Since moving to Kauai, we knew it was only a matter of time before we made it over to explore the Big Island of Hawaii. When Jeff’s dad mentioned he wanted to check it out too, we decided to plan a trip together. We picked Presidents’ Day weekend for some extra time off, booking a hotel from Thursday to Monday — five days on the Big Island, door to door.
Here’s our full itinerary, including flights, where we stayed, what we ate, and how we ended up watching an active lava eruption up close.
Getting to the Big Island: Flights and Car Rental
Flights between the Hawaiian islands are usually affordable, running around $80 each way. There’s one direct flight between Kauai (LIH) and Kona (KOA) on the Big Island, operated by Hawaiian Airlines. We booked that flight for our arrival, but since the return direct flight was early in the morning, we booked a later Southwest flight instead, which included a quick layover in Honolulu.
For a rental car, we booked through Turo rather than a traditional rental company — it ended up being a bit cheaper, and pickup was conveniently located in the airport parking lot right outside the terminal. We booked a Nissan Kicks for $350 for the trip. It’s a compact car, and while we’d checked the dimensions and figured our luggage would fit, we quickly learned the backseat was way too tight for a car seat, a booster seat, and an adult all in one row. Lesson learned — if you’re traveling with kids and a third adult, size up.
Where to Stay on the Big Island: Kona Side
We didn’t know much about the Big Island going in, but most of the hotels seemed to be clustered on the west (Kona) side. After browsing hotels, we ended up booking a VRBO instead, since we wanted a two-bedroom place to split with Jeff’s dad.
We booked four nights at the Holua Resort, toward the south end of the Kona area. It turned out to be a great home base for exploring the island, had solid reviews, and was reasonably affordable — we spent about $1,400 total for the trip, split in half with Jeff’s dad. If we were to do it again, we may consider staying on the Hilo side, as we did spend more time there and its quite a long drive!
https://www.hotels.com/ho194339/holua-resort-kailua-kona-united-states-of-america/
Day 1: Arrival in Kona
Our flight was easy, and we landed in the evening. Kona International Airport is entirely outdoors, which is a fun contrast to Kauai’s airport — Kauai is semi-open-air, but Kona has no jet bridges at all. You walk off the plane straight onto the tarmac and down a ramp, which our kids absolutely loved.
The hotel was about a 25-minute drive from the airport, and we stopped for groceries on the way. One thing we noticed right away: the roads are very dark at night, and the streetlights all have a distinct yellow glow. We later learned this is intentional — it helps preserve dark skies for the observatories atop Mauna Kea.
Check-in took a little while, and the front desk tried to get us to sign up for a timeshare presentation the next day (a classic Hawaii resort move). We politely declined and were never bothered about it again.
Day 2: Ke’ei Beach, Kailua-Kona, and Waikoloa
The next morning was low-key. The kids were up early, as usual, so we headed to the pool — the resort has six pools, each simple with its own hot tub. Kids are easy to please when a pool is involved. The condo rooms were spacious and clean, and the grounds were nice. There was a small gym and several simple but clean pools!
Ke’ei Beach After breakfast, we packed up for the beach and drove to Ke’ei Beach, a bit south of the hotel. The road getting there was confusing, with several wrong turns and lots of “private property” signage along the way. We eventually found a parking area, then walked about 10 minutes along a rocky shoreline to reach the beach. It was worth it — beautiful, shallow water with plenty of fish to see.
Lunch in Kailua-Kona From there, we drove up to Kailua-Kona for lunch at Herbivores, which ended up being our favorite restaurant on the island. The vegan food was incredible. We got the chik’n sandwich and the crunch wrap supreme which was delicous, and the kids loved everything!
Keiki Museum in Waikoloa In the afternoon, we drove north to check out the Keiki Museum in Waikoloa, a resort-heavy area with a nice open-air shopping center nearby. The museum itself was just okay — the kids had fun, but it was small and probably not worth the long drive up. The drive itself, though, was stunning: wide-open lava fields with an almost otherworldly landscape, and we spotted several whales along the way and stopped at an overlook to check it out.
Dinner: Bianelli’s Pizza and Pasta On the way back, we grabbed pizza from Bianelli’s Pizza and Pasta, which offers a vegan cheese option — a rare and welcome find. We called ahead, picked it up on the drive back, and ate at the hotel. It was a hit with everyone, including regular cheese pizza for my father-in-law.
Day 3: Hilo, Rainbow Falls, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
This was our big cross-island day, and the one thing we underestimated going in was just how much driving it would involve. The Big Island is significantly larger than the other Hawaiian islands, and we spent many hours in the car this day. If we did the trip again, we might consider staying on one side of the island only — but we also wanted to see it all, so it was a worthwhile tradeoff.
Driving to Hilo We headed across the middle of the island toward Hilo. The drive climbs to a fairly high elevation, and it gets noticeably chilly — we even spotted snow near the summit of Mauna Kea. We considered driving up, but found out you need either a 4WD vehicle or a guided tour, so we skipped it this time.
Rainbow Falls Just outside Hilo, we stopped at Rainbow Falls — a gorgeous waterfall that’s incredibly easy to access, with an up-close viewpoint right from the parking area.
Lunch at Ha Café We had lunch in Hilo at Ha Café, which had several good vegan options and excellent coffee. The vegan green goddess pesto wrap was really good and easy to eat on the go!
UTV Tour at Ohana Ranch Next, we headed south to Ohana Ranch, where Jeff’s dad had booked us a UTV tour. The location was a little tricky to find, and we ran into an issue at the gate, which required a code we hadn’t received — likely because we’d booked the tour just the day before. We eventually got through, bumped down a muddy road, and made it to check-in, which was quick and easy with just a few other visitors.
We each drove our own UTV around a dirt trail through the farm, stopping several times to learn about local culture and crops like kalo (taro). We even tried some native berries growing along the trail — our kids are always up for eating anything wild like that. Our guide, Kanoi, was fantastic.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park From the ranch, we drove further south into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We explored the lava tube (a walkable cave), stopped at the overlook for Kilauea Iki Crater, which erupted several decades ago, and checked out the steam vents, where steam rises continuously from the ground.
We’d heard you could see a nighttime glow at the main Kilauea crater, so we grabbed dinner nearby at the Crater Rim Café, which surprisingly had a special Valentine’s Day vegan stir fry — pretty good for a national park café. Once it was dark, we headed back to the rim and caught the glow. Very cool.
The drive back to Kona that night was rainy, dark, windy, and down to one lane in each direction. At one point, an oncoming car misjudged a pass and nearly hit us head-on — Jeff swerved onto the shoulder just in time. I was asleep in the back and was very much awake after that. If you’re driving these roads at night, take it slow.
Day 4: We Went Back for the Eruption
Our last full day started out relaxed. I picked up breakfast from Kaya’s Kawaihae to bring back to the hotel — delicious, but it took a while to get.
While I was gone, Jeff had been checking the USGS website and noticed that Kilauea — the same volcano we’d visited the day before — had just started a new eruptive episode, sending up a large lava fountain. We spent the next half hour glued to the live footage, and once the fountain had grown to roughly 800 feet, we decided we had to go back. We hopped in the car for the nearly two-hour drive to the park.
Timing mattered, since these eruptive episodes can last just a few hours. We weren’t sure what to expect crowd-wise, but the drive in was clear, with only about a 20-minute wait once we reached the park entrance. We parked a bit further out and walked the rest of the way in.
It was raining and in the 50s at that elevation, so we picked up plastic ponchos from the gift shop after seeing other visitors completely drenched. They helped, though the sideways rain still got us pretty wet. The hike from our parking spot to the rim took about 20 minutes. The first stretch wound through trees, where we could already hear a distant roar. Then it came into view: a massive red fountain glowing through the mist, growing louder and larger as we got closer. We finally reached the Uekahuna overlook for the best possible view.
It was absolutely stunning — a genuine once-in-a-lifetime look at the raw power of an active volcano. The pictures just don’t do it justice, but we’ll try!
After about an hour, we started the drive back to beat the evening traffic. Given our near-miss the night before, we took the longer route back through Hilo on the larger, slightly better-lit highway instead. As we left, we could see miles of standstill traffic heading into the park in the opposite direction. If you’re ever lucky enough to be on the Big Island during an eruption, get to the park as early as possible to beat the crowds.
We wrapped up the night with another easy dinner from Bianelli’s.
Day 5: Historic Kailua-Kona and Departure
With an early afternoon flight, we spent our last morning exploring historic downtown Kailua-Kona — a small, walkable town that we really enjoyed strolling through before heading to the airport. We enjoyed some vegan ice cream at Journey Cafe before heading back to the airport.
Would We Go Back to the Big Island?
Absolutely. There’s so much more to see than we managed to fit into five days, and watching the volcano erupt left a lifelong impression on all of us. The Big Island lives up to its name — we drove far more than we expected, but every mile was worth it.
Quick Tips for Visiting the Big Island of Hawaii
- Rent a car with enough backseat room if you’re traveling with car seats and more than one extra adult.
- Expect long drive times — the island is much bigger than Kauai, Oahu, or Maui, and sights are spread far apart.
- Check the USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory site if you want a shot at seeing an active eruption.
- Drive cautiously at night — many highways are just one lane in each direction.
- Get to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park early during an eruption to avoid major traffic backups.
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