Like most of the world I put all my travel aspirations on hold during 2020 and the first few months of 2021. However, once I received my vaccine I felt relatively comfortable traveling domestically and was itching to go somewhere far to stave off my work burnout. Hawaii seemed like the perfect place to escape for a week (a lot of other people thought this too). The state requires all travelers to show negative covid tests upon arrival and most of the activities like beaches, snorkeling and hiking are all social distancing friendly.
Day 1 Kona Exploration
After traveling for over 15 hours we were exhausted with little energy for much more than taking a walk around the town, grabbing an early dinner at Herbivore’s. After dinner we enjoyed a drink by the pool over looking the cute little beach area at our hotel- King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. After watching the sunset we called it an early night.
Day 2 North Big Island: Waipio Valley and Snorkeling with Manta Rays!
Our first full day jet lag got us up pretty early in the morning so we packed up the car and headed out for breakfast at the Island Lava Java which had an amazing patio with a view of the ocean. Afterwards we started driving north to Waipio Valley which was about 1.5 hours away from Kona. There are two ways to get down to the valley and the black sand beach. One, drive down via AWD vehicle, an option I would only suggest for people very experienced in off-roading. Or like we did you can hike the steep 2 mile trail down. The hike down took us about 45 minutes and was pretty easy but gosh was the hike back up difficult. We had to take several breaks and had VERY sore legs afterwards. I would only recommend hiking this trail for people in good shape with hill-climbing experience. The view along the trail and the beautiful secluded beach were definitely worth it for us but it was definitely a challenge.
In the evening we joined our Sea Paradise Manta Ray snorkeling tour at 6:30 pm. The tour provided us with wetsuits and snorkel gear and took us out into the bay in a catamaran. After docking they attached a long raft with lights on the bottom to the boat to attract zooplankton which manta rays feed on. We all hung on to the raft with pool noodles between our legs to keep us flat to the surface of the water. Then the manta rays would come feed below the lights pretty close to our floating bodies with several almost skimming my torso while barrel rolling. I highly recommend doing this tour and booking in advance because the tours do fill up in advance.
Day 3: East Big Island -> South Big Island: Snorkeling at Kealakekua Bay and Punaluʻu Beach
We had arrived at our Airbnb late after dark the previous day so we woke to the most incredible view of the coastline right out our windows and breakfasted al fresco to take in the sights. The main plan for the day was to hike down to Kealakekua Bay to go snorkeling and then drive to Volcano Village. The bay is not accessible by car so visitors can either rent kayaks, take a boat tour or hike down to enjoy the awesome snorkeling. Being the budget travelers that we are; we chose to hike the 4 mile out and back trail. Beware that the trail can be very hot and sunny and pretty steep on the way back up so take plenty of water. Especially after the rigorous hike up Waipio the day before our way back up the hill after snorkeling was a challenge. Parking next to trailhead is also limited to only a few spots on the side of the road so try to get there early. The reef is right next to the end of the trail and we were able to see many different kinds of coloful fish and sea creatures. Kealakekua Bay was definitely the best snorkeling experience that I’ve ever had!
After snorkeling we needed to drive to Volcano Village where our next accommodation was booked but had some stops planned for along the way. The first stop was Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park an archaeological site of that served as a place of refuge for Hawaiians that had broken the kapu or sacred laws. We decided to go ahead and get a national park pass since we would be visiting Volcano National Park and I was planning to visit others in the lower 48 later that year. Usually if you visit 3 or more parks in a year its better just to get the annual pass. This park was pretty small and can be seen in less than an hour. There is also snorkeling right next to the park at a spot called Paeʻa or “two-step” but since we had already went snorkeling that morning we decided to skip and move on with our drive. Since Kealakekua Bay is a bit tricky and time-consuming to get to, I think this is the next best option.
Afterwards we drove down to the southern portion of the Punaluʻu Beach or a black sand beach. The sand at the beach is made of small pitch-black fragments of lava which makes it a little too rocky to walk on comfortably barefoot. Unfortunately the weather was a bit rainy but it was nice to see this unique beach as a stop before arriving to our cabin. We stayed the night at Hawaii Volcano Vacations rental Aolani Hale which was a super cute cabin tucked into the forest right outside of Volcano National Park. If it seems like we did a lot this day its because we did. If I were to go back to the Big Island I would definitely have stayed on near Kona one more day.
Day 4: Volcano National Park
The next morning we grabbed a super quick breakfast at Eagle’s Lighthouse Cafe which was reasonably priced and super tasty then headed straight into the park. Our first stop in the park was at the Steam Vents which has a short .8 mile trail that takes you past several slightly smelly and very steamy vents in the earth. Then we drove up to the Kilauea Iki Overlook where you can peer into the older crater. Unfortunately we couldn’t look into the most active part which the lava is because the higher visitor center was still closed from the last lava flow.
Then we went over the Thurston Lava Tube which was my favorite site since we got to walk through an actual cave/tube naturally formed from lava. Lastly, we drove through the Chain of Craters drive down to Holei Sea Arch. This sea arch formed naturally through lava and water erosion and will be gone. I always love sites like this that may not exist or look the same in a few decades because you can see something that will only exist for a fleeting period of time.
Day 5: Hilo
This day we drove from cabin in Volcano Village to the Hilo Farmer’s Market to grab breakfast. I had some incredible Peruvian style tamales and passionfruit juice. There is also an incredible variety of tropical fruits and veggies to pick from at the farmer’s market. If we were staying more days we would have definitely stocked up on fruits to snack on. After breakfast we drove out to Akaka Falls State Park. To the left when you turn onto Highway 220 you’ll see Mr. Ed’s Bakery where there is a delicious assortment of pastries and baked goods with Hawaiian flavors. The guava pasty I had was incredible *picture chef’s kiss.
Then we stopped off at Akaka Falls where you take a .5 mile loop that takes you through the forest, over the creek and to the waterfall view point. The trail was quite crowded when we visited around 10:30 am on a weekday. We were walking very close to the group ahead of us and had to wait about 5 minutes to get a photo at the lookout. Despite the crowd I think the waterfall justifies a quick visit out.
In the afternoon we stopped by the Kaumana Caves Park is a skylight in a 25-mile long lava tube that was created by the 1881 flow from Mauna Loa. You can walk a short way into the cave but I would recommend bringing headlamps because the cave has no lighting on the inside.
After visiting the cave the temperature was getting quite hot so we decided to take it easy and just explore the area around our accommodation which was the beautiful Hilo Hawaiian hotel. Coconut Island and Liliuokalani Gardens were right outside our doorstep so we took a quick walk around the area. In the evening we had planned to watch the sunset at Mauna Kea however after driving about 30 minutes west of Hilo we hit very thick fog from the inversion created by the mountain and had a hard time seeing even 5 ft in front of the car. I didn’t feel comfortable driving in that weather not knowing how long we would need to drive in fog or whether we would even be able to catch the sunset. If you really want to visit Mauna Kea I think it might be worth taking a tour if you are not comfortable driving through thick fog.
Day 6: Travel to Kauai and Self-Quarantine
Kauai required us to get have a negative Covid test within 72 hours of landing. So although we had tested prior to flying out we needed to test again while on the Big Island to fly to Kauai. Two days before our flight, while we were in Volcano Village, we took a detour out to Pahua to get tested at a CVS there. There are no rapid testing sites on that side of Big Island so we were just hoping the results would come back on the earlier side of the 1-3 day window. Unfortunately, when we landed in Kauai the results had still not come in so we were pulled aside by the National Guard and asked to sign paperwork that we would self-quarantine in our hotel until our results arrived. Hawaii doesn’t allow you to even get your rental car if you are quarantining so we were forced to take an uber to our hotel and wait there until the results came through. After about 7 hours of anxious quarantining we finally got our results and were able to pick up our car that evening. Our biggest fear was that we wouldn’t be able to go to the helicopter tour we had booked for the next day but luckily the results came in that evening.
Day 7: A lot of driving and a little site seeing
After being stuck in our hotel room all of the previous day we wanted to get up and at it early and catch the sunrise at Kapaa beach right next to our hotel. The we ate breakfast at the incredible Java Kai. The hype for this place is definitely deserved. If we were in Kauai more days I would have loved to eat there again because I loved my breakfast burrito and was excited about so many other things on the menu.
After breakfast we decided to drive up to Princeville in the morning to see Queen’s Bath and Kilauea Lighthouse. This ended up being a bit disappointing since the trail down to Queen’s Bath was closed and we arrived too early to enter the lighthouse which doesn’t open until 10 am. The spot was still picturesque given the moody sky. We learned the hard way that to visit sites in Kauai checking whether trails are open and timings for tourist sites is very important.
In the afternoon we were planning to take a Blue Hawaiin Helicopter tour but unfortunately the rain started falling right before the tour and it was canceled. Of course safety first but we were very disappointed to not get a chance to see the famous Napali Coast. Others from our tour were staying on Kauai the next week and could reschedule but we just had to take a refund since our flight back home was the next day. We decided to get ourselves consolation shaved ices at Waikomo Shave Ice and then visit the Spouting Horn Blowhole right next door. It was pretty neat to watch blowhole that consistently would shoot out every few minutes and reminded me of a geyser. Finally we rounded out the day by visiting Poipu Beach where we tried to spot sea turtles. My friend was able to see one hanging out on some rocks under the water a couple feet away from the beach. For dinner I had the amazing vegan saimin (Hawaiin style ramen) from Saimin Dojo. I highly recommend if you are on the east side of Kauai and looking for affordable vegan dinner options.
Day 8: Waimea Canyon
Our last day in Kauai we drove out to Waimea Canyon which was about 2 hours away from Kapaa and took us across beautiful winding roads through the canyons. Since it had rained quite a lot in previous days we found the Canyon trail to be quite muddy and due to some confusion about being on the wrong trail we ended up prematurely turning back before we reached the falls. I would suggest to do your research on the difficulty level of the trails and wear shoes that provide a lot of traction in the mud. If we want to take some more challenging trails make sure you are an experienced hiker and the conditions are not too muddy as the weather can change at any moment in Kauai.
After driving back from the Canyon we stopped for lunch in Hanapepe which is the town that Lilo and Stitch was set in! We had lunch as the backyard patio of Japanese Grandmother’s Cafe which had the most incredible Japanese Hawaiin dishes. I went this the vegetable tempura (pictured below) and my friend got the salmon poke. I would highly recommend making a stop in Hanapepe to eat there and walking around the cute town.
Sadly we had to fly home that evening. I could have definitely spent another two or three days on Kauai to finally get that helicopter ride, maybe take a boat tour of the Na Pali Coast and possible kayak along the Waimea river. We could have easily spent an entire week on Kauai hiking, visiting beaches and snorkeling. If I had to plan this trip again I might have just focused on one island taken a more leisurely place, but hindsight is 20/20 right? All in all I feel very fortunate to have traveled after receiving my vaccine and totally understand why so many people are flocking to Hawaii. The food, weather and scenery is absolutely beautiful and very social distancing friendly. Although many restaurants and tourist sites are still closed there was plenty to see. I would go back to Hawaii in a heartbeat.
wanderworld 