Julia and I went on our honeymoon over Christmas. We went to Hawai’i’s Big Island for a week, and it was absolutely amazing. Pictures and our trip after the jump…
We prepared for our trip with several guide books, but the best by far was Hawaii The Big Island Revealed. This book was incredibly detailed, with maps, reviews, and do’s and don’ts for the island. We had it with us almost always.
We left early on a Sunday morning to catch the three flights to Kona Airport. Aside from an hour spent in Honolulu running around to get a boarding pass for Julia at five or six different desks, our flight there was uneventful. We got our car, sprung for the upgrade to the red Ford Mustang convertible, and drove the 20 miles to our hotel, the Mauna Lani Resort:
We spent the first day lounging around the resort and checking out the snorkeling (which was wonderful). Julia also got a massage, while I walked around and took pictures of the golf courses and fish ponds around our resort.
On Tuesday, we went to Kailua-Kona for the day to wander around and get some supplies from Target.
Wednesday was the big trip to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. This park is amazing, and really needs to be seen over a couple days at least. Unfortunately, the lava flows were not cooperating when we were there, but we did see steam rising from the earth, amazing sulphur and mineral deposits, a lava tube we could walk through, and a crater that was a lava lake just 50 years ago. Even that just scratched the surface, though, and there’s a ton to see next time. Oh, and we saw a road overrun by lava 20 years ago:
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday brought sunnier weather to our side of the island, so we spent it mainly at the beach, both at the resort and at the best beach I have ever been to (and what many consider to be the best beach in the U.S., Hapuna Beach). We also had dinner in many great places, such as the Canoe House Restaurant at the resort, and Daniel Thiebaut Restaurant in Waimea for Christmas Eve. The sunsets were beautiful.
Sunday we had a lot of time to kill between check-out and our 11 P.M. flight, so we decided to drive around the entire island. We headed for the eastern side of the lava field to see if we could find lava flows there, but alas, the guards would not let us pass.
The windward side of the island has all the water and greenery. Next time, we’ll have to spend more time there instead of just driving through.
We made it back in time to the flights home, vowing to return as soon as we can. If you have never been to the island, it is well worth the trip!