Island of Hawaii - need some advice.

Hawaiidan or anyone that might be able to help, my wife and I are planning a trip to the big island of Hawaii for March and was wondering for any recommendations as to what part of the island to stay in. We have been to Maui and Oahu before. My folks have a timeshare we can switch out to the following areas: either in Kailua-Kona or Waikoloa. Which is better for enjoying the beach, sight seeing, eating, activities, etc.

We visitied Hawaii on about 3 years ago and stayed on Maui and visited Oahu. We loved Maui but thought Oahu was too city-like. Is the big island more like Maui or Oahu?

Also, any idea what the weather in mid March will be like?

Any help is extremely appreciated...thanks!

Rick

Island of Hawaii - need some advice.

hi,

the Big Island is less developed than either.

Kailua-Kona and Waikoloa each have their fans and each have minor drawbacks. It really depends on the person and we don%26#39;t know too much about you and what you want to do here yet ... more details?

Kailua-Kona is a town, not a large town but prone to traffic congestion due to lack of connector roads. If you want affordable shopping and meals, if you want to take boat tours, several depart from that area.

For BEACHES -- rates very poorly compared to north of there ...

Waikoloa is close to the best beaches, very little going on but golf and beach activities, shopping is upscale, meals range from high to extremely expensive -- but the quality is better.

So I hope you can see that your budget is a big factor;

Waikoloa will cost you more ... personally I like it much better, but then I don%26#39;t like crowds much any more.

By Waikoloa I assume you mean the Beach Resort and not the Village? It%26#39;s a big difference.

One thing about this island is its sheer size and all the lava on the west sides can make it tedious to spend a whole vacation driving every day from Kailua-Kona to Kohala or vice versa. So, whatever you decide, do some more reading and really think about what activities you want and where they are. To start with, sit down with at least a couple guide books on the Big Island and READ THEM to get the lay of the land in an organized fashion, and of course bounce your impressions off of us at TA.

Island of Hawaii - need some advice.

Wow, excellent advice. I am currently following that advice, and have been for about 2 months. I am still not sure what this vacation will hold. We are staying at Waikoloa Marriott, but we usually like to do the off-the-beaten-track type of vacation. I think we%26#39;re in for a different type of vacation this time, and your comments confirm that.

Another thing I have used in researching our trip is the search box. Look right above the initial post and to the right is ';search in...Island of Hawaii forum...just type in trip report, day trip, etc. I have picked up alot of information from others%26#39; experiences. Have a great trip.

With the information you gave It is impossible to suggest where to stay, what to do,

I will caution you the Big Island it is the exact oppsite of Maui and Oahu...... Many who love Maui are dissapointed here because it is so large and un-developed... no nightlife or entertainment, and only a fraction of the activities ( commercial activities).

As KK suggested... sit down and do some homework and get a grasp of if you would like it here and if you do... what activites you would want to do.........

Thanks everyone for the great advice. In terms of budget, we are trying to do this trip in an economical fashion - we are using a family time share which will have a kitchen so we don%26#39;t have to eat out every meal. Looking to spend 60 to 80 bucks for 2 people for dinner, is that feasible in Waikoloa??

I used the Maui Revealed book when we went to Maui and thought that was great, I%26#39;ll check out the Hawaii Revealed book to get more info on the big island.

I heard that there is a road to the vocano that is like the Road to Hana on Maui. Any truth behind this?

Thanks and I%26#39;ll check back with everyone with any questions.

you have still given no budget.........$80 in Waikoloa will be Icetea, and a main course tip and tax.......... and a mid range place add 60 to 80 for a 3 course with a drink. in Waikoloa in a hotel budget $150 a day for food in a condo all meals in $ 50.00 without booze .

There is no road to Hana here to the volcano. its a 6 to 7 hour drive rt from Waikoloa. on main 2 lane roads....35 to 50 mph

Some time shares in waikoloa are 8 miles form the nearest anything or beach. and 25 miles form the nearest town.

The revealed books here are both inaccurate and blantly dishonest.

If you use them you will discover. and suffer............ We have no beaches like Maui.... pretty spartan...... entertainment is the TV

and you. You have to answer the questions is it right and what to do...... none of us can help you with that

Read a book other than the revealed and decide..........Most Maui lovers hate it here............ I suggest you read several books other than that and decide.......

ok, ok ... personally I love the Big Island. It isn%26#39;t like Maui or Oahu at all ... it is very sparsely populated except around the coast (Kona, Waikoloa -- mostly resorts, Hilo) and a few smaller places inland. But it is a great place to visit. Just be prepared for different.

If you want to be near a true beach, you will want to be in Waikoloa. Is it close to ';sightseeing';? Well, guess that depends on the sites you are looking for. Not really. But it is close to the best beaches (Mauna Kea, Hapuna and A Bay). There are some fast-food type restaurants in the kings shops there, and there are a couple of less pricey restaurants up the road in Kawaihae (Cafe Pesto and a mexican place last time I was there, but who knows now! That was a while ago!)

You will want to stock up on groceries in Kona -- visit one of the grocery stores or Costco.

From Waikoloa, you are about a 45 min drive to Kona. Waikoloa is closer to the volcano than Kona, so you%26#39;ll be able to get there more quickly. Also, Waimea and Parker Ranch are not far from there ... the hills are beautiful and horseback riding there is pretty cool (even though i%26#39;m not particularly into that -- i enjoyed it a lot).

You%26#39;ll also want to check out Waipio Valley, perhaps the Pololu Valley, Akaka falls, the botanical gardens, etc. There really is a lot to see ... just not a lot of ';activity'; in the sense that you might find it on Maui or Oahu. Also snorkeling south of Kona is a must if you like that. There are some good boat trips. (And the night snorkeling with the manta rays, too!)

If you stay in Waikoloa, you will mostly be doing day trips ... leaving in the morning and coming back in the evening b/c of the distances -- but then that%26#39;s what I do on any of the islands, so it%26#39;s not that much different for me, other than the distances on the Big Island can sometimes be long.

I don%26#39;t think there would be a time share in Waikoloa proper, which is up from the beach a few miles ... probably most of them are in the Waikoloa Beach area ... but be sure.

Have fun!

Konagirl,

Actually, Kailua-Kona is closer to Volcano, but not by that much (I would guess 5-10 miles). But I know what you mean, it is faster.

Babysnicket,

Stay away from the revealed books. What did you like about Maui? What did you dislike? Oahu? This will help provide insight into what you might like on the BI.

Good luck and happy travels!

Echo, you are right! About 6 miles different according to Google Maps. I have driven south to the volcano, but never really think about going that way b/c I always think of Waikoloa being near Waimea, and Waimea being on the way from Kona to Volcano ... which of course it isn%26#39;t if you go the other direction.

Learn something new every day!!

All...Kona and Echo

the new road work on Hiway 11 south of Kona... now makes that the route of choice... about 2.5 hours from Waikoloa..

Hiway 19 on the hilo side is undergoing a lot of road work