes leaving the transition area. We then decided to take a break and drove south, stopping at the The Coffee Shack. Awesome views and great, reasonably priced food.

We went back to Kona in the afternoon and watched the race some more. Parked in the gravel lot again. Public bathrooms were almost non-existent. The only accessible public toilet was in the King Kamehameha hotel. There is also a store with Ironman merchandise there, so it isn’t like you are the only outsider going into the hotel. There was a portapotty across the road form the King Kamehameha, but it had a huge line in the morning and was overflowing in the afternoon.

Ended up sitting in the bleachers between where the start of the race and the finish line were. Great seats open to anyone after the race is going. Looked like you needed a pass in the morning. Watched the male and female winners cross the line. You can feel the energy. The announcers do an incredible job of keeping the crowd rowdy, even with several minute gaps between contestants.

Decided to take a break from the sun and went to the lobby of the King Kamehameha. This is where you get to see the toll extracted from the athletes. They come through the lobby with one person supporting them on each side, or limping hard. Some walk through on there own power, but I don’t think they finished as high in the rankings. We saw many of the top finishers there.

We decided we needed some dinner and ate at Basils. The food was good, but the location was awesome. The restaurant has a patio in front of it, and only for the Saturday of the Ironman they rent tables and chairs and you can watch the race from about a half mile from the finish. There are spectators cheering from on the road in front of you, but they are spread out enough that you can see all the competitors.

Went out and sat in the bleachers for several more hours that evening, cheering on the other finishers. My wife wanted to stay until midnight, but around 9PM we were both losing steam. Still had to take a detour back to the hotel.

Used the Big Island Revealed guide. It offered some great tips, like where to find caves on a scenic drive. Stayed in Hilo at the Hale Kai Hawaii Bed and Breakfast. The place had an awesome view!!! All 4 bedrooms overlook the ocean. The décor is starting to get old and there is no airconditioning or internet. My wife and I liked it just fine though. The breakfast is gourmet. For the money ($125 per night), and in Hawaii, I’d say a good value.
Toured Volcano National Park and saw hot lava. The steam plumes coming from where the lava entered the ocean was really cool. We waited until evening and saw the lava glow red on the hillside and right where it entered the ocean. We were probably about a mile away from the lava. I wished we could get closer. It just depends on where the lava is flowing, as to how close the rangers let you.
There was a great fruit stand where we stopped on the way back to the airport. On the ocean side, in the parking lot of what appeared to be some mining operation. The woman was incredibly friendly and made a super tasty stew.

I apologize for the lack of detail, especially in the second half. I didn’t finish it right after I got home, and now my memory is fading.