Big Island
Made plans to have a friends trip and hopped onto a Southwest Airlines flight, a quick trip to Big Island was in order.
For this trip, I stayed at three different hotels due to timing and plans. My first night was at Courtyard King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. I have grown to like this Courtyard over time and I find it nice to hang out in Kona and stay here. It is also more convenient to the airport while I waited for my friends to arrive.
My friend found a good car rental rate through Costco and I was able to experience the Jeep Grand Wagoneer. After a week traveling with a group of 7, I would recommend the Wagoneer.
During the week, I was at HGVC Kohala Suites Waikoloa in a 2 bedroom unit. For the weekend, I traveled over to Hilo and stayed at the Doubletree Naniloa Hilo Hotel.
Every time I go to Hawaii, I always try to add something new with the something familiar. Let's see if you can spot it.
Dining
Ululani's Shave Ice - One of the best thing about the Courtyard is the Ululani's in their convention center mall. I grabbed an order to start my trip.
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| Ululani's Shave Ice |
Papa Kona Restaurant & Bar - There are plenty of ocean facing restaurants in Kona and some are overpriced or mediocre because of the location. This is not the case for Papa Kona. At least for the price point and location, I found the food very good. I had the seared ahi benedict and it was delicious. The building is a little worn but likely because of the constant battle with weather.
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| Papa Kona Restaurant & Bar Ahi Benedict |
Original Big Island Shave Ice - After a few attempts to get shave ice, our group was able to find the line with only 6 people waiting so we were able to get shave ice before leaving Waikaloa.
Broke Da Mouth Grindz - Ordering our usual fried garlic furikake chicken plates.
Mrs. Barry's Kona Cookies - I was able to secure some hawaiian wedding cookies for the road.
Pau Hana Poke - Outside of the Costco plaza, it is a convenient spot to grab poke at Costco prices and more variety.
Hawaiian Style Cafe - Was able to get to the restaurant fast enough to beat the crowds and enjoy our favorite breakfast spot! Twice, once in Waimea and once in Hilo.
Punalu'u Bake Shop - The original bread maker factory is located on the south side of the island. A convenient stop if you're traveling to the Volcano National Park.
Ken's House of Pancakes - I used to go to Ken's for breakfast but we had a group member that was nostalgic for their saimin. Since we were already committed for breakfast at other places, we had dinner. For dinner, it was ok. I would stick with breakfast foods and even the saimin isn't comparable to other restaurants.
Low International Bakery - located at 222 Kilauea Ave, Hilo, HI 96720, they have great rainbow bread. I'm not sure what else they do as they don't cook anything that I can see.
Kula Shave Ice - Once someone asked me to rank all the shave ice I've been and I find it difficult. I would say that Kula and Ululani's are very similar in their syrups. I think I still like Wiaola the most.
Big Island Candies - Always a good stop when in town, grab your goodies at factory prices.
Activity
Waimea Farmer's Market - We met Aunty Maile of Aunty Maile's Huli Huli sauce often sold on Big Island (even at the Costco). She also has a restaurant in LA - Aunty Maile's Hawaiian Restaurant. It was a highlight for everyone as we were just talking about how her sauce is so versatile and easy to use from grilling to fried rice.
Volcano National Park - It is always interesting to see the latest as the volcanoes have been fairly actively these past few years.
Mauna Loa Macadamia Visitor Center - The visitor center has reopened from the pandemic and it was fun to walk around the farm and taste the flavored nuts. It is a quick stop as the visitor center doesn't involve much walking and the building is rather small.
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