To celebrate landmark birthdays my parents had a bucket list item that involved getting the entire family to trade in the west coast rain and wind for tropical sun and sand.
We booked our flights to Hawai’i in November and then started to cross the days off our calendar. Victoria was experiencing the coldest winter it had seen in decades, and we left the our island still locked in the grips of winter with no signs of Spring in sight.
Prior to this trip, the longest flight my kids had been on was to Prince George in the northern reaches of BC so we loaded up their iPads with games to keep them busy on the 6-hour evening flight.
I had never been to any Hawaiian islands so I was excited to explore the Big Island of Hawai’i. I made a private Facebook group and added my family members so we could spend the weeks leading up to the vacation researching things to do, restaurants, beaches, etc.
We spent a week on the Big Island and we crammed a lot into those seven days. I believe we found some of the best family-friendly adventures the Big Island has to offer, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
If you’re planning a trip to Hawai’i, below are my recommendations on what to do with your young family and where to eat on the Big Island:
Day 1: Saturday
Pool & Family Dinner
We stayed at the Wyndham Royal Sea Cliff Resort in Kailua-Kona and spent the first day of our trip lounging by the hotel’s oceanfront pool, rehydrating with cold drinks, and nursing jet lag. The family pool area was large and featured numerous lounge chairs and a shady lanai facing the ocean.
We picked up some groceries from the local KTA including pretty much every packaged item that mentioned it was Hawaiian – Maui onion chips, Mai Tai mix and rum, cases of delicious Kona Brewing Co. beer, Hawaiian BBQ sauce, $1 pineapple, and avocados three times the size of the ones we get in Canada.
Day 2: Sunday
Papakōlea Green Sand Beach and South Point
After a relaxing day at the resort, we left the kids by the pool with Grammy and Granpa and set out in search of the southernmost point in the US and one of the only green sand beaches on earth.
After a 1.5 hr drive, we parked at South Point where there were people fishing and cliff diving and then hiked along the shore past ancient heiau dedicated to fishing as well as Hawiians camping and fishing.
Papakōlea green sand beach was not easy to reach. We walked for over an hour, never really sure we were following the right track, and while we tried to be prepared, we could have taken more water.
Located in a bay that cuts into a side of a cinder cone, the green sand is made up of small pieces of olivine. Its remoteness should have guaranteed that the beach was empty, but this was the first Sunday of Spring Break for Hawaiians too, so we joined the crowds for a swim in this unforgettable landscape.
On our return hike, we stuck to the track nearest the cattle fence. This track led us on a more direct route across the sands to a different parking lot that would have cut our hiking distance down considerably had we started out from it.
Day 3: Monday
Old Airport Beach Park and Hapuna Beach
After our strenuous hiking day, we set out in search of some more kid-friendly beaches. We started on Old Kona Airport Beach Park, due to its close proximity to Kona. While the beach was only a 10-minute drive from downtown Kona, we had it almost to ourselves.
There was a fairly protected keiki pool that the kids happily splashed around in, but deeper out, the waves were pretty big and powerful, so we packed up headed 45 minutes up the Kohala (“whale”) coast to the beautiful Hapuna beach.
Hapuna beach is often voted among the best beaches in the world, and is a long white sand beach. There was an offshore wind and a strong shore break so the lifeguards were on high alert. After getting tumbled around, we moved into the shade of the trees for a break from the sun. We then drove back to Kona and had dinner on the communal BBQs at the poolside.
Day 4: Tuesday
Black Sands Beach, Volcanoes and Hilo
This was one of my favorite days on the island. We woke up early and set out to explore the island. We made our way around the south tip of the island to the Punalu’u Black Sand Beach, about a 2 hour drive from Kona. Punalu’u is famous as a turtle nesting area.
The turtles made this experience. There were a number of turtles floating in the surf right at the water’s egde. The turtles would come close enough to touch (but we didn’t touch them, just observed). This was definitely a highlight of the trip!
The sand on all black sand beaches on Hawaii is made out of tiny fragments of lava. When hot lava enters the water it cools down so suddenly that it solidifies, shatters, and creates and entire black sand beach.
Despite the crowds, we found a picnic table for lunch that overlooked a beautiful lagoon covered with lily pads. As we ate, we fended off a hungry couple of native Hawaiian geese called nenes.
We headed into Volcanoes National Park for a few hours of hiking and sightseeing. We started at the visitor center and talked to the park rangers about where to go. We parked in the almost empty lot in between the steam vents and the Jaggar Museum. We walked up the the rim of the crater to watch the roiling lava.
We then headed further up a short paved trail to the museum and found the landscape tinseled with Pele’s hair, small threadlike lava that glistened like spiderwebs. We were able to watch the volcano through a telescope at the museum.
Then we headed down the Devastation Trail for about one km over cinders from the 1959 eruption of Kīlauea Iki. This beautiful short hike led us along the rim of the caldera through shady volcano rainforest to the Thurston Lava Tube.
By the time we reached Hilo, it was just after 2pm and we were famished! We were on a mission to find food. Using Zomato, I found a place called Cafe 100 that had solid reviews and – more importantly – about 10 varieties of Loco Moco.
When we had recharged our bellies, we headed up to Rainbow Falls for a couple of photos and then continue up Kaumana Drive to the Boiling Pots. The similarity to the Sooke Potholes on Vancouver Island was striking.
Day 5: Wednesday
Kahaluʻu Bay
Kahaluʻu Bay is a great place for newbie snorkelers like us. The easily accessible, sheltered, and shallow bay with plenty of tide pools to explore that are teeming with tropical fish.
Yelp’s #1 place to eat in the US is Da Poke Shack and we were lucky enough to find it a 5-min drive from our resort. Poke is raw tuna with traditional seasonings. We picked up poke plates and gorged ourselves.
My sister and her family were heading home on Friday, so we needed to find a restaurant for dinner that could handle our big group, the kids, and our dietary needs. Open since 2004, Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill had a colourful casual island vibe. The catch of the day was swordfish and this was probably the best fish I’ve ever had in my life. Coming from a west coaster who knows why you’d pick sockeye over chum and halibut over cod, this says a lot.
Day 6: Thursday
Greenwell Coffee Farm, Place of Refuge and Two Step Beach
We kicked the day off with breakfast in Kona at Daylight Mind Coffee Company, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Though most of the nearby restaurants were crowded, Daylight Mind was tucked behind several shops, slightly off the main street, this hidden location seemed to deter most crowds. We even scored a table on the balcony overlooking the the bay and the long distance swimmers training for the Ironman. I had the avocado smash benny and it was delicious.
After breakfast we had the opportunity to make our own leis with fragrant plumeria flowers on the resort’s pool deck.
We then headed to the historic Greenwell Coffee Farm for a walking tour of coffee fields and processing facilities. We enjoyed a coffee tasting and our girls were overjoyed to spot the famous chameleon Carl in his orange tree.
Next, we continued south to the city of refuge, Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, to learn about the ancient Hawaiian culture and finish up with some snorkeling at Two Step Beach.
Day 7: Friday
Market Day, BBQ
We kicked our last day in Kona off with a splash in the pool and then visited the nearby market for a few gifts and then picked up some snacks for the plane at the KTA and the enjoyed one last shaved ice. We filled up TJ’s BBQ burgers for dinner before our red-eye flight home.
Summary
What to Do on Hawaii’s Big Island:
- Hike to Green Sand Beach Hike
- Old Kona Airport Beach Park
- Hapuna Beach
- Black Sand Beach
- Volcanoes National Park
- Place of Refuge
- Rainbow Falls
- Greenwell Coffee
- Snorkeling – Kahaluʻu Bay and Two Step Beach
Where to Eat on Hawaii’s Big Island:
- Daylight Mind Coffee Company
- Cafe 100
- Kona Brewing Co. (tried to get here for dinner)
- Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill
- KTA Groceries
- TJ’s BBQ
- Shave Ice
