Request help in planning Big Island trip.
 

We ( 2 adults and one 5 yr old) will be travelling to Big Island Apr 22 - 28. We will be flying in to KOA around 4 PM local time from LAX.

I was thinking I will drive to Hilo on day of arrival but it seems like a long trip. The other option seems getting to Volcano and staying there for 2 nights but again seems to be a long drive... How would you guys plan it out? This is our first trip to BI ( we were in Maui last year ).

I still have to book rental car and hotels in BI..any insight on that would be appreciated too. Note that my flight back to LA is a red eye and we are flying out at 9 pm or so from KOA.

Thanks in advance

I would recommend staying in KOA the first night to rest up and make the drive to Hilo in the daytime so you can appreciate the beauty. There are accommodations all price ranges around Kona.

Agree 100%

You might peruse these for some further ideas:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...ht=laupahoehoe

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/8598257-post11.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...ht=laupahoehoe

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...ht=laupahoehoe

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...ht=laupahoehoe

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...ht=laupahoehoe

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...ht=laupahoehoe

Two very good resources are. www.konaweb.com which has a very active visiting forum.The Big Island Revealed is considered by some the best guide book for the Islands.

Try to be as flexible as you can in your trip to the volcanoes. The park has had problems recently with dangerous levels of volcanic gas, and significant parts of the park can be closed depending on which way the wind is blowing. I was there last month and the whole southern half of the park was closed. I only found out recently that the park's website has daily updates on park closures.

more info
 

Are you on the island 7 days/nights?
what is your accommodation budget?
Do you want/need a pool for the child?
Can you afford resort hotels, or are you looking for budget modest pricing.

Reason I ask is we have budget accommodation here but the quality ranges widely. Mostly you get what you pay for. So if you can afford nicer, we can suggest the better places and then suggest an itinerary.

I agree you will be better served driving during the daytime to get the most out of the scenic roads. Also, there are 3 ways to get to Volcanoes NP from Kona. All of them scenic and special in their own way. You can't go wrong.

For example:
If you were to spend your first night in Kailua-Kona, you could dine at the Kona Brewpub. Micro beers, excellent pizza & salads, and micro-brewed sodas for the kids. Walk around Kailua town & get good & tired for your first sleep. Then the next morning at day break you can head south out of Kailua and after passing thru the funky village of Captain Cook look for the Manago Hotel on the right. Stop in there for the famous breakfasts. Then continue down to Place of Refuge for your first "tourist" stop. A national historic park. Check out the ruins and hopefully a sleeping turtle on the beach. After that continue on the southern route that takes you eventually all the way to Volcano, passing many scenic views, optional spur detour to South Point, Punaluu Black Sand Beach (more turtles) and more small funky towns. Have your passenger keep a lookout on the water, there may still be whales around (slight chance). You can pit stop in Na'alehu for a bathroom break, cup of coffee, lunch etc.

If the trade winds are blowing normally, I would not recommend this route unless you get an early start. Later in the day the vog starts to really build up and it will hurt the views, diminish the experience, etc.

So there's just one idea...

I would recommend the "The Big Island Revealed" guidebook as a reference.

Donny

sorry for delayed reply..

1) Yes all 6 days on Big Island.
2) We have a 5 yr old girl with us..so pool would be nice but not a must..we can even stay at a B*B.
3) affordability wise we dont want to spend more than $80-$90 per night anywhere...

Would everyone recommend first 2 nights in Kona , then 2 nights in Hilo and then last 2 nights in Volcano..Last day we have to drive from Volcano to Kona ..Our flight back to LA is at 8.30 pm I bilieve so we have time...

also hows the cellphone coverage all over BI? We have SPRINT(personal) and ATT (office phone) as our carriers.

The Kalapana viewing site has been closed on various days recently.

I can tell you that since New Years or so, the vog has dimished quite a bit, and the Kona side has been a bit hotter. We can even see the horizon now! :-)

Having visited the Big Island several times, I can offer some advice:

As you know, I believe that you can get some great deals on upscale resorts in Kohala coast right now on Priceline - as you can almost certainly get either the Marriott or the Hilton in Waikoloa, or the Hapuna Prince for bids of between $105 and $125 a night. But, with the cost of dining and possible resort fees on top of that, these places perhaps might still be beyond your budget - Plus, the Kohala coast is as far as you could get from hawaii Volcanos National Park.

If you want budget, there are lots of places in Kona that could probably be had for under $100 a night that are not too bad - but these inexpensive places in Kona are a much less luxurious, and overall much different experience than the luxury places on the Kohala coast offer.

One other possibility would be to stay at a B&B somewhere further south, like the Captain Cook area. These are all small establishments which vary widely, but many are very nice and fine values Another advantage of these is that they are near Kealakakua Bay and Place of Refuge - two of the best snorkeling sites in the Big Island - and they are only around a 2.5 hour drive to Volcano, whereas the northern part of the Kohala coast is more like 4 hours.

A couple of specific recommendations: In Volcano, I really like "My Island Bed & Breakfast" It's inexpensive, and it's lovely.

http://myislandinnhawaii.com/index.htm

And when driving to or from Kona to Volcano, be sure to stop at the black sand beach in Punalu'u - about an hour or so south of Volcano. It's a really special place, and it's loaded with sea turtles.

You'll have plenty of time. IIRC it's about 100 miles from the volcano to KOA and the drive can be done in 3 hours or so.

It's been a few years since I was last there, but the phone coverage was very good in most places. I had Cingular at the time.

Cellphone coverage here generally follows the Belt Road around the island, plus Hilo and Kailua village areas. As long as you don't stray too far from it, you'll be able to use the phone OK.

Hawaii Island has patchy Sprint coverage. ATT however has, in my opinion, the best reception, followed by Verizon then T-mobile.

On a separate note, if you guys are looking for a rental car and would like to go with Hertz, I have some codes specifically for Hawaii.

can you PM the Hertz codes ? Thanks for cellphone coverage info.

There is a relatively new 'minitower' around the area of the Painted Church near Kalapana according to a Verizon rep. Apparently it was installed for the hordes of visitors visiting the lava viewing area at the northern end of Chain of Craters Rd. Not sure if other carriers have access to it or not but I had excellent coverage for several miles up and down the coast in that area. During my previous visit in 2005, I had to drive 7 miles straight uphill towards Pahoa before I could receive coverage.