Hawaii (Big Island) July 2019

It was almost 5 years to the day since my sons and I last visited Hawaii. Back then I didn't go through exhaustive research like I do know prior to going places but somehow for that trip landed on us spending 2 nights on Oahu and 3 nights on Maui. We took Hawaiian Airlines at a time before tablets were standard in seats for long flights but (luckily) we were able to rent them through the airline with pre-loaded movies and games. After having both of my sons voice the desire to return to Hawaii during that trip I quickly signed up for a Hawaiian Airlines credit card with their intro bonus (I believe it was 60,000 miles), thinking it would be cool to try and visit all of the islands at some point. Since that time there have been a few speed bumps when it came to further Hawaiian ventures. First, my youngest son had a one-eighty about returning to any of the islands, feeling that the payoff wasn't enough for a 6 hour flight. After I came to terms with this and ended up making travel arrangements with my points for just my eldest son and me to visit Kauai a few years back, our plans were thwarted by a hurricane. Although there were intentions of rescheduling that Kauai trip it never happened as I was trying to focus on places both of my sons wanted to go to before they graduated from high school / started college. Due to the circumstances, my points sat for quite awhile, with me having minimal use of the card since there were no clear intentions in the near-future of heading back to the islands.

It wasn't until after I made plans to go to Tokyo that another Hawaii trip even came up, more on whim than anything. I was discussing with sons that I wanted to try and schedule one more trip during their summer when my eldest son said he wanted to go back to Hawaii. On the off chance that my youngest son changed his mind on returning to the islands I brought it up to him and, surprisingly, he was wanting to go back. There was a short discussion about which island to visit - I wanted to visit the Big Island whereas my eldest still wanted to visit Kauai but ultimately said he didn't care. Since my word is final (or at least I think it is) in the household, I decided that we would visit the Big Island.

I'm going to take a brief diversion to discuss my thoughts on the different airlines credit cards / systems. As mentioned in my Tokyo post, I have quite a few airlines credit cards (Delta, Hawaiian, American Airlines, and Southwest). Although each card serves a particular purpose for me, after using them all for quite awhile now I feel that Hawaiian is the best of the bunch. The one major obvious drawback of Hawaiian Airlines (especially from Phoenix) is that your usage of points is highly-limited. Hawaiian has one flight going out of Phoenix and one flight coming back, each day. As long as you have intentions of going to or through Hawaii (Asia, Australia, and New Zealand are some destinations with layovers in Honolulu) I feel it is a worthwhile card to have. Stopping in Honolulu for any flight may or may not be of consequence, depending on where you go but it is something to keep in mind. Also of note is that if you are flying from Phoenix but want to head to a different island than Oahu, you will have to take a hopper plane from Honolulu. This is not the situation with every city; for instance, Portland has a non-stop Hawaiian Airlines flight to both Maui and Honolulu. It is best to check and see exactly what is offered from your city. Incidentally, American Airlines offers nonstop flights from Phoenix to both Kailua-Kona (on the Big Island) as well as Lihue (Kauai) along with Honolulu (which seems to be the staple city for incoming flights).


My recommendation for the Hawaiian Airlines card is namely for 2 reasons. First, of all the credit cards I have it is the only one which gives straight miles for the miles you fly. So, essentially, a round trip flight from Phoenix to Honolulu is already banking about 6000 miles. You may or may not be aware but most other airlines work on tier systems (Delta and American Airlines of the cards I have). Some of the systems can be a bit confusing and convoluted and (at least for me) required a thorough read-through of the points policies multiple times to understand exactly how it works. The second major reason for my recommendation is that Hawaiian Airlines allows cardholders to accept transferred points from other people with no extra fee. This is huge as all other cards seem to charge a pretty hefty sum if you want to transfer points.

If you look at the mathematics, this is a really nice perk, most notably for families. Let's use my situation as an example. For purposes of the scenario I will use a round trip fare of $700 (of course, they can be much higher or lower depending on peak travel, deals, etc). With the Hawaiian card you get 3x miles for any Hawaiian Airlines purchases, so 3 round trip flights are already getting you 2100 miles for each flight. As outlined previously, a round trip flight from Phoenix to Hawaii is about 6000 miles. This puts each flight at approximately 8100 miles. If the cardholder makes the purchase for all 3 flights initially he/she will get the full 6300 miles (2100 for each ticket times 3 tickets); however, with most airlines the only way for that same person to get those additional 6000 miles for the 2 separate tickets would cost a transfer fee. With Hawaiian you can transfer those additional 12000 points (2 tickets / 6000 miles each) to the cardholder for no cost. This being the case, with the outlined scenario, the cardholder can get 24,300 miles for one trip with 3 people. To give some idea of how many points it takes for a round trip flight, the lowest I have seen is about 43000 miles (off peak). Therefore, by transferring the points you already have more than half the points needed to get another round trip flight for free / with points. With other airlines, you would have to either pay for that transfer fee or to have all parties reach the 43000 points separately for a free flight - the plus side of this is that you would likely get all 3 flights for free around the same time but it would also take a lot more trips to get to that point. Along with using the card for everyday purchases to get additional points, the largest boost can usually be found through setting up hotels through their respective site. There are some hotels that you can get close to 10000 points a night. Extra points for hotel reservations seems to be a regular perk with each airline card, whether it be through their own site or a site like Rocket Miles. It takes a bit of time but my recommendation is to spend some time searching the different sites for the best point pay off.

With that business out of the way let's get to the actual trip. For you Phoenicians, as noted, there is one flight going out and one coming back each day from Honolulu if you use Hawaiian Airlines. Their boarding structure was pretty fluid as they board people in zones based upon where their reserved seating is located on the plane. We had no issues finding overhead space for our carry-on luggage. I can't attest to how the other airlines handle their Hawaiian flights but one aspect that Hawaiian Airlines does very well, is the immersion of Hawaiian culture from the moment you enter the plane all the way to landing. There was a Hawaiian music video playing as people were getting situated and there were multiple Hawaiian music and video choices on the tablet. Beyond this, they also offer Hawaiian-based snacks (some with the meal and some for purchase) and provided a Mai Tai shortly before landing both to and from Honolulu. It is this immersion that made my eldest son scoff at the idea of me using my American Airlines points in the future for a non-stop flight to Kauai. So, he essentially would prefer to have a layover in Honolulu prior to flying to Lihue, Kauai just to fly on Hawaiian Airlines. If that isn't brand dedication, I don't know what is. For anyone to be picky about how they get to Hawaii sounds a bit absurd but I have to agree that there is "something" about flying to Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines. Incidentally, I purchased / read a great book about the history of Hawaiian Airlines after our first trip to Hawaii 5 years ago by Russ Banham.

Unfortunately it appears that it is no longer in print but if you can get a copy somewhere it is a highly-recommended read not only for some interesting history about the airline but also about the islands in general. In the book it mentioned that their goal is to have the Hawaiian experience start the moment they reach the plane and, at least for my family, they succeeded.

Along with Haneda in Tokyo, Honolulu is probably my favorite airport. It isn't as nice as Haneda but I appreciate the 1970s architecture (something I like in Honolulu overall) and it is a great place to grab Hawaiian souvenirs if you are only there for a layover / going to a less-populated island which may not have as many options. For you Starbucks buffs, they always have some Hawaiian-themed merchandise you can't find outside of Hawaii and a lot of the stores in the terminals have some of the great Hawaiian snacks (Hawaiian Cookie Company, Hawiian Princess, etc). This is as good a time as any to point out that Hawaii in general is a relatively expensive place when it comes to food. This is something to keep in mind as you budget the trip. That being said, you can surprisingly find some decently-priced hotels - I just recommend that you read reviews of the hotels as many seem to be rundown.

Taking the hopper plane to Kailua-Kona was pretty fluid with a flight time under an hour. Although I was stuck in the middle seat from Phoenix to Honolulu I made it clear to my sons that I wanted a window seat to and from on the hopper plane. The Kona airport is right on the edge of the island and seeing the landscape as we were landing gave me an idea of what to expect during most of the trip. It was fascinating seeing the runway amidst mounds of cooled lava. This was a very similar sight while we were driving from Kona to Hilo in that the highway / roads were cutting through areas that clearly had eruptions / lava flows; in many cases you could see the lava paths stretching all the way to the top of the volcano and down to the ocean. It was a fascinating dichotomy of driving through green areas then suddenly hitting stretches of lava flows with very little vegetation.   

I hate dealing with rental cars but for purposes of this trip it was a necessary burden. You can either take a shuttle from the Kona airport or walk about 10 minutes from the terminal to get to the rental stations. We walked to the rental station from the airport and were quickly reminded of the tropical island humidity but it also took us through lava mounds, providing an up-close look at the terrain.

Hotel lobby area with 1970s Hawaiian decor.

The drive to downtown took about 25 minutes. We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha. The location was great / was in walking distance to most of the restaurants and shopping area and was very close to the water. The hotel even had its own small beach area along with a nice coffee shop and shave ice store. Something to note of the Big Island is that due to the very lava terrain in most areas and strong tides it was not the easiest place to find areas to actually go into the ocean and if you are looking for the stereo-typical white sand beach, Kona and Hilo are not the most ideal places to find such. With a bit of searching you can probably find coves / areas with beaches but keep in mind that the downtown areas of both cities really don't have such areas nearby.  A bit later I will note an area where we DID find a white sand beach with reasonable tides.

Since we wanted to see both sides of the island I structured the trip with us having our initial night in Kona, then we drove Highway 11 around the south end of the island the following day, heading to Hilo for the next 2 nights. This is a longer drive than taking highway 200 (which cuts across the island) but it also allowed us to hit a bunch of sights.

I made it clear to my sons before the trip that we were going to stop by (at least) one coffee farm. I found that most of them were south of the Kailua-Kona area /closer to Captain Cook. We went to Greenwell Farms but there were multiple farms in this area. As much as I wanted to take a tour of the farm I had to keep in mind that my sons were present and had no interest in coffee / a desire to take an hour tour. If you are in the right coffee-minded company I could see how you could easily spend a day just going to all of the different farms. It would be an expensive (if you buy bags of coffee at each place) but cool day trip. Greenwell provided samples of all their varietals and I can only presume that most farms are structured the same way.

View from Greenwell Farms.

After I purchased a couple of bags of coffee we continued on to our next destination (Kealakekua Bay). This is a bit off the highway but a relatively-easy diversion. Prior to reaching the area the initial intention was to snorkel; however, upon seeing the strong ocean tide we quickly agreed that it was an area for more-experienced snorkelers. Regardless, it had stunning surroundings.

As we continued on our next stop was the Punalu'u Bakery. This is very easily accessible off the highway and was obviously the biggest tourist destination in the small town as it was pretty busy. They had some pretty unique roll flavors for purchase, including taro and guava, both of which I found very appetizing.

Our next stop was the Punalu'u Black Sand Beach. Again, we had the intention of going into the beach but it was too busy and had too strong of a tide for it to be appealing to any of us.

We continued on Highway 11 to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It was $25 to enter (per a car) and the map showed it being a pretty extensive area; however, when we visited the road to make a complete loop through the park was closed due to volcanic activity. There was an option to take a road down to the ocean area but with the map showing it as over a 60 minute round trip drive from the entrance area we passed on such. We did stop at the area with the volcanic steam and crater. It was surreal seeing the steam rising from the fissures and the crater was massive (pictures don't do it justice). Even though we didn't take advantage of them, there are numerous hiking trails and even places to camp in the park, for those who are interested.

From Volcano Park we wrapped around the South end of the island and continued on to Hilo. Getting back to the terrain on the island, it was fascinating that as we got closer to the Eastern side the barren lava patch areas became less and less with it quickly turning into a more tropical / rain forest-type setting.

Before we entered Hilo we took a detour to the Mauna Loa macadamia nut farm. There really isn't much to see here but it is interesting passing the miles of macadamia trees and the store does have better priced macadamia nuts than you can find online / in local stores. They also have some pretty awesome flavors I was not even aware existed. The sriracha honey was fantastic but all of them were really good. I didn't realize how much I liked macadamia nuts until I started gorging the bags we purchased over the course of the trip.

It was interesting entering Hilo. For lack of a better description, it was very industrial. We passed through quite a few rundown areas but once we made it to the hotel I couldn't help but appreciate the awesome view. We stayed at the Castle Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. The panoramic scene from our hotel room was really nice, especially in the mornings. One morning was relatively fogging but the other morning was clear, which gave a great view of the mountain in the distance.

View from room.

There was a nice snorkeling area a few miles from our hotel.

Downtown Hilo really didn't have many major things of interest but I do recommend going to Two Ladies Kitchen to purchase some fresh mochi and there are a few chocolate stores in the vicinity as well. There was also a farmer's market the day we were there, which had a great selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. I bought a papaya for 50 cents (compared to the $3 plus dollars here in Arizona). Although we didn't go, the downtown area also had an old movie house which looked fascinating.

As far as restaurants, Ken's House of Pancakes is a staple diner since the 1970s and was in walking distance from our hotel. We also ate at the restaurant Hula Hula's at the Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo, which was next to our hotel and had very good food choices along with some great views of the ocean.

Hands down the most enjoyable thing in Hilo (and arguably the best thing we visited on the island) was the botanical garden. Driving to the location it made we wonder what we were getting into as it was essentially a residential street for about 15 minutes off the highway but it is easily one of the most majestic places I have seen. Word or warning though, the garden trail takes you down the side of a cliff very close to the ocean, which means you have to go back up the cliff on the way back. It was a pretty steep incline but everything is paved or has wooden walkways. Give yourself a few hours to check this must-see place out.

After spending 2 days in Hilo we headed back to Kailua-Kona for our final night by way of Highway 200. We stopped at the Kaumana Caves but did not enter them. I previously read that they go relatively deep and that proper gear is needed but wanted to at least check out the area.

This stretch was fascinating as it was more desert-looking that the rest of the island. Instead of going straight back to Kailua-Kona we took the highway north to Hapuna beach. For those who want an area with the standard white sand beach, this is it. We didn't go further north from this location but I have read that there are a decent amount of white sand beaches in the area with a lot of resorts. This was about a 40 minute drive north of the Kona airport.

Our final evening was relatively low key. Aside from grabbing dinner my sons were content with just hanging out in the room while I decided to walk the town a bit more. It was during this walk that I grabbed some nice videos of the high tide / water coming over the wall. A local working across the street (where I bought one of my multiple bags of Kona coffee) indicated she had never seen the tide so high. It was pretty cool watching / hearing the waves crash against the wall and every now and then peak over the wall. Even though I tried I couldn't grab the water going over the wall on video but got this really nice video clip.

I am now back on my quest to visit all of the Hawaiian Islands. I'm not sure how long it will take / when it will happen but I am already collecting literature for the remaining islands and am heavily eyeing Molokai. My final thought(s) on the Big Island are that it is a highly-recommended destination in which Hilo is worth a visit if only to visit the Botanical Garden; otherwise, I enjoyed the surroundings of Kona much more. If/when I return to the island I would like to take a coffee tour and scope out the northern-most points of the island since it was the one area off a main highway we didn't check out. What's nice about the island in general is that you can get from one side to the other in a reasonable amount of time.

Next up : Portland August 2019