Things to do on Big Island and Oahu for 4 days each...

[mktmzm]

My husband and I will be taking our first trip to Hawaii from 2/15 - 2/24. We have the following planned and would like ANY and all comments and suggestions:

 

2/15/08: Arrive 6:47pm. Staying at Hilton Hawaiian Village (compliments of

Hilton Honors). We have dinner reservations at "Bali by the Sea" at

the Hilton because we arrive so late.

 

2/16/08: Was planning on a North Shore Drive. My husband and I love to

sightsee and explore new places. Please make recommendations for

things to see and places to dine. We currently have reservations at

Indigo.

 

2/17/08: We were thinking of taking the early morning Hawaiian Air Flight to

Maui for the day and renting a jeep over there for some more

touring. Please make recommendations for things to see and places

to dine. We currently have reservations for dinner at E&O Trading

Company on Oahu.

 

2/18/08: We were planning on spending the whole day at Pearl Harbour. This

is the main reason we were going to Oahu.

 

2/19/08: Fly to Hawaii and stay at the Keahou Racquet Club Condos. We

currently have reservations for dinner at Huggos on Hawaii.

 

2/20/08: Take the afternoon 15 Mile Waterfall ATV tour with

http://www.atvoutfittershawaii.com/Tours.html

 

2/21/08: Take the morning Snorkel Tour on the Hula Kai with

http://www.fair-wind.com/hula_kai_overview.htm

 

2/22/08: VNP - PLEASE offer route suggestions and places to dine. We were

told that the Kilueau Lodge was wonderful for dinner.

 

2/23/08: We have until about 7:30 before we need to catch our flight to

Honolulu to fly home. Please offer suggestions!!

 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Marcy

 

P.S. If anyone needs USVI suggestions. I have MUCH experience!!

[Spikesgirl]

19/08: Fly to Hawaii and stay at the Keahou Racquet Club Condos. We

currently have reservations for dinner at Huggos on Hawaii.

 

This would be in Kona or Kohala? If you're in Kona, then it would be easier to take Hwy 11 down to South Point and then the VNP. If you're staying further up the coast, then it would be easier to take the Saddle Road (202) over to Hilo and up Hwy 11 to the park. Either way it's a long drive.

 

Kilauea Lodge (808-967-7366)is incredible for dinner, but make sure you make reservations. There is also a Thai restaurant Thai, Thai - 808-967-7969) just up the the Lodge that is our favorite on that side of the island.

 

Do be warned that you will have a four or five hour drive ahead of you back to the other side of the island, no matter which way you pick. After a full day at the park, it might be easier to get a room that night in Hilo or Volcano. We highly recommend Hale Ohia in Volcano.

 

For restaurants in Kona, we enjoy the Kona Inn (808-329-4455)and then there's Brown's Beach House (808-885-2000) and Roy's Waikoloa Bar and Grill (808-886-4321). We used to always make a stop at Canoe House, but the food has, in our opinion, been in a decline over the past few years. There are tons of other restaurants, of course, but these are a few of our favorites.

 

Charlie

[dawndelion]

here's some random thoughts -

 

We stayed at HHV free and it was nice. If you are gold or higher, you get free breakfast as well. We also got upgraded to a corner room in the Rainbow Tower (2 balconies, oceanfront).

 

Might be worth it to pick up an entertainment book - there are at least 2 coupons for buy 1 get 1 free meals at restaurants in HHV, very convenient.

 

Hawaiin Air was the most expensive when we did interisland flights. Have you checked out Island Air, Pacific Wings, or Go! airlines? They were all great and cheaper.

 

I don't know if you need a full day at Pearl Harbor. We got to PH around 8am and stayed at PH for about 3 hours (get the audio tour for $5 - definitely worth it!), then did the USS bowfin for an hour....then we headed up to the Polynesian Culture Center for the rest of the day (they open at noon)

 

I don't know about the ATV or Snorkeling excursions. We did snokeling on our own at Place of Refuge and it was great! I'm used to riding ATVs fast and muddy, and some reviews for ATV tours on BI said they really limit your speed - so wouldn't be fun for me.

 

It is a long drive to VNP. The first day we took the north route (very scenic) and stopped at Akaka Falls, Rainbow Falls, Boiling pots, and got to VNP around noon. We went to the visitors center, thurston lava tube, and around crater rim drive. Made for a dark and long drive home leaving VNP at closing time (I think 5?).

 

We drove to VNP on another day and took the south route, stopping at Punanalu (sp?) black sand beach, which was cool to see, but we only spent 5 mintues there because you can't really swim or anything (strong currents). That day we did chain of craters road and walked out to where the lava covered the road. We also did the petroglyph trail, which was not worth it!! So, if you only have 1 day, i would try to do the lava tube, then go down chain of craters. As far as dining in VNP...it will be such a long day and long, dark drive back, I would suggest stopping at a fast food joint and eating on the go!

[simonv]

If you are into whale watching, you might consider spending a couple of days in Maui, rather than Oahu. Get a beach front room around Kahana, sit on your lanai and wait for whales to put on a show for you. Middle of February is the very best time for whale watching, and whales love the narrow channel in Kahana, the area a little passed Lahaina and Kaanapali.

[cmjaffe]

Are you returning from Kona or flying back to HNL... If back to HNL I'd suggest that you drive over to VNP and stay overnight and fly back from Hilo to HNL for return flight. I'd also check out Aloha Air for reasonable interisland flights. Shop around, it's a very competitve market.

[suzy5555]

19/08:

 

If you're staying further up the coast, then it would be easier to take the Saddle Road (202) over to Hilo and up Hwy 11 to the park.

 

On another thread of mine, Donna stated:

"First is the Saddle Road, which is forbidden on your rental car agreement, but is a decent enough road most of the way over, although the last bit coming down from the Army base to Mamaloahoa Highway is still pretty rough and you'll have to go slow. The principal reason the rental car companies don't want you up there is that there are no services - no gas station, no towing company, etc. if something happens to you, and you can mess up a car pretty badly if you run off the road or take the pothole riddled part too fast."

 

Be sure to verify with your rental company.

[suzy5555]

We are planning a similiar trip and trying to decide which islands we want to stay. This will be our 4th trip to Hawaii. We will be traveling with another couple that has never been. I'm considering 3 days on the Big Island, 1 interisland travel/rest day, and then 4 day stay either Kauai or Maui. I'm waiting on the couple to decide if they want to go to VNP or not. If not, we probably will not go to the Big Island. Only because the island is so big and to best use our time, we would need to hotel hop each day. That means taking all our luggage with us as we sight see and that concerns me. I love the Big Island. If we don't go this trip, I'll put it in my "next time" folder.

 

Any two island stay suggests would be appreciated. We will fly in from east coast on a Thursday and fly home the following Friday or Saturday.

 

Thanks