Originally Posted by
tatterdema
I personally would never schedule 5 (or even 4) nights on the Hilo side of the Island. Depending on time of year, you could easily spend 5 days of non stop rain. I would not split up a stay between Hilo and Volcano either. They are only about a half hour drive apart, just in my opinion, not worth moving over. I stayed way out in Lower Puna and visited VNP just fine.
Do spend time in the Tsunami Museum. I loved it and want to go back.
Thanks so much, this is really helpful!
I ended up extending our stay at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, so we're now spending 7 straight nights at the start of our trip. I figure that should offer plenty of time to not only lounge around the property and enjoy the beaches & sights in and around Waimea/Kailua-Kona, but also lend enough time to explore the northern and eastern coastlines with some 1/2 day trips down to Captain Cook/Honaunau and also up to Waipi’o. I think a full week should be more than enough to visit Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau and Kealakekua Bay, tour the historic Kona coffee farm, horseback ride in Waipi’o Valley... plus a couple of chartered sea adventures: dolphin swim, manta rays, snorkeling, etc.
As for splitting nights between Hilo and Volcano, I really would prefer to minimize driving so that we could see and do more in each location. I think it'd be worth it alone to experience the sunrise and sunset in Volcano w/o all of the day visitors. I find there's something really special about wandering through nat'l parks after hours. The accommodations are also fun and unique to each location; in Hilo we've booked an old 1910s guest cottage that Jack London purportedly stayed in, and in Volcano we're situated right at the edge of the rain forest in a historic cottage with an outdoor hot tub surrounded by jungle. The nice thing about both places being in close proximity is that I don't have to worry too much about trying to do everything in Hilo because we could always drive back and forth.
I think on the drive into Hilo from Waimea, we'll try to detour onto the Pepeekeo scenic route and visit the Botanical Gardens in the same day. The next day we'll visit both beaches (Carlsmith/Richardson) and the Pacific Tsunami Museum. Maybe Rainbow Falls if there's time as well. Otherwise, we'll visit the falls on the last day before continuing to Volcano. Perhaps we'll return from Volcano one morning or afternoon to explore ʻAkaka Falls State Park also.
Over our two nights in Volcano, we'll mostly stick to activities in VNP; trail hikes & tours of the park, lava tube cave, etc. We'll also try to experience the lava flows off the Pāhoa coastline, if the timing is right. Maybe also visit a farm/orchard in the area too.
Does that all sound pretty reasonable and doable within our allotted time?
Our new dates are December 6th until 17th.
12/06 - SFO to Kona
12/06-12/13 @ Mauna Kea Beach
12/13-12/15 @ Hilo
12/15-12/17 @ Volcano
12/17 - Kona/Hilo to SFO