Stay at Kona or Hilo?

My fiance and I will be travelling to the Big Island in late November. We will fly in on Sunday morning and fly out to Maui on Wednesday morning.

We would like to stay in one place for the 3 days but not sure whether Hilo or Kona would be best. The main attraction we want to see is the Volcano National Park. We are also interested in any other spectacular scenery. The turtle beaches sound good too.

I was thinking it would be better to stay at Kona Reef Resort (as it has great reviews and is in our budget) and do a day trip to Volcano National Park but after doing more research, it seems like Hilo would be a great town to stay in too (and a closer drive to VNP).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I%26#39;m getting confused with so many great options.

Stay at Kona or Hilo?

Hilo is famous (infamous!) for its lodging: very poor. Kona town is pretty far to drive to and from the volcano; in addition, it has a pretty bay totally obscured by ugly, old concrete condos. There are some nicer lodgings in Keauhou (still a far drive), but the best lodgings are all in the NW corner of Big Island (%26#39;way too far).

I%26#39;m sorry you won%26#39;t have enough time to SEE Big Island. You really need a week for this island, to scratch the surface. It is HUGE -- not at all like Maui or any of the other islands.

Best to stay right IN Volcano while you see the volcano.

Stay at Kona or Hilo?

Do you want to see the volcano area for all three days? I enjoy visiting VNP, but you do know you won%26#39;t see any red, flowing lava or fire storms shooting up in the air, like they show on television, right? Depending on what your expectations are for VNP depends on where you should stay, IMO. Is that all you are going to the BI for? Do you like to snorkel or dive? What do you have budgeted/ per night? How many days total do you have for your trip to Hawaii?Give a little more information and there are many people on this forum willing to help.

Aloha,

This is a hard call because it is like you are asking us to choose who our favorite child is!

The drive from Kona to VNP is about 2 1/2 hours.

Kailua Bay is beautiful and so is Kona Town. Many guests return year after year.

If you have no wiggle room in your travels and can not devote more time to the Big Island....

I would suggest flying into Kona and staying in town at one of the Hotels, Royal Kona Resort just did a nice remodel and it is within walking distance to town

You could also choose to stay in Keauhou, at the Sheraton for example.

For a 3 night stay I do not think a condo is all that important, sounds like you will be day tripping around.

Stay a night or two there and drive up to the VNP for the other night or two. You can stay right at the park, find a house on VRBO or stay at one of the great B%26amp;B%26#39;s in Volcano Village.

Use TripAdvisor to review hotels and B%26amp;B%26#39;s.

Fly out of Hilo, only about a 30 min drive from the volcano.

Some of the car companies will allow you to do a drop off at Hilo after picking up in Kona.

On to Maui...

Hopefully you will return again and be able to spend more time on the Big Island!

If you plan to stay at the Sheraton or a Kailua-Kona hotel, be sure to read the TA reviews before selecting one. Some of the reviews I have read imply that some of the hotels with renovated rooms have not yet finished renovating ALL the rooms...you%26#39;d definitely want a guarantee that you got a renovated one.

Be aware the Sheraton (more expensive) is near a swiming beach but not on shoreline from which you can go into the water -- it a lava shelf. Kahaluu is a swimming/snorkeling beach but it you are into snorkeling you do better with the drive to Two Step (maybe an hour south of Kailua).

Hello geni345

Hilo any day! Charming, somewhat sleepy town reminiscent of Joseph Conrad%26#39;s South Seas. Very friendly people, close to the Volcano but very quiet. We stayed at a small B%26amp;B (called Blue Ginger, http://www.affordable-paradise.com/accommodation.php?unit=90) run by a a very pleasant young man who hikes and photographs the Volcano (he may take you if you ask). The rooms were clean and large. A very pleasant stay though the Hilo downpours during the night can be pretty frightening (our youngest thought it was a tsunami).

Kona is touristy, pseud., and the surrounding area with the fields of black lava stretching to the horizon is just awful (for us at least). We wouldn%26#39;t dream of going back there. The big hotels are comfortable but they are de luxe ghettoes in the middle of nowhere.

Keep in mind the rental companies ';forbid'; you to take the Saddleback Road and, being the Protestant, law-abiding citizens we are, we missed a magnificent drive. My in-laws disobeyed the rental company and say it is no big deal if you are a good sensible driver who does not keep his/her foot on the brake and keeps an eye on the engine temperature.

Feel free to ask for more details. Have a nice trip

Aloha

Just to be clear, I believe when FrederickWentworth stated that

';Kona is touristy, pseud., and the surrounding area with the fields of black lava stretching to the horizon is just awful (for us at least). We wouldn%26#39;t dream of going back there. The big hotels are comfortable but they are de luxe ghettoes in the middle of nowhere.';

He was talking about Kohala, not that I agree with what he says about Kohala, but Kailua-Kona Town does not fit that description even if you agree with what he says.

I love Kona, I love walking around town, the people, the bay, being close to great snorkeling, diving, shopping.

I guess I DON%26#39;T agree with the assessment of Kohala. I wrote another post ';What About Those Lava Fields'; to explain my viewpoint on why I don%26#39;t.

I like the biggest ';town'; in Kona, Kailua-Kona, a lot. I like the coffee belt and all the greenery. But I love the wide open spaces of Kohala and how it changes in a flash (as you drive) from dry side to lush green wet side.

I love being able to see 5 volcanos at once. (Think about it--yes, 5. I did not say ';erupting'; :-) )

When I went back to grad school, first day in one of my classes , a first-year professor said he was from Arizona. One of my classmates blurted out, ';But there%26#39;s nothing there!'; The professor looke dreally puzzled and said, ';Well, YEAH.'; As in ';Duh!'; I like the open spaces and feel of Kohala. Others%26#39; mileage may vary.

Given that it%26#39;s late November, my question is can you handle it if it rains, because that%26#39;s very likely in Hilo. On the other hand, during a rainy period it%26#39;s not very much fun driving across the island.

Personally I don%26#39;t care for the day trip option; it%26#39;s long. The farthest I%26#39;ve stayed from VNP to visit it is down in Honaunau area. (It would be sunny there). It%26#39;s more rural though, few if any condos.

There are a few different ways to do what you want!

The northern coast is very spectacular scenery that is gorgeous when sunny but can even be scary when it rains super hard ... you can get rain that seems like monsoon level and barely be able to see the road. To visit East Hawai%26#39;i, I recommend trying to stay flexible ... have two plans, one for sun and another for rain.

I would fly into Hilo and stay in Volcano one night, then proceed to Kona side. This means you won%26#39;t see the Hamakua coast (as not flying out of Hilo), so as you come in the morning, you have time to take a drive over to Akaka Falls and maybe even as far as Laupahoehoe. This will take 3-4 hours depending on how much you stop and whether you go as far as Laupahoehoe.

You could then lunch in Honomu, Onomea, or Hilo, and

proceed up to VNP, spend the rest of the afternoon in the park, stay in a B%26amp;B or Lodge that allows one night stays.

More park the next morning, and leave by early afternoon for Kona side.

You can stop at Punalu%26#39;u to see turtles, stop again in Honaunau to see the place of Refuge if you leave early enough (allow at least one hour for this side trip). Dinner in Kona, the next day drive up the coast to see the beaches and mountains on the west side; return to Kona. Fly to Maui in the morning, not too early, because it will take you a couple hours, maybe more, from when you leave your condo to the time your flight departs.

The main reason I recommend the two nights in Kona is the high likelihood of rain in this season.

Re the discussion of what areas everyone likes, there are those who love Kailua-Kona and those who loathe it. To me it is everything I don%26#39;t want to see in Hawai%26#39;i: concrete, crowds, rude drivers, chain restaurants, and a generally frenetic air from all the visitors milling around looking for paradise ... in hot parking lots.

I enjoy the beauty and majesty of the Kohala coast.

Hamakua, North Kohala, Hilo, Puna, and Ka%26#39;u, are to me much more the real deal ... but on a 3-day whirlwind trip you are not looking for cultural immersion and a nice condo in Kona makes for a fine place to base yourself! The best of the area is to stick near the ocean and avoid the crowded shopping areas.

Thank you for all your responses.

We would like to spend one day at the Volcano National Park. We are not really into snorkelling or diving. We would like to see some scenic places and be close to some shops/dining and nice places to walk around in.

I%26#39;m considering staying the first two nights at Kona, then drive to VNP and stay the last night there and fly out of Hilo.

That would work too, BUT you should fly to Maui later in the day, not first thing in the morning.

The drive over from Kona is long, and by the time you get to VNP you won%26#39;t be fresh, and you may find it%26#39;s raining (afternoon is good for that). My concern is that if you only allow yourself one afternoon (which may rain), you won%26#39;t get all you want out of it.

The last time I checked, Hilo to Maui was nonstop only early morning and end of the day. The rest of the day, expect to fly to Honolulu, possibly change planes, and then back to Maui. It%26#39;s a 30 minute flight if you can get direct nonstop, so before nailing anything down, do check the flights.

Go directly to the interisland airline websites where they will show you exactly where your flight goes.