Itinerary inputs

We (myself, wife and 2 yr old son) are flying into KOA on March 1st afternoon and returning on March 8th afternoon. Flight deals were better to KOA than Hilo. I will be attending a meeting at Waikola Marriot from March 4-6. So this is the tentative itinerary I have... please pass on your inputs

March 1 -- Driving from KOA to Hilo. Would you suggest Route 200? I am planning to take 19 on the way back. Planing on that night%26#39;s stay at Hilo. Would you suggest any other place closer to VNP? or any other place that is halfway between KOA and VNP.

March 2 -- VNP. Night at Hilo.

March 3 -- Drive to Waikola. (en-route Akaka falls, Waipio)

March 4-6 -- Meeting/Relaxing at Waikola

March 7 -- Suggestions?

March 8 -- Flight from KOA

Itinerary inputs

Re March 1--I don%26#39;t recommend the Saddle Road 200. Unless things have changed, it%26#39;s not paved and rental cars were not allowed on the road. If you%26#39;re flying from the mainland to KOA 3/1, it%26#39;s quite a long drive to Hilo to tack on (several hours after a long flight); I%26#39;d recommend chilling in Kona one night, then get an early start (jet lag will help with that because of the time difference). In my experience, there really aren%26#39;t places to stay along the way from Kona to Hilo; however, others may have some suggestions (B%26amp;Bs), etc. The places near the entrance to VNP may be okay--you check it out, read reviews, etc.

March 2, early start from Kona on the 19 around the southern end, and you%26#39;ll be driving right through VNP; take the road Chain of Craters in the park down to the coast to see the volcanic flow down to the water; it%26#39;s quite dramatic. Then head into Hilo for the night.

March 3, head around the 19 through Kamuela and down into Waikoloa. See Waipio and Akaka falls (tho it%26#39;s a hike to get to the falls).

Others may have additional suggestions for sure--just I think really too far to drive on day you arrive on Hawaii to go from Kona to Hilo.

Itinerary inputs

Saddle Road is paved and has been forever, and now it%26#39;s entirely new and widened on a lot of the sections. Most residents wouldn%26#39;t drive to Hilo any other way because it%26#39;s so much faster, at least during the day. But I think it is true that most rental companies still don%26#39;t allow their cars on it, so you shouldn%26#39;t do it if yours doesn%26#39;t. Also, it%26#39;s not nearly as scenic as the Hamakua way. I wouldn%26#39;t stay in Hilo, stay in VNP. On your way back you can come up from the south, stop at Pu%26#39;uhonua O Honaunau.

Ideally what you would do is arrive in the morning or the night before, then spend a nice lesiurely day driving to VNP via Hamakaua/Hilo (Hwy 19) stopping at Akaka Falls, Waipio valley overlook, etc. Stay the night in VNP, spend a few hours at VNP the next day, drive back via the other way, stopping at Punaluu, Pu%26#39;uhonua o Honaunau, then ending up in Waikoloa.

BTW, you%26#39;re missing a letter it%26#39;s Waikoloa. :-)

SheaG, I usually agree with you, but the Saddle has not been a paved two lane road forever. My husband remembers when it was one lane, and the pavement added to either side has always been crumbling away until the most recent improvements.

It%26#39;s OK to drive if you know the road and have good suspension on your car. I like the fact that people who need to work on the other side and drive trucks can use the Saddle to get there, that it%26#39;s a commute road, and frankly I think this island needs a road where the working people and visitors aren%26#39;t annoying each other.

The people I know driving the Saddle want to get where they%26#39;re going as fast as possible. They don%26#39;t drive all that safely or courteously and they have no aloha for rental cars. So if the purpose is to get to Mauna Kea, that%26#39;s the only reason you need to drive it.

Sorry if that annoys people to hear, but road rage is ugly and increasing ...

As to the other routes, you didn%26#39;t really say why you are coming to Hilo side. Is t for VNP only?

I would suggest, if the weather is decent on 19 that day, to drive 19 because it%26#39;s nicer in the morning, the light is better, and most people leaving VNP after only one night will be planning some activities that day and driving back in the afternoon.

You can drive back by either the southern route, Hwy 11, or 19. 19 actually has quite different vistas going the other way, because the road curves and goes up and down and faces different directions. So it will not look exactly the same and isn%26#39;t boring to drive back.

But the southern district is interesting too, and starting out at VNP you already are in the Ka`u district.

There is so much you could do afterwards that I can%26#39;t even think of anything, but by the time you%26#39;ve been here a week you%26#39;ll have a good idea of what you still want to do, so as long as you know what there is to do you%26#39;ll be fine leaving that open and deciding when the time comes.

oops, I just caught that you arrive in the afternoon. Well, afternoon is a big spread of time; do you mean late afternoon?

Honestly, if you get in late I%26#39;d suggest you might want to stay at the Marriott through your meeting period, exploring the west side on your two free days, and head to VNP early on the 7th, returning on the 8th.

If you go to Hilo first, and you start out late from KOA, you should probably stay in Hilo because it%26#39;ll be dark by the time you get that far. If you arrive at 1 pm you have time to get to VNP, if you don%26#39;t make stops.

Well, perhaps I used the term ';forever'; too loosely, but it was paved in 1949. That%26#39;s forever in my book since it was well before I was born :-)

I agree that the pavement hasn%26#39;t been in the best of shape, I was just responding to the post that said it wasn%26#39;t paved at all. At any rate, I drive Saddle road all the time and never have had any problems. But I don%26#39;t recommend it for tourists or night driving, so we don%26#39;t really disagree.

BTW, saddleroad.com is a very interesting site with lots of photos, updates, newsletters, etc.

Shea