Everyone hold onto your hats, Southwest is now flying to Hawaii! In fact, they have flights for $49 from Oakland to Hawaii on sale! EEEEK! Hawaii won a piece of my heart when I first visited Maui with my mom and grandma right after high school. But it really captivated me when I went to the Big Island with my husband before we ever got engaged. Out of all the major islands, it is my all-time favorite without question. So if you plan on taking advantage of Southwest heading to the Hawaiian islands, do yourself a favor and go the Big Island first!
I first visited the Big Island in April of 2011 with Vince. We weren’t engaged and were kid-free and had both been to Maui separately but wanted to check out the Big Island. We went back a few years later with our first daughter, Lila, when she was two years old. Whether you go with kids, friends, or with a significant other, the fun things to do remain exactly the same! Since Hawaii is the biggest of the islands, there are more climate zones, more terrain, and therefore more in general to do there.
Where to Stay: Kailua-Kona is on the West side of the island and where you will find more resorts. Hilo, the East side of the island, is where many of the locals live and it is a lot less touristy. I prefer the Kona side because I like being surrounded by various options of places to stay. The first time we went there, Vince and I stayed at The Royal Kona Resort. The rooms were huge, they have one of the best luau’s on the island, and the sales manager Jay was fantastic and extremely accommodating. When we went the second time, we brought along my mom and her boyfriend. My mom and Vince’s mom do a ton of babysitting for us, so every couple of years, we buy them a trip somewhere with us as a thank you, and as a bonus they babysit for one night of the trip so we can have a date night. When we stayed with my mom and her boyfriend, we rented a condo. I also love Airbnb for long stays because it’s so helpful to have a washer and dryer on hand with kiddos in tow. I appreciate having a kitchen as well because I hate spending so much time sitting in restaurants eating out every meal.
What to do: The possibilities are endless! Here are some of my favorites:
Captain Cook Monument: Our favorite spot to hit up is Captain Cook to snorkel and kayak. Vince wanted to try stand-up paddle boarding and I voted for kayaking so we rented the appropriate equipment at Kona Boys. We then tipped the locals to help us get our equipment in the water and made our way over to the Captain Cook Monument. Here is an article with some history about Captain Cook and the area. The water in this area is just unreal. It’s as picturesque as it is warm. It feels like bath water which is fantastic! To date, (and we have been a LOT of places and done a LOT of snorkeling) it is still my favorite spot to snorkel. You can also take a boat out to it or do a snorkeling tour, which we did the second time around with our daughter. She was too afraid to snorkel being that she was the ripe ol’ age of two, so we held her and splashed around in the water with her or took turns sitting with her on the boat while the rest of the group snorkeled. Even in 60 feet of water you can see straight down to the bottom of the ocean since the water is so clear, so little ones can still enjoy watching tropical fish from the safety of the boat.
A glass bottom boat tour: There are many to choose from. We did a dinner cruise where they taught us how to hula on our first trip out there and for our second trip, we bought my mom and her boyfriend a dinner cruise as a birthday gift to her. The one we chose, and that I recommend, is The Spirit of Kona dinner cruise. It’s a two hour cruise with a dinner buffet, full open bar, live music, and hula dancing. Through the glass bottom you can see eels, sharks, and nocturnal fish. There are also night tours where you can see manta rays!
Take a Helicopter Tour: I won’t lie, this was a pricey adventure rounding in at about $500-589 per person. But ohhh mama was it worth it. We chose Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tours. You can do shorter tours for around $230-$250. The tour we took was the “Big Island Spectacular” which was 2 hours long and it was incredible because we got to see Kilauea, the active volcano on the island, bubbling with lava. We also go to see aerial views of the black sand beaches, Madame Pele’s volcanic badlands, the rain forests of the Hamakua Coast and the Kohala Mountains. Lastly, we got a DVD to take home of our voyage. It went by in an instant so I am so glad we got the DVD. It’s insane how close and effortlessly the pilots fly to the waterfalls and was truly the adventure of a lifetime.
Go to a Luau. Now, my absolute favorite Luau is actually on Maui (the Old Lahaina Luau), but we still had a blast at the Royal Kona Resort Luau, which was also convenient since we were staying there. You get an authentic Hawaiian buffet, full open bar, and of course get to watch some Polynesian dancing. It’s also cool to see them un-earth the pig from the ground before prepping it to serve. Now, as a vegetarian I obviously didn’t care about the meat part of it but I was quite impressed with all the vegetarian options!
Tour a coffee plantation. I’m a fan of Greenwell Coffee Farms because they were the first coffee farmers on the island and their Kona coffee is amaaaaaaaazing. My old assistant brought me back Kona coffee (not to be confused with Hawaiian coffee) from his vacation and HOT DAMN, I was a changed woman. In case you aren’t familiar with the difference, in order for a coffee to be considered “Kona” coffee, it has to be from a small area on the West side of the island (Kona) and because of the rich, volcanic soil, it produces higher quality coffee cherries and has a richer, smoother flavor. It’s fairly hard to find on the mainland so when we visit Hawaii, we buy it by the ton. Buyer beware though, unless it says “100% Kona Coffee” on the bag, you’re being fucked. Hawaiian coffee and Kona coffee are not the same!
Hike Volcanoes National Park. Our two year old did and so can you! It’s beautiful and our daughter got a kick out of the fact that she was walking on docile volcanoes. Here’s more information about the park. Bring good walking shoes, water, sunscreen, and snacks and make a day of it.
Kona Brewing Company. I LOVE their beer. Specifically, the Wailua Wheat. It’s a lighter, golden ale that is brewed with passion fruit, and it will tickle your throat like an old friend. You can find it at larger liquor stores sometimes but not all the time, and once again, when you find it, stow a lot away for future use. Here is their site. You can almost always find Big Wave and Longboard by Kona Brewing Company at mainland liquor stores, but those ass hats don’t hold a candle to Wailua Wheat in my book.
Coffee at Lava Java’s. If you can’t tell that one of my vices besides having a sailor-mouth is caffeine, then you haven’t been paying attention. It’s okay though, I forgive you, just go try Lava Java’s.
Shave Ice! No, not shaved ice, shave ice. Don’t look like an idiot and order “shaved ice” unless you want the locals to laugh at you. You may think you’ve had some decent shave ice or delicious snow cones in your time, but they don’t come close to true Hawaiian shave ice. One of the more famous places is Ululani’s. There’s a nice one in Maui, but on the Big Island you can find it inside of the Courtyard Marriott. I’m a sucker for anything tropical flavored so I love the “Sunset Beach” combo because it’s mango, guava, passion fruit, and orange. Fucking delicious.
The Coffee Shack. I still have dreams about the breakfast at The Coffee Shack. We love it so much, we went pretty much every day on BOTH trips. My favorite is the “Papaya Special.” It’s a papaya filled with tropical fruit, lilikoi yogurt, and shredded coconut. It comes with a side of eggs any style you want, and a freshly baked treat that differs daily. My favorite was their avocado bread doused in butter. If the delicious food doesn’t entice you, the view will.
Mauna Kea Stargazing Tour: My husband and I did this as our date night on the second trip we took to Hawaii while my mom and her boyfriend babysat Lila. It gets COLD up there, so pack warm clothes if you know before your trip that this is on the itinerary. We went in August and a long sleeved shirt and sweatshirt still weren’t enough layers for me so I had to buy a second sweatshirt there. We did the Summit and Stars Tour.
Black Sand Beach and Green Sand Beach: Punalu’u beach is the most popular black sand beach in Hawaii. Both times we have visited, there have been massive sea turtles out sunning themselves so you’re almost always guaranteed to see one of those bad boys. Be respectful though, and take pictures from a few yards back. I was appalled to see a group of dip shits trying to get in the turtle’s face for a selfie with it. Barf. Give it some space man! The beach is easily accessible with parking nearby. The green sand beach however, is trickier. We paid a local to take us to it in his four-wheel drive pick-up truck. (Not something I would have had the guts to do without Vince there, I must say.) You can also hike to it but I would not recommend that hike if you have small children with you. No matter how you get there, it’s worth the sight. The Green Sand Beach is named Papakolea and is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from most of the resorts up along the Kohala Coast. It’s an olive green color because of the green crystals (olivines) in it and is only one of two green sand beaches in the entire world, the other one being in the Galapagos Islands. You cannot take the green sand home with you from this beach as it is illegal, so take plenty of pictures instead!
Snorkel, swim, repeat that shit. Vince and I kept our snorkels inside our rental car and on more than one occasion when we were driving somewhere, we’d spot a place we just had to check out closer and we’d pull over and snorkel. I’m a good swimmer but you can find calm areas all around the island that even the most novice snorkelers will enjoy, so fear not!
We did many of the same activities with our toddler that we had done as a couple, so Hawaii is a great place to “dip your toes in the water” (pun intended) if you haven’t traveled very far with your child yet. And total bonus – the locals were amazing. The first night Vince and I got in during our first trip, we stopped at a restaurant. Being from a retail background, my pet peeve is when people show up right at closing time, so I never do that to stores or to restaurants. Our flight didn’t get in from LA until really late so when we landed, the restaurant near our hotel was 15 minutes out from closing. We asked if they had anything quick that we could eat like chips and salsa that wouldn’t cause the kitchen to stay open late. The server was so nice it was shocking. He told us not to worry about it and that we were on island time and could order whatever we wanted. He then proceeded to pull down a weathered travel book from the bar and flip through some of the sites on the island to show us his favorite spots. And then loaned us his book! I was floored. Every local we came across was proud to showcase their heritage and also extremely friendly. The night Vince and I left to fly home, I legitimately cried. I’ve never cried when a vacation ended in my life (well, except when we’d leave my Grandma Larren’s resort in MN., but that was because I was very attached to her.) I cried for the island. I cried because I wanted to just sit and bask in the beauty and the pace of it all. So if you’re unsure which island to hit up, go here first. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
