If you haven’t been to the Big Island, I absolutely recommend you coming here and experiencing a different type of Hawaiian vacation, with the highlight being visiting the volcano.

How long to stay?

For the most part, when we go to a Hawaiian island, we like to drive around and explore it and not just stay at the resort the whole time. For us, part of the allure of visiting Hawaii is getting outdoors and doing some hiking. The Big Island is a bit different in that much of the island is still developing (active volcanoes), but there is a lot to do by the national park.

I think five nights gives plenty of time on the island if you’re looking to drive around and explore. You might want to consider breaking it up between most nights on the Kona side (for the beaches and the resorts) and a night over on the Hilo side (making it easier to spend more time at the national park. We didn’t do this, but we strongly considered it. In fact, that’s how I would do it the next time we come back.

What we did

Hapuna Beach

Hapuna Beach is one of the nicer beaches on the Big Island, with lots of soft sand paired with very mild waves. If you’re staying at either the Westin Hapuna or the Mauna Kea, this beach is right at your fingertips. If you’re not, it’s still easily accessible via a simple parking lot.

There is a bit of a hike between the Westin and Mauna Kea hotels. You can go between the hotels via a complimentary shuttle or you can take the more scenic route and walk a rather rocky road bordering the cliffs. If you have the time, this is absolutely the way to go as it’s a fantastic hike that spans about a good 20 minutes. In fact, Char wanted to take the hike with me but then passed out along the way. That made the trip a bit more challenging, but it was still a fascinating hike that I would recommend to anyone.

Visiting the volcano

Coming here to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is really the thing to do. The park is technically closer to the Hilo side of the island, but we came here when staying on the Kona side. It took us about 2.5 hours to get from the hotel down to the park from our hotel (Westin Hapuna). It goes without saying that you’re going to benefit from renting a car if you want to come here given the distance.

To clarify, no, you’re never going to be in danger of falling into lava, despite what the kids thought when going to a national park that calls itself “volcano”. But what you will find is an easy walk across a closed road that leads to the observation area where you can safely observe the volcano. Honestly, it might not look like much during the daylight hours, but if you come here in the morning or evening, you’ll see it glowing from the lava (one reason to stay on the Hilo side of the island means you can see the colors). Still, we had a good time coming here just seeing the steam come out of the molten floor.

Exploring the national park

The national park is much more than just seeing the volcano! If you have a car, you’ll want to drive around to the different locations to position yourself to check out some neat areas. One of our favorites was the lava tubes, where you get to actually walk through holes carved into the earth that were carved out by molten lava long ago.

There are also lots of fun hikes in the area, including some areas that honestly felt like we were not on planet earth. You have to follow the rock piles to traverse the area once covered with molten activity. There aren’t many places on the planet where you can do this and it honestly felt like an otherworldly experience.

Meeting the Dolphins at the Hilton Waikoloa Village

Some locals like to call the Hilton Waikoloa Village “Disneyland”–I think they do that in part because the hotel has a fully operational monorail that takes you to different parts of the hotel. I do think that’s a bit of a gimmick, but the hotel is huge and has a lot of things for you to check out if you’re staying here.

We were not staying here, but we did end up making reservations to come meet the dolphins. The kids absolutely enjoyed the opportunity to get up close and personal with the dolphins. We walked away feeling pretty convinced that the dolphins were well-taken care of. Yes, it is an expensive activity that is likely cheaper in other parts of the world, but we were happy to come say hi to the dolphins.

Where we ate

Luau at the Mauna Kea

What trip to Hawaii isn’t complete without a visit to a luau? The luau at the Mauna Kea is one of the better ones on the island, complete with a ritual where you get to watch the unearthing of a pig. The kids were absolutely fascinated by the display and, admittedly, got them addicted to attending luaus ever since.

The food itself was pretty good, and while it got close, it didn’t quite match the quality of the food served at the luau at the Andaz Maui. Still, I think the food here was pretty good and I wouldn’t be opposed to coming back here.

Merriman’s Waimea

If you’re a fan of MonkeyPod Kitchen on the other Hawaiian islands, you’re going to be a fan of Merriman’s. The restaurant is owned by the same owner but this one is a bit more of a finer dining type of environment. Don’t feel like that doesn’t mean you can’t bring your kids as we did find quite a few other tables with kids plus there is a kids menu available for the little ones. If you’re a fan of the MonkeyPod mai tais, know that you’ll find the same recipe here.

Quite frankly, everything we ate here was awesome and a touch above the already-excellent food at MonkeyPod. If you are looking for quality dining that is authentically Hawaiian, this is absolutely the place to go.

Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill

If you find yourself on the Hilo side of the island, stop by Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill, which was an excellent stop for us for dinner after visiting the volcano. We stuck to choosing a bunch of small bites and, quite frankly, everything we ate was quite flavorful and refreshing. What more could you ask for?

Where we stayed

Westin Hapuna

We stayed five nights at the Westin Hapuna, taking advantage of the fifth night free on award nights, and had a wonderful time here. The resort is beautiful with an incredible beach a short walk away and the service was good, despite initial fears that it’s “only” a Westin.

Breakfast is served just behind Char in the picture below. If you’re a Marriott Platinum or above, expect a fresh fruit plate plus a small plate of pastries. You could upgrade to a full breakfast buffet for a nominal fee, but honestly, we’re a family that loves fruit and were more than satisfied by just eating the complimentary offering. It is nice having the option to pay more for the full buffet.

If you end up finishing breakfast early, do make sure you come over to the koi pond where you can feed the fish. If for some reason you miss the official koi feeding time, you can find lots of stray food pellets on the ground that you can feed to the fish.

Need ideas on other Hawaiian islands? Check out what we did on Maui.

What do you like to do while on the Big Island?