Son
07-18-2008, 10:23 AM
Not long ago, I came home for R&R from Iraq and took the family to the Big Island, Hawaii. I researched hotels for weeks prior to making reservations at the Hilton Waikoloa. I chose this hotel due to the various activities for my 5 year old.
The hotel is located about 30-45 minutes from the popular town of Kona. Prices aren't cheap but well worth it. I utilized the military discount and got the room for $180 a night. I paid for a car rental from Alamo online (Jeep Wranger) and got a great rate of $40 a day. There's a monorail and ferry that runs you from the lobby to your rooms :)
Upon landing at the airport, you can tell immediately the Big Island is drastically different from Oahu. There are a lot less people and the surroundings is very different. As far as you can see, there's lava rocks every where! It made for a unique but desolated landscape.
My family's favorite activity at the hotel is the lagoon. It's an ocean fed lagoon that is super clear with a coral reef. Between snorkling and paddle boating, you can see all the big colorful fish. Best of all, my son loved it because there's no waves! He got to splash around to his heart's content without getting splashed by ocean waves. In addition, next to the lagoon is Dolphin Quest. You can watch the dolphins go through their training. There's also a dolphin swim for an additional cost.
Food is pretty expensive at the hotel but super delicious. The variety includes local Hawaiian cuisine, Chinese, Japanese, Steaks, etc etc. We only ate at the hotel a handful of times. Most of our meals were by the local strip mall or down in Kona.
We also went to Volcano National Park. If you ever go there, be sure to bring along a sweatshirt of light jacket. The park is located at a fairly high altitude and it gets a little chilly. The best time to go is at dusk because you can the glowing lava. From Kona, it'll take approximately 3-3.5 hours of driving or you can purchase a helicopter tour and it'll take 20-30 minutes. If you drive, you'll also pass through the sleepy little town of Hilo.
Other things to do include:
o Seeing Kona. Lots of great places to eat and shopping. Of course, you also have the beach and boardwalk type shops.
o Nature walks. There are several waterfalls that you can hike to. Most are on the way to the Volcano. If you plan your trip wisely, you can hike 1-2 waterfalls and make it to the park to see the lava by dusk.
o Fishing. If you're an avid fisherman, there's blue marlin, snapper, ahi, etc etc. Lots of big fish and plenty of charter boats available.
Although I live in Hawaii on the island of Oahu, I definitely will come back to the Big Island again in the near future. The island has such a wondeful combination of old Hawaii and modern Hawaii. You get the lush vegetation to the lava rocks to the white sand beaches. There's definitely always something to do!
The hotel is located about 30-45 minutes from the popular town of Kona. Prices aren't cheap but well worth it. I utilized the military discount and got the room for $180 a night. I paid for a car rental from Alamo online (Jeep Wranger) and got a great rate of $40 a day. There's a monorail and ferry that runs you from the lobby to your rooms :)
Upon landing at the airport, you can tell immediately the Big Island is drastically different from Oahu. There are a lot less people and the surroundings is very different. As far as you can see, there's lava rocks every where! It made for a unique but desolated landscape.
My family's favorite activity at the hotel is the lagoon. It's an ocean fed lagoon that is super clear with a coral reef. Between snorkling and paddle boating, you can see all the big colorful fish. Best of all, my son loved it because there's no waves! He got to splash around to his heart's content without getting splashed by ocean waves. In addition, next to the lagoon is Dolphin Quest. You can watch the dolphins go through their training. There's also a dolphin swim for an additional cost.
Food is pretty expensive at the hotel but super delicious. The variety includes local Hawaiian cuisine, Chinese, Japanese, Steaks, etc etc. We only ate at the hotel a handful of times. Most of our meals were by the local strip mall or down in Kona.
We also went to Volcano National Park. If you ever go there, be sure to bring along a sweatshirt of light jacket. The park is located at a fairly high altitude and it gets a little chilly. The best time to go is at dusk because you can the glowing lava. From Kona, it'll take approximately 3-3.5 hours of driving or you can purchase a helicopter tour and it'll take 20-30 minutes. If you drive, you'll also pass through the sleepy little town of Hilo.
Other things to do include:
o Seeing Kona. Lots of great places to eat and shopping. Of course, you also have the beach and boardwalk type shops.
o Nature walks. There are several waterfalls that you can hike to. Most are on the way to the Volcano. If you plan your trip wisely, you can hike 1-2 waterfalls and make it to the park to see the lava by dusk.
o Fishing. If you're an avid fisherman, there's blue marlin, snapper, ahi, etc etc. Lots of big fish and plenty of charter boats available.
Although I live in Hawaii on the island of Oahu, I definitely will come back to the Big Island again in the near future. The island has such a wondeful combination of old Hawaii and modern Hawaii. You get the lush vegetation to the lava rocks to the white sand beaches. There's definitely always something to do!