Originally Posted by
andie16
We just got back from an amazing week on the Big Island. We spent 5 nights in Kailua-Kona and 3 nights in Pahoa.
We did not do a lot of just relaxing on the beach, but I don't know what I would have taken out. The island is aptly named and it takes a long time to drive between towns. I'm happy to share a detailed itinerary if you want, but for now will just hit a few highlights:
Manta Ray Night snorkeling - unreal!
DS and DH would say golf - they played twice
Hike at Pololu Valley - this was a long drive - I'd say an hourish from Mauna Lani; short, but very steep hike - beautiful views (but this can be said for so many places on BI)
Volcanoes National Park - we did the Kīlauea Iki crater hike (took about 2.5 hours moving fairly slowly as I'm recovering from hip surgery)
Drive from Kona to VNP - we hit Southernmost point in U.S., Punalu'u Beach (black sand, sea turtles), Punalu'u Bakery (malasadas) **We did not have to drive back to Kona bc we spent the next few nights in Pahoa. We also didn't do the hike the same day we did the drive bc we didn't have to. The first day we just went to some of the overlooks in the park.
Beach morning at Waialea Beach (right next to Hapuna, which was packed while Waialea was not) - older DD enjoyed some sun, younger DD and I enjoyed the shade; easy in/out for snorkeling