Ancien Maestro

By the tan?

ddavault

Maybe it's safer to say "known person" or "frequent guest". We definitely are not locals, but we travel to the Big Island about 2x a year and always dine at Merriman's and always call ahead to make a reservation.

kksanjana17

Flying into Honolulu this saturday at 3:05. adn there for the 30th. flying out to maui on the 31st. What to do in Honalulu...
Please help 1st time in Hawaii

globe_spinner

how about this schedule for the islands?

Day 1--do nothing, lay on the beach and drink a few Mai Tai.
Day 2--Same
Day 3--Same
Day 4--Same

I think you get the idea.

CPRich

We've been to the big island twice, kids were 10/5 and 6/1.

Yes to VNP, though it will take a full day. Get up early, go the northerly route and stop at Akaka Falls, Umauma Falls at the World Botanical Garden, and then Hilo for lunch. Bring a flashlight to explore the deep, unlit parts of the Thurston Lava Tubes (through a barred gate near the exit - don't miss it)

Take Saddle Road home and go up to Mauna Kea after dark. There are warnings about kids past the Visitor's Center, and the road gets more difficult. It was just on the verge of too cold at the VC, so I don't see much of a need to go all the way to the summit with the kids. There are telescopes set up and a some talks on the sky - check schedules to see if that's every night. The sights are outstanding, and don't let anyone scare you about driving the road unless you're really uncomfortable driving typical country roads.

Lava Flows are hit or miss. We had decent viewing 3 yrs ago on a helicopter trip then a walk from the end of the road. But last summer there was nothing to be seen.

Take a half day and drive up the northwest corner, through Hawi, see the Kamehameha statue, go to the end of the road, to the Pololu Valley Lookout, and take the hike down to the beach.

Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park was interesting if you're headed south, or already nearby, but it wasn't worth the hour drive from Waikoloa.

Coffee farm - didn't interest the kids or the parents. And we still haven't made is on the south route to the black/green beaches.

mantas

Thanks for the data, CPRich.

About the Muana Kea summit and the kids, I will be talking with two Mountain guides, who are also medical doctors specialized in AMS, in the following days, after they return from Mt. Everest, where they reached the top some days ago.

chad222

I live on the Big Island. I did the nighttime snorkel with the Manta Rays once and it was absolutely mind-blowing. Other visitors and residents I know who have done it have said the same.

Be careful going to Mauna Kea summit with the kids --- make sure to stop at the visitor's center near where the paved road ends and learn about mountain driving and the symptoms of high altitude sickness. The summit is spectacular and well worth the trip. And stop at the visitor's center after sunset for a free stargazing tour --- if it's clear. Probably the best free thing to do on the entire island.

tlhanger

All of these are good, but don't forget the shaved ice place in Hilo-my husbands favorite.

Sydny1

Three days here is going to be a very busy trip for your family. I'm sure the children will want to play in the ocean rather than ride in the car! Nevertheless, as a resident of the Big Island, may I suggest a few things for you:
1) If you need to go to the summit of Mauna Kea, please check for the age qualification;
2) Take a tour to the summit..rather than using a rental car. Your contract with the rental car companies forbid driving to the summit, and any dirt roads. If anythig happens to the vehicle while disobeying the contract, the fees are exhorbitant;
3) The police around the Island are very tight about seat belts....$95 for each belt unclipped. Additionally, watch the speed limits....they change at the blink of an eye, and that's where they sit and wait for you;
4) My suggestion would be to do an Internet search for condos in the Waikoloa Beach area. Sometimes you can find a fully furnished, 2 bedroom, 2 bath for $99/night. All have pools, and none are too far from the beach;
5) In the Waikoloa Beach area, there are 2 shopping centers, and many restaurants, food courts, and a couple cafe`s;
6) If you can pull the kids from the beach or pool, take the car and tour around the Island. This takes about a day, and you will see most everything you came to see in the first place;
7) Manta Rays......if you follow the beach to the Mauna Kea Hotel, they light the water at night, and the Manta Rays play in the light. It's delightful to see:
8) Volcano: As stated before, the lava from the volcano is not static, and can change direction and pattern in a flash. The Hawai'i County Civil Defense has done a good job of trying to keep idiots from getting so close to the lava that the "bottom of their shoes" melt ! If one is that close, they are stepping on a shelf , which is very thin, and can dump you into oblivion...never to be seen nor heard from again! Read the signs and obey the rules;
9) The Volcano National Park will have all the information about the flow(s), where to go, and if they are close enough to see. Night time is an excellant adventure if they are flowing on top of the ground. The picture is awesome;
10) Finally, you have achieved a remarkable 5-day Big Island journey in 3 days, and the kids will have to dry off, remarking to you that it still wasn't long enough!

Good luck, and hope you enjoy it as much as we, the Residents, do!

SydnyG

outoftown

Mrs. Outoftown and I have been to the Big Island several times and are going again in January 2011. I think we have absorbed enough aloha spirit to get a feel for the place and am surprised that no one has yet mentioned what locals call Warm Pond, Vacationland or one of the best kids snorkeling spots in the world; Kahaluu Beach Park, just south of Kailua-Kona. We go on the cheap, but I don't think eating at Ruth Chris would be a "must-do" in Hawaii. Personally, Mrs. Outoftown think Roy's at Waikoloa Village rates better since it is Hawaiian fusion fare. I prefer Costco sushi and the surfer food sold out of huts near the beach myself. It beat's Fred's House of Pancakes, anyway.

We have yet to see Mauna Kea and the manta rays, so those will be must do's for us this time.

I do recommend black sand beach, green sand beach, volcano national park (on a day when it's not raining).

-outoftown

DanTravels

Sorry to be late to the party - I just stumbled across this thread while browsing. I've worked at least part-time on Mauna Kea for almost six years, including work of one kind or another at 5 different observatories on the summit, and have volunteered at the Visitor Information Station (VIS) a bit longer than that. So I spend a lot of time up there, and am happy to offer information and advice. I also coincidentally have a kid about the same age as mantas's eldest, who is quite familiar with Mauna Kea, having hiked up to about 10,500 feet.

When someone mentions wanting to take kids to the summit, my two usual responses are "why would you want to do that?" and "I can't stop you, but I don't think that's a good idea."

A few links:

Office of Mauna Kea Management - Visiting Mauna Kea safely and responsibly.
VIS -mountain hazards.
VIS - driving hazards.

Now for my own mana'o... like everyone here, I've heard of people taking their kids to the summit. I've seen it, even. I'm aware of cases where the kids made it back with no ill effects... and cases where they didn't.

To be fair, I've also seen adults drop, up there. Kids don't have any kind of monopoly on handling altitude poorly - there are plenty of factors other than age that matter.

The thing about kids, though, is that they tend to act their age. If I tell a dozen adults to take it slow, pressure-breathe, sit if they feel dizzy, and tell someone if they're feeling sick, they'll take it seriously. 11-year-olds? 50% odds. 8-year-olds? Ha!

The other concern (regardless of age) is that if anything does go wrong, you're not in a good place. If you're lucky, and a ranger is nearby, that gets you someone with Emergency Medical Responder (formerly called "First Responder") training, a basic medical kit and oxygen. If a non-ranger like me is nearby, you get someone with EMR training, but no equipment or oxygen.

Minimum time to reach someone with better training and equipment than us (like an EMT) is 30 minutes, and that's if someone can immediately evacuate you from the summit and call ahead to be met at mid-level by EMTs, which means the squad from the Army's Pohakuloa Training Area (who aren't available during live-fire training for obvious reasons) or the county's rescue helicopter (which only gets called if you're in really bad shape, and which isn't powerful enough to take off from the summit loaded). Then you've got a minimum 30-60 minutes after that to reach an emergency room.

None of this should be the least bit surprising to anyone who hangs around mountains or wilderness areas. And anyone smart enough to be an FTer should be able to weigh the risks of doing something and all that.

Now, for the "Why would you want to do that?"

People usually go to the summit to do one of four things:
1. See the sunset
2. See the outsides of the observatories
3. See a telescope inside an observatory
4. Hike, either to the true summit (high point) or elsewhere.

So, in order:

1. You can see the sunset from mid-level. It's a short hike from the VIS, and hiking is a lot easier at that elevation. The VIS also has a telescope (Celestron, 11 or 12 inch) with a solar filter on it, and a co-aligned Coronado H-alpha scope on the same mount, so you can see sunspots and solar flares, and even watch the sun go down behind the trees through a telescope... which you can't do at the summit.

2. There aren't any complete observatory buildings at the VIS. There are plenty of posters and videos and interactive computer displays of them, though.

3. While there are no huge telescopes at the VIS, the ones on the summit are untouchable, and you can't look through them, and one observatory that even has a visitors gallery is locked after 3:30pm on weekdays and all day on weekends. At the VIS, there are about nine telescopes, all of which you can look through, and five of which you can actually use and point at whatever you want. I taught a 5-year-old how to use one last night, and I've seen kids as young as 3 pick up how the targeting mechanism works in under a minute.

4. As mentioned in the sunset part, we have hikes at the VIS, and it's a lot easier to hike at that elevation.

The VIS also has indoor bathrooms which I think may be open 24/7 - other than 2 bathrooms in that one often-locked visitor gallery I mentioned, the summit has only "the world's coldest porta-potties." And the VIS has silverswords, picnic tables, food, snacks and hot cocoa (and souvenirs and books and videos and clothes and posters and, and, and...) for sale, stargazing every night of the year, all-nighters for major meteor showers, and lots of knowledgeable staff and volunteers, for whom education and outreach is a high priority, especially to kids.

So my personal opinion, as a parent, as a volunteer and as a professional, is that kids will generally find a lot more to do, and have a lot more fun, in and around the VIS than they will on the summit. Just my 2 cents.

I'm more than happy to provide more information if desired, either here, in other threads (like the "Driving Saddle Road and the Mauna Kea Access Road" one) or in private messages.

FliesFromCanada

Five years ago we did 6 days on the big island (3 in Kona, 3 in Hilo) and only 5days in Waikiki. It’s called the big island for a reason. You’re looking at long days in the car trying to see everything from Kona.

We stayed at the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort. Not sure if that's what it was called at the time but the photos on TripAdvisor show it's the one we stayed at. We picked it because it was one of the few hotels around Kona with an actual beach as opposed to waves that will smash you into razor sharp lava if you attempt to swim. It’s a tiny beach but enough that we could get in the water and see some amazing fish and turtles without having to book a snorkelling tour. With only 3 days, the ability to do one of the “must do” activities in an hour instead of a full day tour will be important.

We did scuba diving with the manta rays. Amazing! Had to go on separate nights since we were travelling with our 3 year old.

Drove south from Kona one day (historical sites, macadamia nuts). Drove north from Kona another day. Did a gorgeous hike on the northern tip of the island down, down, down to a beach. I can’t remember the name of it though. Did a submarine tour in Kona. If you’re already snorkelers, not worth it. We saw a much larger variety of fish off the hotel beach. Total cool factor though for our son.

Then over to Hilo. I liked the feel of the town. Very lush compared to Kona. Pack a couple of flashlights with you for lava tube exploration.

We spent a whole day touring the various sights around the volcano. Well worth it! Drove down Chain of Craters Rd. in late afternoon to wait for it to get dark. We could see the lava glowing on the hillside but we obviously weren’t about to go hiking over the sharp rocks with our son.

In Waikiki we did Diamondhead and the snorkelling park in one day. Did the zoo one day with son while DH visited Pearl Harbour. Took turns having surfing lessons while the other parent splashed on the beach with the 3 year old another day. Drove up the east coast of the island, stopping at beaches along the way, hanging at the north shore big wave beach for a while before driving back down through the centre of the island. Did a bus tour to a luau.

RickR

lots of good ideas in the other posts. Have been a couple of times and have a couple of additions:

#1 - Lava. Get a local tour guide who will find flowing lava. It will probably not be in a tourist area. We did this as part of a cruise ship tour a few years ago - from Hilo of course. The guide was local, took us by her uncle's place on the way, surrounded by recent lava flows, then we struck out across the lava. The guides knew where and how to look (they find it every day). We wound up walking on still-hot lava (quickly), watching red-hot lava flowing from as close as we wanted to be, even teasing some onto a stick and carrying a wad around. A note of caution from the guides: just looking at lava may not reveal if it is hot - look for heat waves or approach carefully. Also, realize, this may be small, low-key flows, not giant eruptions or rivers of lava. Still...
also interesting to see how coconuts and other plants start colonizing recent barren lava flows.

2 - Mauna Kea. Yes. road is fine, just some dirt. being on top is amazing, like being on another planet - just volcanic dirt, some snow/ice and what seem like a bunch of space ships (observatories) scattered around. Remember temperature there may be below freezing.

3. Vog. Check the air quality where you are going. Volcanic fumes (+ fog = vog) have made things miserable at times in spots, depending on the wind. I heard the Kona area was practically shut down and unhealthy a few months ago.

can't go wrong anywhere in HI.

Ancien Maestro

So kids as young as 3 has visited the observatory? How bout infants?

mantas

DanTravels:
Thank you for jump in.
I still do not decided what I am gonna do about the whole issue. My girls have watched "How the earth was made" hawaii's chapter, and they want to go to the top, even crawling
I aprecciate your experience and, to tell you the truth, you are the first (as far as I could remember) that tells that you have seen in fact people falling down as a result of the ASM effect at the summit. So may I ask you for a little more precision about what you have seen exactly and how serious the cases have been?
I have read a lot about the ASM consecuences and the more serious ones (pulmonary or cerebral aedema) but, until now, nobody told any experience on Muana Kea -except the usual headaches and some dizzines, etc-, and many of the quotes are medical bibliography who usually refers to mountains hikers (alpinists), and most several cases talk about people sleeping in the high altitude in Himalaya or Andes.
By the way, the difference between letting the adults go on and not the kids it appears to be a preventive messure, but there is no any scientific conclusion -and you pointed that- that states the kids are more likely to have the AMS affects.
Anyway, about the behavior of the children, it depends on each child and each father. Mine are well educated and responsible kids, and are well explained about consecuencies. So, no jump around, no run, take care, pay attention to your breathing, the mild symptoms that can occur, etc. And also I do not expect to stay up there more than 30 to 45 min. Just enough to see the sun going down behind the clouds and the red/rose twilight lighting the summit and the observatories.
And still I do not know what I am gonna do. Just thinking loud.

Some days ago, I contacted the Argentine Mountain Guide Association and I will talk with a couple of mountain guides (who are also medical doctors) in the next weeks after they return from their ascension to Mt. Everest 10 days ago or so.

Just to mention again that I went up to the Christ Redeemer of the Andes at 3,832 metres (12,572 ft) when I was 10 or 11 and my brothers were 7 or 8 years old, and nothing went wrong^. There were no special advice -well, it is Southamerica so you can't expect some- and most of you do not even dare on the extremely narrow, unpaved, primitive road you have to ride back in that day when in front comes a touristic bus full of people that hardly fit on the only one lane.

Well, DanTravels, if you can tell me a bit more about the real cases you have seen, it will be highly aprecciated.