Welcome to Hawaii!!!
Kohala - near Waikaloa, Mauna Lani
Must do beaches within10-20 minutes drive
- Hapuna Beach (Boogie boarding - Jan/Feb, general fun beach later on)
- Mauna Kea Beach (Boogie boarding/snorkeling - one or the other depending on waves, swimming)
- Mau'umae Beach (off the beaten track, swimming, snorkeling)
- https://www.southkohala.com/things-to-do/big-island-beaches/secret-mauumae-beach
- Waialaea Beach 69 (Great snorkeling, interesting beach with lots of shady trees)
- Kekaha Kai State park (see day long experiences)
- Kua Bay (very crowded but one of the few boogie boarding spots currently)
Other nearby experiences
- Walking around in the fishponds of mauna lani (looking for the secret anchialine pond for fish pedicure or a quicl dip). ALso can add Historic park at Mauna lani for petroglyphs and a little lava tube hike)
- Queens Bath (Turn right just after scenic lookout on Hwy 19. Park at the end of the road and hike right on the beach for 5-10 minutes). Can hike just a little further (to get to Kiholo Bay - not a must do or) until you have had your fill seeing many turtles.
- Mauna Lani beach (can rent paddleboards, resort beach with chairs/cabanas, good snorkeling, swimming - be careful of rocks).
- Anaehoomalu beach (Waikaloa's resort beach - paddleboarding)
- Just pick a beach (resort beaches are easier - and do dinner at the beach for stargazing - we did this in A-bay)
- Kikaua point (has a sea arch but very shallow - for kids) & Kukio Beach TBD
Kona Experiences (None of these are must-dos)
- Baby beach/Keiki beach - When surf is roaring everywhere else, this is the place to be in the Kona area. Beginner snorkeling as well.
- Old Kona airport state park - Nice unique trail, interesting runway parking, tidepools but rocky waters. TBD - snorkeling on the north end to Pawai bay.
- Wawaloli beach park - Has restrooms but only has 1 tidepool to dip in. There are many tidepools with interesting stuff.
- Kaloko Honakahau State park - Tidepools, calm little beach with shallow waters, many turtles, lots of sandy beach area to spread out. Park in the harbor (not in the park)
- Cloud forest hike - We went left and came down the road that took us to a different ending point. Kids loved the wild ginger that they found on the hike. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/hawaii/hawaii/makuala-ooma-trail?u=i
- Kohanaiki Beach park/Pine Trees surf beach - IF you want a bit of quiet, this is the place to be. But rocks in the water, some tidepools.
- kamakahonu beach park - tiki gods - historical site, paddleboarding
Food Experience
- Kamuela Farmers Market (Sat 9 AM) -
- the fruit stand on the outside extreme right as you face the market has the freshest tastiest fruits ever. Langon, star apple, papayas, mountain apple, rambutan and other seasonal fruits. They are so fresh picked that the fruits keep well outside at room temperature for about a week.
- The lady inside at the far left of the farmers market has salted boiled peanuts.
- The big veggie stand in the inside center has winged beans, moringa leaves and other veggies (some not local). Mac nuts here are not that good.
- Apple bananas, edible flowers, avocados, strawberries are other finds.
- java plum honey, eucalyptus, Lehua blossoms honey, macnut honey
- Not much experience with the food stalls.
- Waimea Town market (Sat 9 AM)- more food stalls than produce - crepes, mexican etc, Can buy coconut and coconut water. Not a favorite. Can find Akaka honey though in all kinds of flavors. Kiawe honey
- Pure Kona Greens Market - Similar in set up to Waimea Town market on Sunday (taro leaves, baklava, coconut, sapodilla, jabuticaba, loquat). Iris tripp studio 13714 SE 43rd St, Bellevue, WA 98006 for customized fridge magnets.
- Kona Farmers Market - Most variety of west side farmers markets, But beware of freshness later in the week, Thursday/Friday some produce are at end of life. Some things found there - Fiddlehead ferns, sapodilla, winged beans, and so much more.
- Mid Week waimea farmers market - Baklava, different produce vendors than saturday.
- Tropical dreams Mac nut ice cream (found in Kohala Coffee mill - Hawi or in Foodland grocery store). Surprisingly the same Tropical dreams ice cream in Kona is not the same quality.
- Keaohou Farmers market - Rare fruits. All very local produce - Icecream bean, abiu, golden egg fruits, loquat, jabuticaba, Sweet limes, great macnuts, macnut pie. surinam cherries, tree tomatoes, black sapote.
- Hamakua Farmers market - tree tomatoes, abiu.
- Hilo farmers market - Lavender honey, mac nut with flower honey, Banana lumpia,
Day long experiences
- Kekaha kai state park (bumpy road but can be done by regular car). Possible to see monk seals resting on the beach at the end of the drive. The tidepools can sometimes be very interesting when calm. Can snorkel sometimes when sea is calm (we swam with a turtle). 10 minutes hike to the right to Mahaiula beach. hike further (20-45 minutes) to get to Makalawena beach. Pack food and make a beach day out of it. Alternatively need a 4WD to reach Makalawena by a very rough 4WD trail).
- Alternatively hike left from the parking left to a black sand beach about 30 minutes (nothing special about the beach but saw a monk seal resting - very hot hike)
- Pololu valley hike: Hike down to the valley is only 15-20 minutes. Pack lunch and snacks and you can spend the whole day in the valley. Beach is too rough and we spotted the very dangerous Hawaiian Blue jellyfish. But can frolic in the river (enter though the sandy area close to the ocean) and hike further to the ridge and a second back sand beach/valley. (TBD The hike further should be around an hour each way). Drive down to Waimea on the Kohala Mountain Road for dinner . Very scenic.
Longer drives but highly recommended
Waipio and beyond
- Waipio Valley - Hike down (1 hour each way and quite hard) and spend the day frolicking in the river. Cross the river to find 2 hiking trails - one up the ridge and one into the valley (TBD)
- Nanue Stream and Falls
- Boulder hop the Nanue stream (on Old mamaloa Hwy near Waikamolu state park) to reach the beautiful Nanue falls. Slippery rocks - easier if you can wade in the river a bit with waterproof bags when needed. We were the only ones in the area.
- Kaumana Caves - Free but take headlights and flashlights. Can spend an hour/2 exploring the caves to the left and right.
- Emesine Caves - 5 mi hike through lava fields and forests to a lava tube that is likely to be all yours. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/hawaii/hawaii/emesine-cave?u=i
- World Botanical Gardens
South
- Honomalino bay (Google Maps to Milolii beach park, then hike away from the beach through a little forest and lava rocks for 20 minutes). Black sand beach, calm (At least when we were there), great swimming and snorkeling (we saw 3 white tip reef sharks). Pack lunch for beach day. Nice shade from coconut trees but hot sand where sunny.
- Punaalu beach (jet black sand - very unique - many turtles, wavy beach - good for an hour or 2)
Second priority south side attractions
- Green sand beach (need to take a taxi from the parking lot due to rough 4WD access or hike 2 miles each way in hot windy conditions). Very unique beach but very windy and touristy. Must do for grown ups, our kids were okay - not their top experience. They liked the taxi ride standing in the back of the pickup truck (20$ pp)
- Turn right when getting out of the parking lot and you will reach the southern most point of USA in just 5 minutes - Ka Lae South point - We could see pods of dolphins from the cliffs)
- Hookena beach ( black sand beach, calm tidepools to the right for little kids , wavy beach with good snorkeling beyond but tough entry and exit due to waves and rocks). Drive further down to Kealia Bay for snorkeling(TBD)
- Manini Beach (Had great snorkeling once but poor snorkeling and rough conditions 1 other time - no beach. grassy area with narrow entry exit into Kealakekua Bay)
- Pebble beach - Good snorkeling in calm conditions, Can hear the sound of pebbles underwater.
