To change up the scenery a bit, I decided to put my last few posts of the Korea trip on HOLD and go with my Hawaii trip. Yes, for those of you who didn’t know, I made a trip to Big Island, also known as Hawaiʻi, for a few days. The island itself is named Hawaii, so people just call it Big Island to clear the confusion. I’ve been to 6/7 of the Hawaiian islands, so this trip completes my Hawaiian goal 🙂
Name a few keywords when you think of Hawaii. Your list probably includes the typical; emerald beaches, snorkeling, SUNSHINE, Hula shows, pineapples, and vacation. While this WAS a vacation for me, it wasn’t quite like my typical Hawaiian vacation. The largest Hawaiian island, there were so many things to do/see besides doing the usual water activities and dinner shows (although I made sure to include them in my itineraries!)
Thanks to not having any direct flights to Hawaii from Dallas, getting there was an adventure itself.
[ DFW – SFO – KOA ] I don’t even want to say how long it took me, but it was fun observing the landscape change every few hours 🙂
When we got to KOA, I was surprised how small & cute the Kona Regional Airport was! And compared to the winter I was having in Texas (it actually can get cold here), it was fantastic to be reunited with the sun. We decided to take the first day easy & just enjoy the weather while driving around. Below are some scenery pics I managed to take while driving.
I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. Amazing service and the loved the M-AZING view every morning! I chose this specific hotel because it actually holds one of the best Luau‘s in Hawaii. I’ll be doing a whole post on just this Luau, so stay tuned! I can proudly say it was one of the top best moments of my Big Island trip.
I was so exhausted from the flight, but skipping a meal is unacceptable so! We headed towards the back of our hotel. About 10 miles in length, the Kailua Kona Historic Village sits along the Kailua Bay behind the Courtyard Marriott. You can find a variety of shops, restaurants, local vendors, local musicians, night snorkelers, and bars. We managed to find a restaurant that had a lot of specials going on, & so there it was. I got a shrimp+rice+sautéed veggies plate & my brother got a kalua pork bun. Definitely took the first day easy since we had some jet lag going on, taking in all the wonderful-ness of Hawaii.
That’s it for my first day! I left all the sunset pictures, because I want to save them for a different post 🙂
Can’t wait to share all the beautiful sights I managed to capture on my iPhone and camera!
Tips: YOU MUST RENT A CAR. Unlike Maui or Honolulu where transportation within the city is reliable, it isn’t in Big Island. Since it’s a tourist spot, it definitely is a bit pricier and with the cheapest option, you wouldn’t be able to travel to certain roads (which could be one of the most important attractions you must visit in Big Island), so spend a little extra while you’re on vacation anyway & go with a compact or a 4-wheel 🙂 I got a compact and I spent about $450 for a week. (That was my discounted price for going during an off-peak season)
–crystallsjcho.
csj.cho 