I spent a week on the island of Hawaii in 2016 and was blown away by this magical wonderful place! While I of course intend on visiting the other islands, honestly my expectations were far exceeded and would be very much happy to return time and time again. I'd like to share with you of my some experiences, must see spots, favorite highlights and helpful hints! I will preface by letting you know that as far as vacations go, I am more interested in doing and seeing things vs. hanging out on the beach and relaxing. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy lounging but when I'm in an exotic place I want to get the most bang for my buck and experience all the destination has to offer. For most of my career in the travel industry I worked for an escorted tour company. The trips I experienced had pre-planned and included activities and touring throughout. The upside to this type of travel product is obviously not having to plan or evaluate the must-see places and just go along for the ride. This trip to Hawaii was quite the opposite as we rented a car and condo and conquered on our own. Much of my commentary and guidance is based on the popular guide book Hawaii: The Big Island Revealed by Andrew Daughty & Leona Boyd – HEREon Amazon. While I HIGHLY recommend this guide book it is very long, very detailed and I was not crazy about how it was organized. True to my procrastinating form I didn't start looking at the book until the flight over. I was quickly overwhelmed with the amount of information and countless must-see places (Real Gems is what they call them) to visit according to the book. Here is my quick overview, favorite places and tips from our week. Enjoy and please leave questions & comments below!

Please refer to the corresponding GOOGLE MAP

The Kailua-Kona Area: 
Most tourists spend the bulk of their time on this side of the island and there are many accommodation options such as hotel & condo rentals. When you arrive at the airport in Kona, don't be alarmed by the landscape as it looks a bit dreadful! Lush bounty is aplenty as you move around this volcanic landscape. There are mind-boggling idyllic coves and beach paradises hidden and peppered along the coast.

Downtown:
In general, the guide book makes very good recommendations for restaurants. I will say the exception is in Kailua. They are pretty critical of the touristy restaurants right downtown. Yes they are all fairly pricey but we never had a bad meal. When I say pricey, I would compare the prices to any touristy hub in the US like Vail and Colorado ski towns, major cities, coastal hot spots, etc. Don’t concern yourself too much with picking one that doesn’t have a good review in the book. We REALLY enjoyed the spots with great views for happy hour & sunsets. There is a free parking lot right downtown and is close to everything. We never had trouble parking.

Restaurants we liked:

• Don the Beachcomber bar - located in the Royal Kona Resort. Best mai tais in town. GREAT views and good service. They have live music Thursday nights, get there early to get a good table. Free parking for the music!
• Splashers Grill - we had good happy hour food here
• Island Lava Java - GREAT breakfast spot
• Huggos - had a REALLY nice dinner here, steak and lobster pasta, pricey but good and great views!
• Fish Hopper - nothing special but good happy hour menu and I think we had pretty good Macadamia mahi here.

• Da Poke Shack - this place is AWESOME! Total hole in the wall with awesome poke, highly recommended. Might have to take-out, they only have a couple of picnic tables outside.
• Annie’s Island Fresh Burgers – south of Kailua, a great burger joint! Good atmosphere and a nice stop but a bit of a drive. If you’re going by there it’s worth it. 
  
  

Groceries & shopping:
If you've rented a condo - try to eat at home or picnic 2 meals a day and that will save you some $. We did that and splurged a little on nice meals and mai tais for dinner & happy hour!

• Definitely hit up the farmers market downtown! The fruit there is the best place to get super ripe fruit. MUST have papaya, mangos and of course PINEAPPLE! Honestly, the price of the airfare alone is worth eating all the magnificent fruit! 
• Keauhou shopping area - grocery store here and other shops, gas station, etc. There is a GREAT sushi restaurant here, very expensive but some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. I didn’t care for the Thai restaurant.
• Costco - if you have a membership, go here and stock up on eggs, snacks, etc if you have a kitchen or fridge with your accommodations. 
  
  

Also noteworthy in this area:

• White Sands Beach Park - this is a surprisingly good snorkel spot. Go early, it gets busy because the beach is tiny.
• Of course great shopping downtown. I am not much of a shopper but enjoy a short stroll among the shops...
  
  

South of Kona:

• Two-step: this is a great snorkel spot. It’s called two step because there are some rocks that you can easily step right into the water. Great beautiful coral and a nice depth, lots of space to move around. Not as much fish as other spots but highly recommend. There is a cool cultural place right next to it that is worth a look see.
• Captain Cook monument - you can only get there by kayaking or hiking. The hike is supposed to be hot and challenging so most people kayak. We made a kayak attempt but it didn’t work out for us, weather being one of the factors. I am intent on going back and doing it! Supposed to be great snorkeling around there and opportunities to see dolphins and turtles.
  
  

North of Kona:

• Makalawena Beach - this is a gorgeous beach with very few people but a bit of a pain to get to. Read the guide book carefully for directions. The hike to get there is a bit treacherous (but pretty much flat) - there is about a mile across the lava rock so I recommend a sun hat, good sturdy shoes and plenty of water. This would be a great place to spend the day and picnic. But don’t bring too much stuff because you would be lugging it a ways.
• Fairmont Orchid & Resort Area - the big fancy resorts are here. Worth a look see if you have time but honestly not a highlight. The beaches are mostly manmade and it seemed to be a hot spot for wealthy & foreign tourists. There is a nice outdoor mall if you’re into that.
• Beaches: some of the best beaches for lounging and swimming (and most popular) are between Spencer beach park and Puako Bay. Spencer beach is where the locals go. You can almost hike between them - we did between maybe two but ran into a stream that looked a little icky and we didn’t want to cross it. Puako Bay & Hapuna are gorgeous but Mauna Kea is out of this world! Poke around at least 2 or three of them. Read the guide book - they have good tips with parking, etc.
• Lookout point - not sure exactly where it is on hwy 190 but if you take the mountain drive to Waimea, it is a SPECTACULAR drive. The landscape changes rapidly and there are a couple of awesome pullout points for photo ops. You can see back down the whole island and it is super awesome! REAL GEM!
• Hawi - this is a tiny down on the way to the Pololu Valley. Super cute and worth a coffee, ice cream, lunch, and/or cute tiny shop looky-loo stop.
• Pololu Valley - MUST SEE this is absolutely spectacular! We did the hike here down to the beach. The hike down into the valley is maybe 15-20 mins and then back up it is a bit of a challenging climb but totally doable, maybe 30-40 mins. Really gorgeous spot and would be worth a picnic here. Not sure about swimming - I think the north part is where there are a lot of rip tides, this is more of a hanging out picnic beach I think.
• Waipio Valley lookout - MUST SEE as well - although it is a bit similar to Pololu, maybe more striking. There is a hike here too down into the valley but it is supposed to be treacherous. There are also tours available into the valley that might be interesting but we didn't have time.The story about the residents who live in this valley is pretty fascinating in the book! It is a bit of a drive to get here but I still highly recommend. You could almost get away with doing either this OR Pololu but do both if you can.
  
  

Other side of the Island:

• Hilo is the bigger city where more locals live. It’s super cute and has a cool downtown, nice parks and a great farmers market.
• Tropical Botanical Gardens - I loved this place! Tiny as far as botanical gardens go but it is this hike with paths and amazing trees, plants & flowers everywhere down into a little valley & ocean cove, absolutely gorgeous. Very much worth it if you’re on this side of the island.
• Pahoa - cute, funky, hippy town. Many people in this area live 'off-the-grid' and it's a sight to be seen. Worth a lunch stop if you have time. You would probably need to spend at least one or more overnights on this side of the island to make a sensible stop here.
  
  

Volcanoes National Park:
Get up early and get there if you can only spend the day. The better option is to plan one or two nights on the other side in order to make the most of your visit to the Volcano. The Kilauea-Iki Crater hike is ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. This is literally one of my most favorite things I've done in all my travels. Not kidding. It is about 3 miles and takes a couple of hours. We started from the main visitor center but drive over to the parking area near the crater and start your hike there. You can get a little guide book for the hike at the visitor center for a couple of bucks and it’s worth it. There are other awesome things to see at the park but we were so tired after the hike we didn’t do much else. Checked out the overlooks to the big crater and the steam vents and drove around but that is about it. You could really spend a whole day here! Bring picnic food, the only restaurant we found was fancy. UPDATE: there have been major eruptions and lava flow since I was there. Probably a lot more to see and a lot more that is inaccessible! 

GENERAL TIPS, PACKING & RANDOM STUFF:

• We’ve heard stories about the locals breaking into cars from multiple sources. The guide book talks about this. If you have time, go to a travel/luggage store and get a dry bag. The only one we could find on the island was at Sports authority but they didn’t have much of a selection. But - those things are not fool proof, we learned the hard way. DON’T PUT YOUR PHONE IN THOSE THINGS! If you must bring a phone when you go to the beach or snorkel, just bring one. Or bring zero. In hindsight I would have left my phone maybe under the seat with the doors unlocked. If everyone in your party is swimming and snorkeling together either keep your valuables on you or lock them up if the beach has lockers. This would mean keys, money & credit cards. In general it is best to park in national park places where you have to pay - usually about $5, it’s worth it. It is not a guarantee that your car won’t get broken into but it helps. In most cases just leave your car unlocked with no valuables in it. You are less likely to get broken into at places with lots of people and a big parking lot. It’s the small secluded spots that are more likely. Some friends of mine were there a few weeks before me, a guy was snorkeling at two step, someone got into his bag on the beach, took his keys, and stole his car. Be diligent but don’t freak out, we didn’t have a problem besides losing our phones in the dry bag incident. I am happy to talk further with you about this as it does raise questions and concern. 
• Snorkeling: it is easy and inexpensive to rent gear. You can rent for the whole week. OR - if you happen to have your own gear, bring it. We brought our own, and it was super nice to have. Flippers take up a lot of space but again, nice to have your own stuff.
• Stuff: condos that you rent as well as hotels usually have beach towels and picnic stuff - a cooler or something. But, if you have a collapsable cooler bring it, it will come in handy because you will want to spend the day at a couple of places.
• I’ve heard that sunscreen is killing the coral! Try to find coral safe sunscreen if you don’t already have some. We didn’t have too much of a problem with bugs but I probably got a few mosquito bites, so bug spray is not a bad idea. 
• Also a nice thing to have is those swim/surf shirts so you don’t get burnt and they are great for snorkeling.
• Attire: well, what do you think of when you think of Hawaii? Pack that. Flowy linen, sun dresses, shorts and capris and of course Hawaiian shirts are cliché, but just go for it. For the Volcano area I recommend a light rain jacket and a long sleeve shirt or light sweatshirt. The weather changes rapidly up there so layer! Also, if you're driving the entirety of the island, there are parts that are foggy, misty and rainforesty (new word!). 
• You don’t have to have hiking boots but I recommend really good sturdy walking shoes for hiking. Of course athletic sandals are great to have, but I recommend sturdy shoes for the longer hikes. 
• Hats are a must have!
• Bring two bathing suits!
  
  Something we missed: Mauna Kea but I've heard it is great!
  
  

Thanks for reading! I hope this will help anyone who's planning a trip to Hawaii or has sparked some inspiration to plan a trip immediately!

Mahalo!
Amber