3 Days on Big Island - What To Do

I will be on the Big Island from Aug 26th to 29th, Sunday Night to Wednesday Night - I do not know when I will be back, so I want to do things that I cant do anywhere else. I havent done any research yet as it is 7 + months away, but I wanted opinions from people who have been here before.

I figured Monday we%26#39;d be going to the Volcano Park. Anyone know how long a drive it is from Kona. I have to fly into and out of KOA, but should I stay over Monday night in Hilo or not? Since we will have a lot of stuff it would be easier for me to ust stay all 3 nights in one hotel in Kona. Is there anything else to see in Hilo besides the Volcano park?

Any suggestions would be useful.

Thank you.

3 Days on Big Island - What To Do

Yoshapman,

First you will want to explore and read up on this site. The reviews and the forums give tons of info.

Second, it will take about 3.5- 4 hours or so to drive from Kona to Volcano, depending on from where in Kona (or do you mean Waikoloa?) which route one takes and what time of day one leaves. Volcano is NOT in Hilo, it is about a 45-60 minute drive south of Hilo. Yes, there are many, many other things to do and see in and around Hilo. It depends on your like and dislikes. Again, refer to the first suggestion.

Go to the library and get a couple guidebooks. Check out Fodor’s, Off the Beaten Path or the Moon books. Stay away from the “revealed” books. Plan what you would like to see and do and then re-post your planned itinerary on here, and people will make suggestions etc.

Good luck and happy travels!

3 Days on Big Island - What To Do

you%26#39;ve gotten some good advice ...

I second that you start doing the research. The thing about these very broad questions is that the people here have to answer them over and over again and it does get repetitious. There are probably many threads in the last month covering this ground.

Then when you have something more specific that you haven%26#39;t found here, ask that ...

As to moving around, it will be a drag with a lot of stuff. The easiest thing if you aren%26#39;t paying too much for hotel might be to get an inexpensive place in Volcano and not move your stuff. Just get yourself somewhere to crash so you can enjoy the east side without a 3 hour drive to get to it.

(Don%26#39;t bring too much stuff. It will bog you down)

I have a question...why the advice to stay away from the ';revealed'; books? I%26#39;ve used them for Maui and Kauai, and have one for the Big Island...they%26#39;re so nice to find out about locations, hotels, and resturaunts and provide maps of the whole island. They also give ideas on how much everything costs so nothing is shocking once you get there. I admit we have disagreed with the hotel/condo reviews and have stayed in places the authors disliked but we loved. otherwise we%26#39;ve found them helpful.

Becky416,

I wish there was a simple answer. The best answer I can give is that the author of those books is afraid to show his face on TV, doesn’t live in Hawaii anymore, and is at odds with the prevailing sentiment within the island community. I personally found the book to be offensive and tacky. The problem is there are good things about the books too. There is some info regarding the islands that are accurate, but there are also many instances where information isn’t just incorrect, it is dangerous. The author makes light of this, and even says they are not liable for actions readers take at their direction. The main position of the author and the style and comments made in those books do not reflect the core values of the local population. There is NO respect for the land, sea, or others. It is all about the RIGHT of the visitor, at all costs. Please search for a review I did of the book about a year and a half ago on this site, in the BI forum.

All I can say is I will NOT support that company, nor will I ever recommend someone else spend a dime on them. It would be akin to selling souvenirs along the Trail of Tears to the Cherokee.

Aloha ‘Aina (love the land)

Good luck and happy travels!

echolynch

Thank you for letting me know. I am definitely concerned with preserving the environment and don%26#39;t want to be involved with dangerous activities. That is interesting about the author no longer living in Hawaii...since the book leads one to believe otherwise. I will search for your book review.

Wow, I wish I had known that about the ';Revealed'; books before I ordered the BI one on Amazon.com. Why don%26#39;t you post your comments on Amazon.com so others can know before they buy? I read many reviews on Amazon and they were generally positive. Now I feel bad! :-(

don%26#39;t feel bad ... you didn%26#39;t know, I%26#39;m just happy if you don%26#39;t recommend them to others!

actually I have read the Amazon reviews and if you pay attention to where they come from, the reviews written by folks in Hawaii are pretty scathing.

The Revealed Books used to be worse, in the early editions, before the County and State begged and demanded changes. However, I would not give them my money still because whatever respect for private property and even safety awareness appears in the recent editions is there in response to public pressure rather than the authors educating themselves on their own.

Ok...Thanks for the info. I have NO intention of trespassing on private property in any case and I would never follow a guidebook%26#39;s instruction to do so. Mostly I just wanted a guide to the major beaches and attractions with maps so I can find my way around.

it%26#39;s pretty good for that but on more than one occasion I have not found the markers that sounded so easy, both in the Puna area and in North Kona district, for finding spots that the County has not signed ... (yes, i too bought a copy, at Costco, a few years ago, before I knew any different). Also check their online updates as things change between editions. Got to hand it to Revealed for creating a web update system!

Just bear in mind that Revealed advocates out of the way spots without much attention to the hazards. Instead of telling you a specific ';gem'; can flash flood or have rogue waves or that people drown there on a regular basis, they cover themselves with a boilerplate safety warning that applies to the whole book.

Re the private property issues, the Revealed authors do not get the fine points of public access to beaches and will lead you to believe that since all beaches are public that you can access them over private property, and they will mention Native Hawaiian rights that do not apply to visitors. In fact, public access to beaches is over specific public access easements only, which are marked, or access provided by state and county roads, or through hotel grounds which is by their tolerance only (tolerance varies but rule of thumb is to keep it low key and dress and act like a paying guest), or by walking the coastline below the high water mark.

Rely on your own observations and I%26#39;ve no doubt you%26#39;ll be fine.