We’ve spent an extensive amount of time on the Big Island, so we can speak from my own experience. In this article, we’ll provide suggestions for what we think may be the ideal plan, particularly for first time Big Island visitors. Here’s what we recommend:
Plan to divide your time between the Hilo side and the Kona side. If you have a week on the Big Island, plan to spend 2 to 3 nights on the Hilo side and 4 to 5 nights on the Kona side. By staying on the Hilo side for 2 or more nights, you’ll be able to explore Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and possibly watch lava flowing at night – two things that are not to be missed, in our opinion. From the Kona side, you’ll have more time for relaxation mixed in with cultural and historic sight seeing. Here are some logistics for making this split work.
We hope that you’ll find these suggestions help you narrow down the many decisions to something that’s more manageable. If you have questions, feel free to ask them in the comments. For those other experienced Hawaii travelers, what do you think of these suggestions? What recommendations do you have?
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I agree with everything you suggested. This sounds like an excellent plan.
Hello!
I'll be there in august with my husband and 5month old baby. We were thinking of renting a condo for the hole 2 weeks, but as I was reading your article I though we may want to slip our stay into to location....and maybe visit another island?
will have my parents with us, so my husband and I will have the chance to do some activities on our own..(snorkeling, biking...) do you think that two weeks on Big island is too long?
Hi Veronique -- I don't think two weeks is too long. I've probably spent a total of 6 weeks on the Big Island and I've still not done everything. There's fantastic snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay (south of Kona) and along the Kohala Coast. There's plenty of scenic drives and botanical gardens. Check out this link for a list of things to do on the Big Island.
If you think you might get bored, then consider a island hop over to Oahu for a day trip. Here's an example of what we did for day trip to Oahu: https://www.govisithawaii.com/2011/04/04/a-day-trip-island-hop-to-oahu/
Hope that helps.