Going to the "Big Island", Hawaii...what do I need to see?

Been to Oahu so many times that I really had seen everything. Now the wife and I are planning to go to the big island in late May. We'll be staying in Kona for a week. I'm looking for recommendations on what to see. We'll be bringing some friends along who have never been to Hawaii. We're up for hikes of medium difficulty probably not more than five miles. I would consider Diamond Head medium difficulty. Open to pretty much anything except extreme sports. I will certainly be looking for photo opportunities.

Bob

There is the obvious stuff in the NP and hike to the lava fields (not sure what is going on right now, you might want to stay a night closer to the park), but one easy hike/walk I remember close to Kona was down to Kealakekua Bay State Park. We bought our snorkeling gear and it was one of the best snorkeling spots I found. I'm not sure exactly where the trail started, it was a while ago.

Also, I'm not sure what the beaches are like in Oahu, but there are some small, pretty secluded and low-key beaches down dirt tracks (10 years ago) south of Kona.

Have fun. Man I'd like to go back to the Big Island. I was in Hawaii for 3 weeks 10 years ago and made the mistake of spending 9 days on Maui instead of the whole 3 weeks on the Big Island.

I guess you get good sushi on Oahu, but on Maui it sucked (mostly all tourist crap). The Big Island had really nice small local restaurants. Not insanely expensive and super-good. I hope it hasn't changed too much.

I'd recommend checking out "The Big Island revealed" - it's a guidebook that has a lot of good info on it. A couple of things I liked were Pololu (sp?) lookout (it's in the Northwest area). There is a Heritage site south of Kona, I can't remember the Hawaiian name, but it's known as the Place of Refuge. The Visitor center for the Mauna Kea observatory has star parties every night also (weather permitting).

If you like snorkeling or scuba diving - the Manta Ray dive is consistently listed as one of the top ten dives in the world.

The things I enjoyed most while there was snorkeling in Kona, which included a night snorkel with Manta Rays. If you have an underwater camera, I would obviously recommend bringing it. If not, I would say considering getting the Nikon AW100 for the trip. For $200, it's well worth the investment and if you can convince the other members in the party to pitch-in for it, I'd go for it. Plus, the thing has HD Video, which is incredible when snorkeling.

If you're staying near the Kona side, the drive to Mauna Kea to see the active lava flow (which was restricted when I visited), is a good 6-7 hours. That's definitely a day trip! The visitors area on top of the volcano has a small viewing area of where you can see the glow from the lava. Definitely check with the visitors center before you drive over there if you can hike to see the active flow or not.

In the same area as Mauna Kea, the national park which it's located-- there's a great lava tube to see. You'll descend some easy rain forest (via paved walkways) to get to it. Very interested stuff! I have a great pano from inside, so I'd suggest bringing your tripod.

I lived in Maui when I went on this vacaiton, so my 'hiking' list was pretty much nonexistent. Visiting Big Island was a 'leisure/relaxing' trip for us, so sorry the list is a bit short!

Ii would recommend the lava tour with Kalapana cultural tours. You'll get to see the lava up close. Also, Punalu'u beach. It's a black sand beach and is known for having lots of turtles.

Thanks, keep em coming everyone. Definitely going to try to work in the volcanos and some cultural event. One of my friends is a serious home brewer and has requested to go to the Kona Brewery so, we'll do that too. The wife's main requirement is a spa day so that could be a good photography day for me. I just got a B+W 10-stop ND so looking forward to giving that a workout while there.

Bob

Just spent 17 days in Kona in early mid January! When, not if, I go back two places I would have liked to spend more time at is Volcanos National Park and then heading all the way up Mona Kea. Highly recommended place to eat though if I may, Holuakoa Gardens Restaurant in Holualoa. Have fun! Enjoy yourself. Its a beautiful place!

We stayed at the Volcano Inn just outside the National Park on the Hilo side of the island. Very nice place. Spent a lot of time in the NP, and didn't see it all. Also took a drive to the south coast to see the lava fields. Unfortunately, when we were there a couple of years ago, the lava was not flowing into the ocean. If it is doing so now, you can't miss seeing that.

It's been awhile since i've been. Definitely check out some waterfall hiking.

Born and raised on the Big Island..!! A few of my personal favorite places to eat...

Hawaiian Style Cafe - Kamuela
Tex Drive Inn - Honoka'a
Big Island Grill - Kona
Hilo Bay Cafe - Hilo
Seafood Bar - Kawaihae
Blue Dragon - Kawaihae
Kilauea Lodge - Volcano Village
Manago Hotel - Captain Cook
Sushi Rock - Kohala
Village Burger - Kamuela

This covers pretty much every district except for the south side of the island as I don't go there very much...( don't feel like driving 6-8 hours just to eat, haha)!!!

As I think of things food and non food related i'll post them here