Beth in SW WA Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 We are tentatively planning a trip for Thanksgiving week to visit my brother & wife. We'll stay at their house in Kona (up the hill where it's cooler). I'm researching tickets/airline miles today (please God, let it work!) :) What should not be missed? Has anyone geocached the island? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfoster Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 (edited) We actually just finished purchasing our tickets and securing our rental etc. for our trip to the Big Island which will be quite a bit longer than yours (we plan on being there several months). I've been doing a TON of research for our time there. The absolute cheapest plane tickets we found (through considerable research) was directly through Hawaiian Airlines. But we are taking off from SFO. Something I learned is that the day you leave can make a huge difference - for example a monday might cost you $600 a ticket and then tuesday will cost you $280. Hawaiian's website has a nice feature that allows you to see every single day on a month calendar so you can see what the cost is per day. Our 6 ticks at the end of August cost us around $1400 (thats cash, no airline miles). I think it was Orbitz that had turned up the best fares through the major carriers on their price comparison wizard, better than the rest of the comparison sites i checked (priceline, cheaptickets, etc.) so give them a shot. Most of the 'must sees' I have compiled so far are on the Hilo side of the island, because we will be staying in Puna. Were you planning on going that far or did you want to stay on the Kona side? The KonaWeb site http://www.konaweb.com/ is one I put in my bookmarks that had a lot of information in it and is geared towards Kona. Also try: The big island section of http://www.discoveringhawaii.com there is some decent info on http://www.bigisland-bigisland.com/index.html and Hawaii Lisa has a lot of info on http://www.hawaii-lisa.com/ as well. Hope that helps! I can't wait till we get there! Edited August 2, 2010 by rfoster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 I LOVE the Big Island! The absolute biggest don't miss is of course Volcano National Park. We stopped at the ranger station to get the little activity pack -- I can't remember what it is, whether questions to answer or a scavenger hunt, but once the kids fill it out they get "Junior Park Ranger" badges and a beautiful poster. We've done that over the years at several different parks, and it keeps littler kids busy and engaged. The National park is interesting, and the drive down through the most recent volcano flows is spectacular. We hiked out along a well marked but rugged path over recent lava flows to a point where you could see the lava pouring into the sea. You need binoculars, but it is simply amazing. I would think the snorkeling and beaches on the Kona side would be the best. It is the drier side with calmer oceans during the winter months. On the Hilo side, which is a long drive from Kona, there are some beautiful botanical gardens and waterfalls. There is a small but interesting museum on tsunamis in Hilo. The Big Island is called Big for a reason -- it is very big and you can wind up spending lots of time in the car. The volcano is worth the drive, but if you'd just like to hang out on the beach, snorkel, tide pool, look for turtles, then stay close to Kona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 Volcano! Also, the beach near the City of Refuge was some of the best near-shore snorkeling I've seen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 We are tentatively planning a trip for Thanksgiving week to visit my brother & wife. We'll stay at their house in Kona (up the hill where it's cooler). I'm researching tickets/airline miles today (please God, let it work!) :) What should not be missed? Has anyone geocached the island? Thanks in advance! Aren't you one of the posters who likes the YWAM "brown biography" books? Go visit YWAM's University of the Nations campus in Kona for one of their community night gatherings. It's an international experience. Also, see if you can go to a luau put on by Island Breeze (affiliated with YWAM). The volcano is really cool, too. Isn't there an observatory on that island, too? Not sure if it's that one or another island. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spradlin02 Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 First off, a week is not enough time. And how adventurous do you want to be? I would research carefully about the lava. It's changes unexpectedly and while one week you may be able to see it flow, the next the flow may have stopped; the lava lottery. But you can see the Kilauea Caldera glow at night, that's wicked cool. Volcano is very nice and would like to spend more time exploring that area next time. It's stunning traveling through so many different climate zones in such a short period. If you don't like the weather, drive 15 minutes. The observatories on Mauna Kea, we did it but wouldn't again until kids are old enough for the tour (13); and heed the altitude warnings. The nightly sky viewing at the visitor's center is great, but if there's a moon, wait; we got washed out. The Kohala coast has the best beaches. Kohala mountain drive coming back from Hawi is stunning. If anyone dives (scuba), do it. If not, think about learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted August 3, 2010 Author Share Posted August 3, 2010 Thank you for your responses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 About 10 years ago when I was on the BI last, we went to an amazing botanical garden on the Hilo side. It wasn't cheap, but the flowers and colorful-things-hanging-from-the-trees were amazing. (Sorry, I have no idea what those are called) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 Our favorites on the Big Island are Volcanoes NP, Puna and Southern Black Sand Beaches (can't remember the spelling of the major one), the two valleys in the north (these are really worth going to for their beauty - take the horseback ride into Waipio, hike the other), the observatory on a nice night, the waterfalls and diving & snorkeling (esp the Manta Ray night dive). There's far more than what you can do in one week. You'll have to pick and choose. The Big Island Revealed by Wizard Pub is our favorite guidebook. And no, I'm sad to say we have never geocached in HI. We had the GPS while there and used it on hikes, but we hadn't been introduced to geocaching at that time! (We're actually pretty bummed about it as the economy has since fallen and we haven't been able to afford to go back there in a couple of years). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 We got a brief tour of a coffee plantation while we there 10 years ago. Disclaimer: we have been coffee snobs ever since. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted August 3, 2010 Author Share Posted August 3, 2010 I'm researching airline prices today. It's looking like we'll have enough for 3 flights with airline miles on Alaska and we'll purchase 3 direct flights from PDX to Kona on Hawaiian. Not ideal to travel separately -- but it's Thanksgiving week and everything is pricey. I told hubby that nothing is ever simple with us. He said, "Simple is expensive." :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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