Heading to the Big Island of Hawaii
- Thread starter DurTBear
- Start date
xinumaster
Guest
for restaurant check out Captain Cook.
seminolecpa
Past President
Check out Big Island Divers in Kona.
They do both regular dives and the Manta dive (highly reccomended)
Its a haul but totally worth driving down to the volcano and doing a night hike out to the lava flow. The Kona side is the hot dry side with all of the diving and beaches, the Hilo side is the damp hot side with rocky coastlines. There is a cool drive through the center from Kona to Hilo where you could stop and check out the observatory at Mona Kea. Not much to actually see in Hilo itself but there are some really nice sights on the way to the Volcano from Hilo. Would also check out the champagne ponds in Kapoho.
They do both regular dives and the Manta dive (highly reccomended)
Its a haul but totally worth driving down to the volcano and doing a night hike out to the lava flow. The Kona side is the hot dry side with all of the diving and beaches, the Hilo side is the damp hot side with rocky coastlines. There is a cool drive through the center from Kona to Hilo where you could stop and check out the observatory at Mona Kea. Not much to actually see in Hilo itself but there are some really nice sights on the way to the Volcano from Hilo. Would also check out the champagne ponds in Kapoho.
patchin
Supporting Member
Nice waterfalls outside Hilo. Driving the Saddle Road to Hilo shows a different facet of the Island. Cattle ranches, etc. I don't think you're supposed to drive it with a rental, but who cares. Good road, you're out in the middle of nowhere. Took a snorkeling trip to Capt. Cook area. Snorkeling was good. The skipper caught a 200 lb tuna on the way.
Some of the hotels have swimming with dolphins, which would be cool.
Some of the hotels have swimming with dolphins, which would be cool.
DurTBear
Guest
Thanks for all of the tips so far guys! Keep em coming.
I definitely want to try and do the night time Manta dive. I've heard amazing things about it. And a night hike to the lava flows would be really neat. Last time, I did the hike during the day which was still pretty breathtaking. The observatory would be a nice idea since I missed out on that last time. I went in to Hilo around Mauna Kea and saw the waterfalls and rainforest but never made it up to the observatory.
I definitely want to try and do the night time Manta dive. I've heard amazing things about it. And a night hike to the lava flows would be really neat. Last time, I did the hike during the day which was still pretty breathtaking. The observatory would be a nice idea since I missed out on that last time. I went in to Hilo around Mauna Kea and saw the waterfalls and rainforest but never made it up to the observatory.
seminolecpa
Past President
I think Captain Cook is south of Kona. If you want I can ask my brother. He lives just south of Hilo.
drdoolittle
Guest
If your have a 4x4 or up for a walk.. go to south point.. There you'll find green sand beach. Most of the locals knows it, so might want to ask around on the best way to get there. But its worth the trip.
Also, in Kau' between Hilo and Kona, theres a black sand beach. It a nice place to swim. If your lucky you'll find sea turtles and swim with them. They also have a small man made (using rocks) fresh water pool. Fresh spring water comes out of the ground and fill the pool, then overflows into the beach.
If you have time the drive around (almost around) the island is well worth it. You get the see a little of everything and stop those little restaurants.
Funny thing is saw was a little stand on the side of the road with a bunch of fresh/ripe papayas and mangos. No attendantin site, only a box that says "please pay here". We thought that was funny..
Also, in Kau' between Hilo and Kona, theres a black sand beach. It a nice place to swim. If your lucky you'll find sea turtles and swim with them. They also have a small man made (using rocks) fresh water pool. Fresh spring water comes out of the ground and fill the pool, then overflows into the beach.
If you have time the drive around (almost around) the island is well worth it. You get the see a little of everything and stop those little restaurants.
Funny thing is saw was a little stand on the side of the road with a bunch of fresh/ripe papayas and mangos. No attendantin site, only a box that says "please pay here". We thought that was funny..
xinumaster
Guest
DurTBear said:
Yes. It is in Kona.
Last time we were there we took a one day guided tour. We saw the black sand beach, tropical forest, volcano, desert, Ophra's vacation house, faultline, nut factory, etc. The tour literally traverse the entire Island.
mike1962
Guest
Durwin,
Captain Cook area is just south of Kona (about 15 to 20 minutes) in Kealakekua. Something you might want to do is rent a sea kayak in/around Kealakekua area (there's many places that rent) and at the end of the road that goes to Kealakekua is a spot that you can park and launch your kayak. From there you can paddle for about 20 minutes north to the Captain Cook monument. You can park your kayak on shore and then snorkel there. Plan to be on the water by 9am or so. IIRC the sun won't shine into the water until around 10am due to the steep terrain of the Island in that spot. I've seen schools of hundreds of yellow tangs there and had dolphin shoot by me as well. Be advised that local tour boats usually come to the Captain Cook Monument area around noonish and drop off people to snorkel there and it has the potential to be somehow crowded (although summer is the low season so maybe not an issue).
If you want to see turtles you can usually spot some resting at the beach area right next to the Harbor Marina (just North of Kona about 5 minutes or so). It's a nice long beach that you can walk and there are some tidal pools in that area (I once saw some Moorish Idols in some of the deeper pools there). Just follow the signs to the Marina (a left turn from the Highway). When you get to the Marina go right (not straight) and the road will meander back. You will eventually come to a place that you can park and see an access trail that heads to the beach. Another good place to see turtles is Keholo Bay which is about 35-45 minutes north of Kona. It's a bit tricky to find however if you don't know where it is. I highly recommend getting the book 'The Big Island Revealed' as this will tell you about somewhat hidden places like Keholo Bay ( and it tells you the mile marker number along the freeway to find it...Sorry, I don't remember exactly).
My friend who lives on the Big Island tells me that the Saddle road between Kona and Hilo has finally been upgraded and is a nice smooth ride now with the exception of one small strip of road, and it is much quicker now than previous as a result. The other thing that he told me is that the VOG (read Volcanic Smog) has been quite bad the last year and that Kona's air quality at times can be quite bad. If you need to escape the VOG go North (Kohala area) as the VOG doesn't go that far north.
Hope that helps.
Captain Cook area is just south of Kona (about 15 to 20 minutes) in Kealakekua. Something you might want to do is rent a sea kayak in/around Kealakekua area (there's many places that rent) and at the end of the road that goes to Kealakekua is a spot that you can park and launch your kayak. From there you can paddle for about 20 minutes north to the Captain Cook monument. You can park your kayak on shore and then snorkel there. Plan to be on the water by 9am or so. IIRC the sun won't shine into the water until around 10am due to the steep terrain of the Island in that spot. I've seen schools of hundreds of yellow tangs there and had dolphin shoot by me as well. Be advised that local tour boats usually come to the Captain Cook Monument area around noonish and drop off people to snorkel there and it has the potential to be somehow crowded (although summer is the low season so maybe not an issue).
If you want to see turtles you can usually spot some resting at the beach area right next to the Harbor Marina (just North of Kona about 5 minutes or so). It's a nice long beach that you can walk and there are some tidal pools in that area (I once saw some Moorish Idols in some of the deeper pools there). Just follow the signs to the Marina (a left turn from the Highway). When you get to the Marina go right (not straight) and the road will meander back. You will eventually come to a place that you can park and see an access trail that heads to the beach. Another good place to see turtles is Keholo Bay which is about 35-45 minutes north of Kona. It's a bit tricky to find however if you don't know where it is. I highly recommend getting the book 'The Big Island Revealed' as this will tell you about somewhat hidden places like Keholo Bay ( and it tells you the mile marker number along the freeway to find it...Sorry, I don't remember exactly).
My friend who lives on the Big Island tells me that the Saddle road between Kona and Hilo has finally been upgraded and is a nice smooth ride now with the exception of one small strip of road, and it is much quicker now than previous as a result. The other thing that he told me is that the VOG (read Volcanic Smog) has been quite bad the last year and that Kona's air quality at times can be quite bad. If you need to escape the VOG go North (Kohala area) as the VOG doesn't go that far north.
Hope that helps.
fingerwrinkles
Guest
The diving is best (IMO) on the south side of the island. There are trips that go to Cook monument (IIRC) that have some pretty nice life, plus you can head north up the Kona coast to some pretty neat beaches with good reef life just offshore.