One of my favorite recent vacations has to be visiting Kona, Hawaii in early 2018. As part of my “Looking Back” blog series, this entry may turn out to be one of my most in-depth reviews of a trip to date. So I’ll be approaching this vacation review a little differently. Instead of one all-encompassing overview, I’ll be splitting the days off into individual entries, as the majority of my time was spent hiking at different locations around the Big Island. Over the next few days, I’ll be adding new entries about my hiking (and snorkeling) memories from Kona and the surrounding area!
Day 1: Settling into Kona
I’m not going to lie. I occasionally – ok, frequently – prioritize low airfare deals over expediency when it comes to flights. So in spite of my trip only being from Denver to the Big Island, my total travel time came in at 22 hours. So my first day in Kona was a relatively lazy one. I did walk around town nearby in the morning for a bit, but ultimately I spent the majority of my day swimming in the cove in front of our hotel. In spite of the overcast conditions, I was able to make use of my underwater camera for the first time on this particular trip and capture some decent images of the fish here.
As the day wound down, we found that we had an incredible view of the sunset from the pier next to our hotel. These are just of the few shots I captured that first evening. (As usual, for more photos of my adventures, check out my original blog entry – more photos, less text!)
Day 2: Hiking Kailua Beach
My first real hiking excursion in Hawaii was from our hotel, through the Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area, and onto Kailua Beach. The area is a combination of grassy trails, sandy beaches, and lava flows with tidal pools. You can make the hike back a bit more challenging (and rewarding) by heading up the hill to visit some of the local breweries. For details, check out my review of my hike to Kailua Beach.
Day 3: Snorkeling in Queens Bath
This day’s trip was more of a snorkeling adventure than a traditional hike, and it was absolutely worth it. Queens Bath is a series of connected tidal pools situated in a quiet neighborhood. The still, clear water is perfect for snorkeling and underwater photography.
Day 4: Hiking Volcanoes National Park
My husband’s conference arranged for us to take a day trip to Volcanoes National Park while we were on the Big Island. While we definitely didn’t have enough time to explore the entire park, we were able to view the caldera, hike through the rainforest, and explore some of the lava tunnels. Bonus: find out what became my favorite local snack food while I was in Hawaii!
Day 5: Hiking Captain Cook Monument
I’ve been hiking for five years now, and to date, my hike on the Captain Cook Monument Trail has been the best one yet. The real treat of this trail is the snorkeling at the bottom, considered to be one of the best spots on the Big Island.
Day 6: Hiking Makalawena Beach
For a hike off the beaten path – literally – we adventured out to Makalawena Beach just north of our lodging. The access road and first part of the hike is over a treacherous swath of lava rock, but the reward is a quiet beach…and even a Hawaiian monk seal or two.
Day 7: The End of the World
Like many of my trips, I occasionally fit in multiple hiking spots in one day. In addition to ending our day at “The End of the World,” we spent the day swimming at both a black sand beach and the well-known Two Step snorkeling spot, and toured around the Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park. But be prepared – the term “the end of the world” has a second meaning for me from that day.
Last Day in Hawaii
We had a late evening flight out of Hawaii, so after checking out of our hotel we spent the first part of the day hiking at Pololu Valley, followed by a trip to Lapakahi State Historical Park. Both locations are on the northern part of the Big Island, and served as a memorable send-off from our trip.
Enjoying my “Looking Back” series? Over the past few years, my love for both hiking and traveling has increased almost exponentially, and I’ve been fortunate to have had so many opportunities to travel recently. With the current health crisis, our travel plans for 2020 were scuttled; so I decided I’d take some time over the next few months to write this “Looking Back” series, where I dive into a recap of some of my favorite trips over the last few years. Click the navigation below to read more.
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