Hawaii Big Island - 5 nights.. where to stay?

[tizey]

We were meant to honeymoon in Hawaii this year (not big island - but Maui & Waikiki), but an injury just prior to the wedding this year prevented me from getting in water for a month, which completely ruled out going to Hawaii - there is not much point being in Hawaii having to stay dry.

So we've booked Hawaii for our first anniversary. Mrs tizey is hell bent on Waikiki.... which remains, but I'm more set on Diving with the Mantas.... hence the big island over Maui. Already hold certification and dive regularly here - so they are all fun dives... no training/teaching time needed.

We're thinking to stay 5 nights on the big island - probably cant be less due to my inability to fly or take on altitude in/around volcanoes after diving for 24hrs (decompression risk - theory says less, but medical advice I've received puts me at a higher risk of decompression sickness, so rather safe than sorry).

We've already booked flights (J class award seats - had to jump on them without much planning as its school holiday timing) and so we're flying into KOA and thinking of something like:

Day 0 - Chill out poolside/beach afternoon as will have traveled MEL-AKL-HNL-KOA to get here.
Day 1 - Big day up and around the Volcanoes and national parks. Unsure if tour or hire a car. Thinking to hire a car as it is our 1st Anniversary this day so will be nice to cruise around just the two of us. Very unlikely to convince mrs tizey of a helicopter tour - she's a bad enough flier as it is!
Day 2 - Much more relaxed day - maybe explore a bit around the local area/beach day. Altitude OK, but dont want to be physically exhausted at the end of the day as will be doing 1 x Dusk Dive & 1 x Night Dive (Mantas!)
Day 3 - 2 x Day Dives, maybe 1 x Night Dive (black water). Mrs maybe a spa day?
Day 4 - No altitude day - maybe a beach day if can't get anywhere safely (<1000ft)
Day 5 - Fly out to HNL, but can be any time of the day (and we have 7 nights in HNL so there is no rush). Thinking maybe to have another day around the sights of the island and get a late flight out to HNL. No issue with altitude today as will be 36hrs from last dive.

Ideally I want to stay somewhere on, or immediately close to a nice beach... like, walk out of the room and 50m you're in water type close. Is this possible?

What about good location to stay? I'm always nervous to stay 'outside' of towns when I book accommodation on quieter islands... is it easy to get around without driving (taxi/uber), or am I destined to drive everywhere? What about dinner options?

Also, unlikely to want to change locations mid-stay on a 5 night trip as its always disruptive to the relaxation of a holiday.

Welcome any thoughts/feedback on the above plan. I have to do a lot of reading on planning this part of the trip, but any first hand feedback is great.

 

[blackcat20]

We stay at the Royal Kona Resort. It's not fancy, the rooms are a bit vintage, but its always spotless (and the beds are supy comfy). The staff are great. The bar is also really good and they have a decent happy hour, pool and lagoon are also really nice. Its in town so you can walk anywhere close by. Obviously youd need a car if you want to travel further afield.

 

[TomVexille]

I think the only places where you'll be that close to a "nice" beach is up at the resorts around Waikoloa, which sort of rules out walking everywhere. Staying in Kona gives you the opposite, can walk to pretty much everything, but you'll want a car to get to a beach.

 

[Anna]

The Big Island is quite, well, big. I doubt you would be able to do both Kilauea and Mauna Kea comfortably in one day (assuming that's what you mean by 'the volcanoes'). IMO you would be best off hiring a car rather than relying on Uber, but YMMV.

Mauna Kea has an absolutely amazing observatory and it is above the cloud-line, so with very little air pollution and no clouds the views you can get of stars, planets and the space station are well worth it. They have demos each evening I think and you can turn up to them independently without needing to be on a tour. You can drive a hire car up to the observatory, but not right up to the summit. Takes about 45 mins IIRC to drive from sea level up to the observatory. You need to dress warmly if you go to the demo. The tours on offer are about 8 hours long and include a trip up to the summit for sunset, as well as the star gazing part.

In terms of scenery the Big Island has 2 different aspects. Roughly speaking and generalising wildly, the north side is tropical greenery and the south side is black lava. If you stay on the south side and you're not expecting the black lava fields it can be a bit of a surprise. So if you have expectations of a green tropical resort, make sure you check out the resort photos first before you book

 

[GoldCanyon340]

Kona is a really nice town. Lots of places to eat and it has a good vibe; it's like Lahaina on Maui but not quite as upmarket (but then again not many places are). We stayed down at the Kona Coast Resort, which is south along Ali'i Drive. KOA airport itself is good to fly into as it's surrounded by a lava field. Looks, and is, very barren but it's not something you see every day.

 

[tizey]

Thanks guys for the input... exactly the type of feedback I was chasing. Sounds like the town has 'a bit' going on and is probably going to suit us better rather than driving everywhere (eg. lunches/dinners, mrs tizey to explore while i'm underwater). Happy to drive/uber to a beach as needed, rather than having to drive everywhere other than the beach.

Interesting about the observatory above the cloud line - I'd read about it briefly, but good to hear first hand. No way we'd attempt both volcanoes in a day.... hence why I'm thinking to head around the 2nd one on the day we fly out. Or maybe to do the lava flows that day and fly out of ITO later in the evening. So much to see, so few days.

Lots of reading to do on what to plan out and see. I'm usually terrible at this stuff.. this time around I think I'll be well organised with a busy itinerary for this part of the trip!

 

[TomVexille]

Oh, and the Mantas are an experience and a half. Not to be missed.

Kua Bay was a nice spot for a swim and we got pretty lucky with turtles showing up both times we went

 

[blackcat20]

Keep in mind the volcanos national park is currently closed, and probaby will be for a while. So you cant get anywhere near Kilauea.

 

[jxv]

If you consider driving up to the observatories on the summit of Mauna Kea (4200 m) you need to ask the car rental company whether they allow it. Rental cars were not even allowed on Saddle Road till it was upgraded some years ago and when I was there last in 2015 most were only allowed up to the visitors centre at the 3000 m level. An organised tour might be an alternative.

I used to visit the Gemini Telescope for work and only Harpers Car and Truck Rental in Hilo would rent us a 4WD allowed to go to the summit.

Also remember that you need to allow at least 30 minutes rest at the visitors centre to acclimatise.

 

[GoldCanyon340]

We went up to Mauna Kea Observatories on an organised tour and it was spectacular. I believe rental 4WDs are still allowed but you need a permit and probably not cheap. We had two acclimatisation points: around 6,000 feet for lunch and then the visitors' centre at 9,000 feet. It's an all day trip but the tour company provided the lunch and then cookies and hot chocolate on the way down back at the visitor centre (this stop included star gazing with a telescope and was good fun). Took amazing pictures but I won't post them here as they might spoil it for you (some pics or on my Instagram if you want to look - June 2017). Be aware that my iPhone shut down after a while at the summit due to the cold temperature so get your pics done straight away just in case! The tour company provided winter coats and gloves for the summit,.