[venti_iced_coffee]

Just curious if anyone has been there and what you'd recommend doing. We're thinking about going there this fall with our kids.

Also wondering if it's a better idea to split up the vacation between the east and west sides of the island because of the driving time. We want to go to the west side, but would also like to see a few sites (volcanos) on the east side.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Kmchamplin]

Never to the big island, but we have been to Maui and Oahu.

[NoahsMomma]

my DD Amy was born in Hawaii. AlanB~my DH was stationed there when he was in the Army. I emailed this ? but were busy with his Birthday party today....

He will probably check in with you tonight with an answer

[latrice0723]

No never been but we are thinking about planning a trip with the kiddos, grandparents, and godparents. Would love ideas on which island is better and how I should go about planning a trip like this. Should we us a travel agency or wing it ourselves?

[venti_iced_coffee]

Originally Posted by latrice0723

No never been but we are thinking about planning a trip with the kiddos, grandparents, and godparents. Would love ideas on which island is better and how I should go about planning a trip like this. Should we us a travel agency or wing it ourselves?

We went to Kauai and stayed in Kapaa a few years ago. We loved it there, but it's small so we pretty much did everything in the 6 days we were there with our one son at the time, who was 3. Now he's 7 and our other son is 3, so we wanted to try a different island, but don't want to go somewhere too crowded. Kauai is great though and Kapaa is very family friendly. I booked that trip through Expedia and didn't use a travel agent. But there are so many websites to look at, you could probably do it yourself once you decide where to go. I also have visitor guides that I got through Hawaii's official tourism site. I'll probably go to the AAA office this week and see what brochures, maps, etc. they have. I just thought with all the people on here, somebody would have some helpful information to share.

[ChristineV]

I will let you know in a few weeks. We are leaving next week for a trip to the Big Island with 12 other family members.

[bette]

I HIGHLY recommend Volcanoes National Park! It is just such an unusual sight. Crater Rim Drive goes through desert, rainforest, lava flows, and more. It is just awesome! Mauna Kea is the tallest sea mountain in the world, even taller than Everest and is just beautiful. The town of Kailua-Kona is wonderful, and has wonderful, not crowded beaches. Hilo is great for shopping and visiting art galleries.. Waipio Valley has gorgeous cliffs and waterfalls and is quite stunning. You're gonna love it all! Maui is my absolute favorite, but the Big Island is beautiful too!

[AlanB]

I lived in Hawaii for three years (Oahu - active duty Army). I only went to the Big Island once for an exercise (practice for the Haiti landing in the 90s). I LOVED Maui and heard great things about Kaui, but not much about the Big Island...

[SoccerMama]

Only ever been to Maui & Oahu but I'm sure Big Island is great too. Afterall, it's Hawaii!

[at_99]

I was there in 11/05. It is totally different than any of the other islands - don't expect too much green! Black lava rock was all over the place - it was pretty cool. The national park is a must! My kids loved it (almost 4 and almost 1 at the time). We spent quite a bit of time at the beach relaxing.

I do suggest that if you are staying for a while, rent a house. We had 13 people and were able to rent a home with 5 bedrooms and a pool for less than a hotel.

[NJMom]

I stayed on the Big Island for 5 nights of my honeymoon. It's amazing! We stayed in the Kohala area and then drove to the volcano one day (it took a few hours but it was worth it).

The Kohala/Kona side is the less green side-- a lot of black lava rocks. The Hilo side is much greener. It's all beautiful, though!

[cuteyv]

I visited Kona and Hilo as a part of the cruise and will definetly recommend the volcano national park and if you have time, trek in the area. I am not sure if you will see lava flowing but the history is amazing. It fills you with a sense of awe and amazement. The area has lots of trekking trails and a loop road that runs around the park. Will probably take a full-day to complete it. We took a picnic and enjoyed the park immensely. I have some pics and experiences here Travels of V and R: Day Four in Hawaii

Kona we really did not spend much time. We just hit the waters for snorkelling and some shopping. Details here
Travels of V and R: Day Seven in Hawaii

I did most of my research at cruisecritic.com and they have some really good recommendations.

[SoccerMama]

Originally Posted by latrice0723

No never been but we are thinking about planning a trip with the kiddos, grandparents, and godparents. Would love ideas on which island is better and how I should go about planning a trip like this. Should we us a travel agency or wing it ourselves?

We just winged it for our honeymoon and had a great time. We stayed in Oahu for 10 days and were never bored. We got our airline tix and car rental from priceline and stayed right on Waikii beach.

On our second trip we were in Maui. It was nice as well but I can't say that I prefer one over the other.

If anyone in your immediate family is either active military, active reserve or DOD personnel I highly recommend staying at the Hale Koa-right on Waikii beach. This is where we stayed and the location was fab and the prices were great (you pay according to rank)

[YouMe&3]

did you think about cruising all the islands? Cruising is IMO the best way to see Hawaii. Norwegian Cruise Line Welcome to Norwegian Cruise Line - Where you're free to whatever. does a 7 night itinerary and you get to see all the islands. You only have to unpack 1 x and you sail at night ... You see the islands during the day...

Welcome to NCL

[YouMe&3]

and yes, please use a travel agent!

[rapchef2]

I went to the Big Island twice with Pampered Chef and loved it. The Kona side is all lava except on the actual resort properties, but it is still great. Some tips...there is a Walmart in the Kona area and they sell some of the same souveniers as the shops, so check there before buying elsewhere. You can eat fairly cheap on the Kona side because there is a lot of fast food/pizza etc.

Do NOT try to see both sides of the island on the same day. There is really no way to go across the middle of the island (there is a ranch in the middle, but you can't just cut through from one side to the other). You have to drive the whole way around it, mostly on a two lane road going around lots of twisty turns at 30mph. It is a full day trip to go to Hilo. It was 8 years ago, so I can't remember everything, but there is a great rain forest park I think in the Hilo area that is beautiful, and a hike to some waterfalls through past some seven pools or something like that. It was nice, and not up a mountain or anything, but you need to wear good shoes, not sandals. And it isn't a 5 minute jaunt, it takes like 30-60 minutes or something. But it was really pretty and worth it. I also loved the Volcanoe National park as others have mentioned. The lava tube is cool. You can also drive down to the bottom of the island where the lava still erupts. You can't get too close because the gases as the lava hits the water are dangerous, but when we were there, if you went at night, you could see the sky above the lava glow red.

I personally wouldn't bother with switching hotels to do both sides of the island. It's more expensive to stay and to eat in Hilo because there are a lot less places to choose from. If you plan on staying at the beaches, shopping, and doing a little sightseeing, it's just as well to stay in the Kona area to be closer to the city. You'll save a lot on food and gas. Hilo is more beautiful tropical-wise, but if you aren't the type of person that needs to eat, sleep, and breathe in the tropical forest, then one or two day trips is enough. Unless it's grown alot in 8 years, there just wasn't much there. Of course, if you have small children that don't do car rides well, maybe you would want to just stay there a few nights and not travel back.

Whatever you do, take your time to enjoy. We hurried and filled our days to make sure we saw everything. At the end of our trip, we regretted not taking time to relax in hammocks by the beach. I suggest picking what interests you most, and going slow.

Oh, you definitely need to know to be careful of walking on the lava. Theres lots of it around the beaches on the Kona side, and if you fall and get cut on it, you can get infected very easily. So no flip flops walking on the lava rocks. The Hawaiians also say if you take lava rocks home that you'll be cursed. I brought some home from the beach anyway. My luck hasn't been great, but it never was to begin with!

Have lots of fun, and use lots and lots of sunscreen. The sun rays burn you much faster there, so be careful.

[dollface4111]

I have been a couple times. Once just to Oahu then the other time we hit all the islands over 2 weeks. It is a short flight (around $50 then) between each island. I liked the "Big Island" the best. There was so much to see, and so much difference between the two sides. We rented a jeep and drove it. It was about 5 years ago, there was a "road" that went between the island, the rental company said they weren't responsible if you went on that road, but we had no problems. We could see/hear the manuvers that were going on. We took a helicopter ride, it was expensive, but WELL worth it. We saw lava flows and the steam from it hitting the water. It was a great vacation.

[venti_iced_coffee]

Thanks for everyone's advice! We are taking our two boys, so I think we've decided to stay most of the time near Kona and then 1-2 nights near the volcano. We really want to take the boys to the volcano since that's one of the main reasons we chose that island and I really don't want to do too much driving. If anyone else has advice, keep it coming!

[mjloves2shop]

The Big Island is my Favorite!!!

I lived on Oahu when I went to college.

The Big Island has everything! Active volcano, snow, black sand beaches, awesome waterfalls, lava tubes!

If I had to choose and island (and I have been to most of them, I took flying lessons while I was there and we would fly each other to other islands. One couple would book the flight time and the other couple would go on a mini vacation.) The Big Island would be it!

I also recommend getting Frommer's Guide. I moved there 17 years ago, but I bought his book once I got my scholarship and it was so helpful! It tells you little out of the way bargain finds that you would never experience on your own! I would recommend the most recent edition, because once he starts recommending a place it gets really popular!

[mjloves2shop]

Originally Posted by venti_iced_coffee

Thanks for everyone's advice! We are taking our two boys, so I think we've decided to stay most of the time near Kona and then 1-2 nights near the volcano. We really want to take the boys to the volcano since that's one of the main reasons we chose that island and I really don't want to do too much driving. If anyone else has advice, keep it coming!

NOTE ~ the altitude is kinda rough on some people! I remember having a hard time breathing on the high points. There is an altitude medicine you may want to consider because if you get altitude sickness it is going to ruin your vacation. We went to Breckenridge Colorado for Thanksgiving and luckily DH researched it and got Rx for DH, 14 yo DS and myself. Then the second day we were there 11 yo DD got it really bad and luckily we realized what was wrong and we gave her 1/2 a does since she is nearly 5 foot but only 60-some pounds. She bounced back in a little over 12 hours, but if we hadn't had the Rx handy it would have been worse!