Fairly Long--Recent Vacation to BI

Having found it helpful to read reports from others on their trips to the Big Island, thought I would post mine:

Group of 5 (4 women, aged 55, 54, 31 and 17; 1 ';man'; aged 12; all related which worked better than you might think). Plans: relaxation and reading (the older two), tanning, hiking (the middle two), enjoying pool and video games (guess).

Day 1 - arrived KOA from Chicago via Maui; picked up rental car, loaded up bags and headed to our rental condo - Hali%26#39;i Kai in Waikoloa Beach Resort. Good directions, beautiful condo (3 BR/3 BTH) with great view of ocean from two lanais. Unpacked, took short walk to pool, had mai tais (and colas) and relaxed in brisk breeze. Much warmer than when we left Michigan and Chicago! Got a variety of noodles at the Food Court in Queen%26#39;s Marketplace for dinner.

Day 2 - left the girls poolside and headed into Kona to get groceries (feeding a family of 5 for a week is not inexpensive). Shopped at Wal-Mart and Safeway (join the Safeway club for good discounts; no charge to join, quick and easy at checkout--saved $40-$50). Thrilled with how friendly everyone is--wish our Wal-Mart staff was as nice! Looking forward to eating the 10 mangoes I bought. Picked up breakfast food, fruit, eggs, milk, a big pizza, salad-fixings, bread, wine, beer, sodas. Back to condo to get the kids and headed up to Hawi and the Polulu Overlook.

We took the ';water'; route there and the ';mountain'; route back and enjoyed both. We hiked down the trail....probably not a good idea for me with my bad knees and poor aerobic condition. The girls and boy thought it was the best thing yet. My knees still ache and I thought I%26#39;d never make it back up. The trail condition is poor but the views are gorgeous. Working in the liability claims field, I saw ';safety'; problems everywhere but lots of people doing the hike, even with small children. Fair warning--VERY steep, VERY uneven, could be slippery if wet, VERY strenuous uphill if you are out of shape. Stop and rest often, especially if it%26#39;s a hot day. The view--top and bottom--absolutely gorgeous. I had seen it before (in my better knees/younger days) and it%26#39;s just as beautiful. We rewarded ourselves with great ice cream in Hawi.

Back to Hali%26#39;i Kai to enjoy a gorgeous sunset; highlight (other than our mai tai by the pool) was seeing whales just off shore...they entertained us for 45 minutes. Cooked omelets, made a tossed salad, bread, dipping oil, wine for dinner--all prepared in our well-equiped kitchen.

Day 3 - Headed towards Kona around 9am (after rush hour) and down to Place of Refuge. Very nice; got there before the tour buses from the cruise ships arrived. Enjoyed the tide pools, turtles, beautiful breeze. The younger people in our party liked this more than I anticipated. Stopped to see the Painted Church on our way back and took the windy road (keep your eyes on it if you%26#39;re the driver) back to the Highway. Lunch at a nice Thai restaurant in a shopping center just south of Kailua; found it in the ';blue book'; (Big Island Revealed). Excellent food; lots of leftovers for future lunch.

That evening, we had luau reservations at Kona Village Resort. This was my biggest disappointment--first the weather (no fault of the resort%26#39;s, of course) was rainy. They handed out umbrellas but then it was hard to see the show. By the end of the evening, we were pretty wet. The show was excellent. The food was mediocre, hard to see (I%26#39;ve never seen such poor lighting), impossible to identify and just OK in taste. I can eat melon and pineapple anywhere--how about some more adventurous tropical fruits and salads? This was my second luau and I%26#39;m done with them. Sitting in the rain in plastic lawn chairs eating unidentifiable and mediocre food for $100+ each is my idea of a wasted evening.

Day 4 - Checked with Volcano National Park on line to see if park open since it was closed on Wed.; noted they were opening at 10am so loaded everying in the car and headed over via the ';north route.'; Made great time, beautiful drive with lovely scenery (I was driver since I%26#39;ve seen it previously and you DO need to keep your eyes on the road). Arrived by 11, stopped at Park Visitor%26#39;s Center for an update--everyone excited because plume had gotten bigger. Saw a lot of steam vent activity, great views of the plume. Walked through the Lava Tube and the younger folks in the party took the hike down to the crater. I went part way and enjoyed listening to the birds from a bench. Clouds and rain rolled in and it was a slow drive back out of the park with almost zero visibility. This is a great National Park--absolutely do not miss this, you will not see something like this anywhere else. We stopped for a late lunch at the Hilo Bay Cafe (also recommended in the Blue Book); very good food. The teenage girl in the group asked to stop at Hilo Hattie%26#39;s to shop so we did and it wasn%26#39;t as bad as I thought it might be :-).

Arrived back at the condo just in time for....that%26#39;s right, a mai tai and sunset at the pool. Pizza and favorite beverages on the lanai for dinner. Hot and humid day; had to turn on the air conditioning to sleep; happily nice and breezy again in the morning so could go back to ceiling fans and open windows.

Day 5 - 3 of the group had reservations for a heli-tour leaving out of Hilo at 3:30....so that%26#39;s right, back in the car to head to the other coast again. We stopped at the Botanic Gardens and Akaka Falls and enjoyed both. Again, I am somewhat aghast at the condition of the walk/steps and handrails at Akaka Falls but see they are currently repairing some of them. Beautiful view not only of the falls but the tropical vegetation (houseplants here in the northern midwest!). The Botanic Gardens are very nice; the $15 charge is justified--well marked, very developed garden that goes right down to the ocean. Take some mosquito spray or wipes. Good walkways, handrails where necessary. Got splashed by a big wave (thrilling the 12 year old) that came over the wall; beautiful aviary with parrots and macaws. Nice waterfall. They are obviously putting the money back into this garden.

While the rest of the group %26#39;coptered, I drove to downtown Hilo and sat under a palm tree to listen to waves and read a book. Looks like a lot of shops in Hilo are out of business...and many of the rest not particularly interesting to me. Nice, quiet town. Had early dinner at Sombat%26#39;s (Thai again) and back to condo just after dark.

Day 6 - the weekend; girls happy to sun by pool. Played Scrabble, more noodles for lunch, Roy%26#39;s for dinner (delicious, great service, make reservations). Nice, lazy day.

Day 7 - our last full day. Put on more sunscreen, more Scrabble, watch whales, watch a movie, eat the last of everything. Finish a book. Head to Cafe Pesto just up the road 10 miles or so (towards Hawi) for pizza. Nice surprise at this restaurant--very casual, friendly, great food, reasonable prices. Very nice list of wine by the glass. Sad to see the day end.

Day 8 - packed and out of the condo by 10am as requested; gave our leftover ';beverages'; to the folks just arriving in the condo below (also from Michigan). The folks at the pool said we could use the facilities all day; we stayed (mostly in the shade) until noon and were again entertained by whales--this time 3 of them. Drove to Kona for a quick lunch (Killer Tacos--very good, very casual), gas up the rental car and off to the airport. Long (8 hour) fight to Chicago but our connection to Grand Rapids was on time and we arrived to 30 degree weather....but the snow was gone so we%26#39;re good!

Recommended--Big Island Revealed (Blue book) has very accurate information and recommendations. Use common sense and courtesy. Our condo managers were Waikaloa Rental Management and they were very responsive (dropped off extra keys; called us right back about the confusing and uncooperative air con system). Eat local food/noodles and you will be happy. Great fresh fruit. Gas not that much more than it is on mainland but the views make the ';premium'; price worth it! Not a lot of street lights so driving after dark is a bit scarey--on the other hand, you can see the stars. Go slow, see more, stay safe.

What a beautiful island!

Annette from South Haven, MI

Fairly Long--Recent Vacation to BI

Hi Annette,

Loved your informative trip report (and humor).

What a shame about the rain at the KVR luau and the mediocre food. Did you see the Wed. night show? What were your son%26#39;s thoughts about the luau? (I’m curious because we’re taking our 12-year-old son to the BI this summer.) What did he enjoy the most?

Thanks for all the helpful tips you provided.

Welcome home.

Fairly Long--Recent Vacation to BI

My 12 year old nephew seemed to enjoy the luau, particularly the show. I don%26#39;t think it was on the top of his list. Overall, he liked playing in the pool (throwing a beach ball around with the rest of us), walking on the beach at Polulu, looking in tide pools at Place of Refuge. Kept busy with his computer games in the car. I would say he%26#39;s a bit young for his age; doesn%26#39;t swim well, wasn%26#39;t interested in snorkeling. We gave him a guidebook on the plane and asked him to pick some things out he wanted to do. He isn%26#39;t very interested in trying new food and has braces so he was happy that most restaurants had fried rice or hamburgers/fries. But he was good about tasting things and satisfied with a bowl of cereal if that%26#39;s all there was that interested him.

Annette

Sorry, forgot to mention, it was the Wednesday night show.

Annette

Thank you, Annette, for your input. Like your nephew, my son is not very adventuresome with tasting new food. I hope, however, that he will give loco mocos a try as well as plate lunches.

I’m going to follow your lead, and ask my son to flip through some of my myriad TA pages and research which activities to trim.

Thanks, again for responding to my questions.

Thanks for the wonderful trip report. Our cousin is a very picky eater also (she ate lots of burgers and fries on our trip). And she is in her late 30%26#39;s. Guess some kids never grow out of it, huh?

That is good to know about the luau. We thought about doing it when we return in 2010 but maybe we will have to find something else.

Thanks for the trip report--we are going to the Big Island for the first time next Feb. and I am making reservations right now for condo. We are considering staying at Hali i Kai--what building number were you in, how far from the pool? It sounds like you had a good experience there, do you recommend it over other places?

Thanks, Jennifer

When I was at the Kona Village resort in February, I saw both the Friday and Wednesday luau%26#39;s, and the Friday show was far superior to the Wednesday show. I%26#39;ve seen the Friday show 8 times, and though every year it%26#39;s different, it%26#39;s always been good. The Wednesday show was easily the worst of the bunch.

The show IMHO is the main reason to attend a luau. The food is ok, but you have to remember that they are trying to be authentic.

And I can%26#39;t help but think that the rain dampened the evening. KVR is located in a fairly dry part of the island..but that still means it rains occasionally. They used to hold the luau indoors when it rained, but that was cramped and restricted the show quality. So I guess now they leave it outside, which while it allows the show to go on, literally dampens the whole mood.

Jennifer, sorry to reply late; now that vacation is over, it%26#39;s back to trying to catch up at work. Seems like that week off was months ago instead of weeks ago! We stayed in 16G at Hali%26#39;i Kai. Great location and I thought very good value for the price with lots of room for everyone. Too far to walk to the beach (A Bay) unless it%26#39;s a cool day but I think you can walk to the Hilton and catch the tram. But if you%26#39;re carrying stuff (beach bags, boogie boards) it%26#39;s easier to drive and park over by the Marriot. 16G is close enough to the pool area at Hali%26#39;i Kai that you can easily walk but you won%26#39;t hear any noise from the pool area (and, it closes fairly early anyway).

We drove into and through Kailua-Kona one day and wow, it was full of tourists and touristy places. I know, we were tourists too, but all of those knick-knack shops and beachside bars are just not our thing. A few cruise ships in likely added to the congestion (road and sidewalk).

Annette

Fantastic report! Thanks for sharing. I have been to one luau in all my trips to the islands. While the show was good, it is definitely something I would not spend the time and money on again...but I do think its something that%26#39;s cool to experiecne once. Too bad the weather was not better for yours. I am returning to The Island of Hawaii in September and can not wait. Wish it was today....the winter has been sooooooo long here, and your report really brightened my day. Woke up to snow, wind and 30 degree temps today.

(: ICK!