I just spent 5 nights on the Big Island. It was in general a great experience.
We found tickets for a good price and planned the trip around them. There are two National Parks in Hawai’i, and it was important to visit at least one of them. We found the tickets to the Big Island which is the home to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Perfect.
We are not resort people. It's too much money. Usually too many people and also just sort of ick in general, so we attempted to avoid those by camping and staying at smaller (cheaper) places.
There is actually a lot of camping on or near beaches, but a majority of it is not reservable. We've had past negative experiences trying to get first come first serve camping, especially on weekends, and decided not to risk it. We reserved a spot for two nights at a beach about an hour from the Kona airport called Ho'okena Beach. The price was more expensive for out-of-state campers, but still way, way cheaper than a resort or a hotel of any kind.
The next two nights were spent in an eco-hotel in Hilo on the other side of the island.
For the last night, we needed something close to the Kona airport since our flight was early in the morning. Unfortunately, this meant a resort since that's what's available in the area. Luckily I found a good deal and we were even upgraded to an ocean view room. Still felt a little ick, but I'll get back to that.
Both the outgoing and incoming flights had layovers and change of planes, but somehow we were able to sit in a row with no one in between us. Southwest allows you to choose your own seats and the flights were not quite 100% full. We got lucky on all 4 of them! It was a win right at the start. The Long Beach airport is tiny and has an open-air part in the center which was truly lovely for the layover as we could remove our masks and enjoy some sun. We had a slight delay leaving Long Beach and then a stopover in Honolulu. This put us a bit later landing in Kona. The Kona airport is also quite small and it is almost fully open air.
We often don't check bags when flying because we're decent at packing light and usually don't need a lot. However, due to camping, we needed to check a bag with the tent and camp stove and all of that.
After collecting the bag and the rental car we still had to stop and get food and fuel for the camp stove. I had purchased a canister at the local Ace ahead of time and we just needed to pick it up. We got a small cooler at Target and food for camping. By this time, it was nearly dark, and we still needed to drive about an hour to our campsite. It was mostly uneventful, though we did drive through a rainstorm that made us consider finding a hotel for the night. Liam also voiced his concern about deer jumping out, since that’s often a worry when driving at night. As I was saying that they don’t have deer or much else in the way of large wildlife, we spotted some feral pigs! Luckily, they did not try to dart in front of us.
We found the campsite without a whole lot of difficulty, but it was crowded and loud, and also hot and humid. We found a spot and set up camp, ate a quick meal and went to bed. Due to being so tired from traveling we did not have much trouble falling asleep despite the noise of the others enjoying their Friday night. The heat and humidity posed a slight problem, but only for a few hours.
We awoke very early, as we were running on Mountain Time which is 3 hours ahead. It was lovely to watch the sky lighten on the beach with some fresh local coffee. We were on the west coast, so we could not see the sunrise. We spent the day very pointedly not driving anywhere or doing anything but beach. The waves were gentle, so it wasn’t super entertaining to play in the water, but we definitely spent some time in there. There were some submerged lava rocks and coral reefs that needed to be avoided. Liam cut his foot right off the bat to learn that lesson.
Throughout the day we heard and saw an amazing assortment of birds and also saw many mongooses. Silly little things that are not native to Hawai’i.
The sunset from this beach was amazing. The beach itself faced just a bit south so we walked along some old lava flow to see the sun set. It was beautiful.
The next morning we packed up fairly quickly and headed toward the southernmost point in the United States and a hike nearby. It was overcast and windy down on the coast, so at least the hike to Papakōlea Green Sand Beach wasn’t too hot. The sand really is green! It’s one of 4 beaches comprised primarily of olivine. It’s very secluded and quite picturesque. After that 6 mile round trip we continued our drive to toward the eastern coast.
We drove through Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and saw the smoking caldera. It wasn’t much to see as no lava was flowing. We walked through a lava tube and listened to the birds in the rain forest.
We arrived in Hilo and settled into our hotel. It was just a basic hotel, touting eco-friendliness and sustainability. It rained a whole lot in Hilo, but we found good food (fresh fruit and poke!) and saw sea turtles. We drove to see some waterfalls and watched surfers early in the morning. We even saw some elusive nēnē. They originated (long ago) from off-course Canada geese and have evolved to more easily walk on the lava rocks.
We decided to rent snorkeling gear since that’s what’s popular. I had never done that before, but it wasn’t too hard to get the hang of. The beaches in Hilo were mostly rocky, and that makes them a haven for all sorts of fish. And the aforementioned sea turtles.
I did end up swallowing some sea water and was unable to catch my breath. My body panicked, while my brain kept telling me to take slow deep breaths and tread water. But to no avail- my limbs flailed and began to tire. Luckily Liam was nearby, and I told him I wasn’t doing okay, and he helped me get to shore. I lay on my towel, and it took me about half an hour to finally catch my breath and for my heart rate to steady. Not a fun experience. I think I need to start swimming more, so I have a better response if something like that ever happens again.
After 2 nights in Hilo, we headed north up the coast, stopping at a fruit stand for a bowl of mixed fruits. We went to the Waipio Valley Overlook. It was a great view. The valley is not opened to tourism, so we could go no farther north, instead cutting across through the ranch lands to the west coast again. This is where I noticed the huge difference between the coasts. The east gets all the rain and is green and lush, full of rain forests and flowers. The west is dry and windy and brown.
We spent the majority of the day at another beach after driving through one of the huge resorts. It seemed so out of place, green and bright and opulent, surrounded by barren lava stones and dry grasses.
After swimming we drove back to Kona and our last hotel. It was a shock to be in such a bustling tourist destination after so much relative solitude. I am just not a fan of the resort life. We did get upgraded to an ocean view room with a balcony, which made for great sunset views, but in general, not my favorite place to stay.
It was a lovely trip. Great weather despite the rain we often drove through. Great food. Great views and adventures. I’m so glad we camped as it made me feel more present. More connected. I had a lot of mixed feelings leading up to the trip. I wanted to be sure I was not doing harm to the local people or ecosystem. I hope we accomplished this.
