Attractions and Restaurants

Beaches: The book, “Hawaii The Big Island Revealed”, has good descriptions of each of these and excellent maps!!

1. Mahai'ula - About 20 min south on the highway. Follow the directions in the book. Just take the road into Kekaha Kai State Park slow, it is very doable in a street car or mini-van. Park where all the cars are lined up along the road (about 10min from the Highway turnoff) not in the parking lot at the very end and walk along the well-traveled path to the N. Just a 5-8 min walk and so worth it!! You will see some old red buildings - the bay is all along in front of the buildings. Beautiful, lots of shade. No services except a stinky port a potty. Take your chairs if you want them.
2. Makalawena - Our absolute favorite overall. From the north side of the Mahai'ula beach you continue on the path through the lava field for another 15-20 minutes. Just over the dunes is the beach. Drop dead gorgeous and not typically crowded, because you have to walk for it. No services and very little shade. Good description in the book.
3. Mauna Kea - About 15 min north on the highway, look for Mauna Kea Resort entrance for usually one of the best beaches on the island (the beaches change with the seasons, surf and tides). You can valet park at the hotel for free - just a tip, or if you’re lucky you can ask for and get a beach pass from the guard. They have limited number of spaces so when these fill up, you tell the guard you will valet. You can have lunch at the restaurant on the beach and this is the home of the Fredrico – try one! There is some shade further up the beach from the hotel. So, so bathrooms and outside showers. Nice water for swimming and playing in the waves. Take your chairs if you want them as theirs are for hotel guests.
4. Hapuna - Just south of Mauna Kea resort. Follow the directions in the book. There is very limited shade but the beach umbrella works well if it’s not too windy. So, so bathrooms and outside showers. Good spot for boogie boards and playing in the waves. Take your chairs if you want them.
5. Fairmont Hotel - Very close, food & drink service at the beach. Beautiful beach, calm cove to swim in, good snorkeling, shade, nice bathrooms, beautiful spot! Take your chairs as theirs are for hotel guests.
6. Mauna Lani Beach Club - Access included in our ownership so you can use their chairs, just take towels! Very close, parking with the parking pass that is in the mini-van, lots of shade, good snorkeling, food & drink at the restaurant. Not our favorite beach, but we are spoiled. Good place to rent SUP's or additional kayaks. The walk on the left side of the beach that goes up and around the cliff is a must!! Beautiful views!!
7. Mauna Lani Hotel Beach - Pretty close, food & drink service at the hotel. Beautiful beach, calm cove to swim in, probably good snorkeling. Take chairs if you want them as theirs are for hotel guests. Ancient Hawaiian fish ponds between this beach and the Beach Club to the south are worth a walk around.
8. Waialea - About 15 min north on the highway. Follow the directions in the book. Beautiful bay with lots of shade. They lost a lot of their beach but if you walk a ways to the left (south) there are plenty of nice sandy spots - you just need to go a little ways down the beach. Lots of shade, so, so bathrooms and outdoor showers. Take your chairs if you want them.
9. Kuki'o - Just past the 4 Seasons Hotel about 20 min south on the highway. Follow the directions in the book. Take your chairs if you want them. Bathrooms by the parking lot. A short walk on a nice sidewalk to the beach. Limited shade. Kikaua is the beach just to the south of this and it has a lot of shade but the walk from their little parking lot is a bit longer. Bathrooms down at this beach as well.
10. Holoholokai – This is our favorite sunset beach – it’s not a sandy day beach. Leave our development and go left out of the gates towards the Fairmont Hotel. Just before the Fairmont, you’ll see the entrance to Holoholokai Sate Park on the right. Go in there and follow your nose to the end of the road. Take the beach chairs and a beverage and go watch the sunset over the ocean. Leave yourself enough time (~30 minutes) to really see it change and morph as it goes into the water. The Green Flash is real, and you might well see it here. Leave an hour earlier than normal if you want to do a little trek through the woods and lava to see one of the best Petroglyph collections in all of Hawaii. It’s about a 1.4 mile round trip and worth the walk. Quick drive, a nice walk or easy bike ride.
11. Pine Trees Beach – An easy and convenient beach if you’re heading into or coming from Kona as it’s not far off of Hyw 19 and has nice bathrooms and showers if you want to clean up before shopping or dining. It’s just a bit south of the airport and north of Costco through and behind the Kohanaiki resort development. Being further south, it’s a good beach if it’s windy up north by Mauna Lani and consider one of the better surfing beachs.

General note - the Tommy Bahama chairs are awesome and we've gotten so we can get everything we need for a day on the beach in them. Put a towel between the seat and back. In the cooler portion, we put a frozen water bottle (keeps stuff cold, then drink as it melts) and a ziplock bag with a little ice and 2, possibly 3 beverage cans. In the top part goes our books, sun screen, keys, cell phones, etc. Throw it on your back and you're good to go. It's nice to travel light since many places require a little walk, the chairs also keep your hands free if you want to take a boogie board or snorkel gear.

Just email us if you get through all of these and need additional beaches!

Other things:

1. If you want an excursion for good kayaking and snorkeling head south to Captain Cook Bay - see the book. It takes about an hour to get there - south of the town of Kona. You can rent Kayaks at Kona Boys and/or you can take ours. We have permits to kayak in this bay in the hull of each of our kayaks. Kona Boys has their own permits and can provide everything you need. Snorkeling is typically great here the only issue is that unless you are on a special guided trip, you cannot ditch the kayak on land and snorkel, you have to jump off the kayak to snorkel and just drag it along. We have ropes and arm bands for this purpose in the garage closet.
2. If you head down to Captain Cook, you will be in the Kona coffee region. We like Greenwell farms which is right on the way. See the book. On the way back up from this day's excursion, you could stop in Kona to have a look around and grab some dinner or have a beer at Kona Brewing (they also have good pizza and pub fare).
3. http://www.hawaiianvanilla.com/ This is a link for a vanilla farm which is located on the other side of the island, about a 1 hour drive. We did the luncheon which included a short tour. Loved it! Reservations are necessary. If you head over to this side of the island you will be treated to very different flora than on our side. If you make a day of it, you would have time to make a loop and visit Laupahoehoe Point and Akaka Falls on the way back around on the Saddle Road or you could just head over to the farm for a few hours and hit one of the northern beaches in the afternoon.
4. If you are thinking about going to Volcano National Park, the south end of the island, beautiful valleys, art galleries, let us know and we can send more info or there is also a lot more information in the book. If you go, it’s worth spending at least 1 night to make the drive worth it. We enjoy staying at the Kileuea Lodge which has a nice restaurant for both dinner and a full breakfast (included). For more than 1 room, we’ve stayed at Hale Mauka which can be booked on VRBO (133282). It is a nice 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath house and is very convenient to the park. We also just tried "The Dancing Bamboo" cottage (VRBO #704802) that was very nice for 2 people. It's about 10-15 minutes from the park so a little further away, but a nicely updated, cozy little room.
5. Since the volcano is active right now (07/18), a trip down there to see flowing lava is a must. We did a hike with Epic Lava who took us out to see a skylight where the lava river was flowing – very cool. Eric there knows where lava is visible which changes from day to day, so he can show you the things you won't find on your own. We also did a boat trip right out to where the lava was flowing into the ocean which was a fantastic experience! About $250 per, it was a little pricey but to have the experience of being able to see what we saw (see pics at the link to the left) it was certainly worth it to us. Lava Ocean Tours did a great job for us and we’d definitely recommend them.
6. Our friends used an in-home masseuse and really liked her. Her name is Lauren from Traveling Massage Hawaii, 808-937-2515, makualomilomi@coconutgirls.com. She brought her table, got set up and did 2 massages – both friends were very happy campers.
7. Surfing – The best surfing beach on the island, Pine Trees or Kohanaiki Beach Park, is just south of the airport and the National Energy Lab, about 35 minutes from our place. Take the next right (west) past the National Energy Lab into the new development of Kohanaiki. The resort has a nice paved road with directional signs down to the beach. They have even installed nice restrooms. If you need a lesson, a refresher or equipment, some friends really liked Hypr Nalu Surf in Kona. http://www.hyprnalu.com/
8. Deep Sea Fishing – Some friends really liked Sea Wife II down in the Kona Harbor. http://seawifecharters.com/
9. For scuba diving, we've heard good things about Big Island Divers - www.bigislanddivers.com.

Restaurants:

It is a good idea to have reservations, particularly in high season. Here are a few of our favorites close to home:

1. Lava Lava – Waikoloa Resort area, one entrance south on the highway. There are signs once you pass the Queens Shops. This is a great spot for sunset and the food has always been good. Very casual restaurant.

2. Tommy Bahama’s – In the Shops at Mauna Lani right by the house.

3. The Canoe House – on the beach at the Mauna Lani hotel. Wonderful restaurant, beautiful setting and spot for sunset. Just expensive.

4. Hawaiian Style Café – In Waimea. Wonderful, huge local breakfast! That’s all I can say.

5. Napua – At the Beach Club. Not a big menu but consistently good. Really nice setting.

6. Big Island Brewery – In Waimea. Good lunch spot. Good beer, good food.

7. Montsera – In the Shops at Mauna Lani right by the house. Good sushi, seafood and noodles.

8. Café Pesto – In Kawaihae – Good Italian, pizza.

9. Kona Brewing – If you are down in Kona, this is a good place to stop for lunch or a casual dinner. Good beer, food/pizza and great nachos.

10. Blue Dragon in Kawaihae for good casual dining and regular live music Unfortunately, they seem to be permanently closed.

11. Original Big Island Shave Ice Co. – great shave ice. We saw them in Hilo recently - they seem to travel so check their facebook page. – a Hawaii must have!

12. Shiono at Mauna Lani, at the Mauna Lani Golf Clubhouse – Only open for lunch but has great views and good sushi but also sandwiches, salads.

13. We’ve also got a relatively new restaurant in Waikoloa Village (turn up the hill by the blue helicopters) that is very good. Pueo’s Osteria is an Italian style restaurant that has become a favorite of locals, though more visitors are finding it despite being a little out of the way. pueososteria.com

14. Tropics Ale House in Waikoloa Resort is not on the water and doesn’t offer views of anything, but it’s a pretty good value, has a big bar area and probably the best pizza around here. An easy to get to and easy on the wallet (relatively speaking – you are in Hawaii!), casual place for an easy outing.

Markets:

1. The market in the Shops at Mauna Lani right by our place is actually pretty good for most stuff. I hear they have good take out Poke Bowls and their rotisserie chicken is great.

2. Waikoloa Village – there is a much larger market up the hill in Waikoloa Village. You turn and go up the hill by the helicopter place just to the south on the highway.

3. Hale l'a Da Fish House in Kawaihae has fresh off the boat fish every day except Sunday.