Kona, Hawaii
At a glance!
Travel Overview: Girls Trip to Kona, HI
Duration: 4 Days
When I went: January 4-7
Airport: Kona International Airport (KOA)
Rental Car:
Day 1 - Some beach relaxation
Lodging: Paniolo Greens
When you only have 4 days on the biggest island in the state of Hawaii, there are not too many days where you can just sit back and relax. However, I would totally recommend that for the first day, spend the day getting used to the time zone and relaxing. For the trip, I would recommend renting a car for a few reasons, but when you do, please get one with AWD especially because your first stop is going to Kekaha Kai State Beach. While this is totally technically walkable, the 1.2 mile walk to the beach is made a lot easier by just taking a car that can handle that road. Once you get there, I would recommend grabbing your snorkeling stuff and looking around. This state beach is notorious for having sea turtles wondering. I would stay there for a few hours. but whenever you are ready, I would go get washed and settled wherever you’re staying for the night and then head over for dinner.
For dinner we ate at the Lava Lava Beach Club. There are great views of the water and chat with the bar staff because they are great! The food was mid, but since the experience was amazing, I would recommend. Also, take a minute to walk along the beach and since we went at sunset, take that walk at sunset. Totally worth it!
Day 2 - Volcanos and Scenic Views
Lodging: Paniolo Greens
Dinner: The Rim Restaurant
For a lot of different reasons, we stayed on the opposite side of the Island from Hawaii Volcanos National Park, so since we’re driving to the other side of the Island, we wanted to spend the whole day there. But it’s Hawaii, so there are so many different stops you can take on the way there. I would recommend leaving early in the morning to make the most out of the day.
The first stop on the road trip is the Kaumana Caves. They’re on the way to Hilo and are literally off the side of the road. The amount of time you spend there is dependent on how deep into the caves you want to go to, but I would say 20 minutes is more than sufficient.
The next stop is going to be Rainbow Falls. It’s truly stunning and worth stopping by. However, if you have the time, I would sort out a way to see Akaka Falls state park. Regardless, the falls are massive. I would recommend going earlier in the day. Not only does this give you more time to explore, but it also gives you the chance to see the iconic rainbow the falls are named after.
At this point of the drive, you’re about half way there to the national park. so I would stop off to Big Island Coffee Roasters for some coffee or, if you’re me, some espresso bars. It’s delicious, and if you’re lucky, you’ll see them actually processing the coffee in house.
It’s finally time to make it to the park. I would actually do something a bit different than what I did. If possible, I would park at the visitor’s center rather than at the lava tube. The reason I would suggest this is even though I will give suggestions on hikes to do, the visitor center has the best access to all the hikes and the recommended restaurant for the day. Once parked, fill up your water, so this is the series of trails I would recommend this hike that I have on AllTrails. I would complete this hike in the morning as soon as you get there.
The rest of the day I would play based off of the volcanic activity. If the volcano is erupting, I would make reservations for the evening at the Rim, but if the volcano is resting for the day, I would recommend making lunch plans for the Rim. Regardless of what you decide, enjoy the meal and the view.
After lunch, whether that’s after eating at the Rim or after a picnic lunch, finish up the north park activities including the steam vents. Then, head down to Hōlei Sea Arch. You’ll take the Chain of Craters road on the way down so please stop on your way down because it’s wild how drastically the landscape changes. Try to make it down right around sunset if you can or just before because it’s stunning. If you go in the winter, you may also get lucky and see some whales while down there.
Day 3 - Under the Sea
Lodging: Mauna Lani
Diving Company: Big Island Divers
Day 3 was diving day. If you aren’t SCUBA certified, that’s okay because snorkeling is a fantastic option any where around the island. We went with Big Island Divers (linked above). They came highly recommended to us and now I would like to highly recommend them. I loved whole team that went out with us, but I would 10/10 recommend Dive Master Bri. Since I hadn’t dove in a few years, she was assigned to me privately and honestly, even if you have dove recently, I loved the 1:1 experience. We saw a sea turtle that felt like it was swimming along side us, so many fish, the little tentacles of an octopus. We did two dives which lasted until about noon.
Grab a bit to eat after for lunch because you will definitely need that after the diving. Check out some local spots around the area because at this point you will be in Kona town-center. We headed over to our resort after the had a chill day by the pool which I would completely recommend because you will be tired enough after diving.
Day 4 - Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride
Lodging: Mauna Lani
Okay one thing that I have always wanted to do is to learn how to surf. Often when people find out I live in California and that I want to learn how to surf, they ask why not learn where I live? But I live in the Bay Area which has super cold waters and isn’t exactly a tropical paradise. But you know where is warm and a tropical? Kona. We took lessons through the resort we were staying at, but there are so many places you can go around Kona to learn how to surf. I also felt like surfing is such a staple of a pastime in Hawaii that it feels so fitting to try this while you’re here. If surfing is not for you, I would take the final day here to do those things that you couldn’t do back home or have always wanted to do at home.
Travel Tips!
Get an AWD car. While it isn’t necessary, you will get access to more with a car that can handle more difficult terrain.
Look into advice from the locals. Hawaii while gorgeous is someone else’s home. Please treat it well.
Bring a reusable bag. In general, do this anywhere, but groceries help reduce the cost of eating and Hawaii does not give you an alternative to a reusable bag for the grocery store.
If you have a snorkel and goggles, bring them. All the beaches have amazing under water life and bringing this equipment along will be very beneficial.
