On this episode of the Travel Fun and Adventure Podcast, we go over our tips to help you plan a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. In a previous podcast, we went over our tips for travel to Oahu, and while some of the tips may seem familiar, there are many that are exclusive to the Big Island.
- Be sure to plan your trip well in advance; however, avoid prepaying for hotels and car rentals.
- If you're flying direct from the mainland, you will most likely land in Kona, but if you change planes in Honolulu, then you fly into Kona or Hilo.
- If you have the time, split time between Hilo and Kona so that you don't have to travel across the island and back in one day.
- When booking an Airbnb/Vrbo, be careful about where the place is located. While the condos are probably in either Kona or Hilo, single-family homes could be far from the cities and maybe a very long drive to even a small store or any restaurants, but if you want to be far from people, they will be perfect.
- The best time to visit is either November to April or April to October. April to October is usually drier, but as we experienced, it can still rain a lot in certain points on the island, while November to April will have fewer tourists.
- The island is bigger than you think, and the drives can be long, so plan ahead on where you want to go to keep from multiple long drives on back-to-back days.
- Even attractions need to be booked in advance as they can sell out and be booked directly from the attraction.
- Plan to rent from the major rental car companies as there are a few smaller companies, and the ones I found were more expensive than the big boys with fewer options in types of vehicles and may require to taxi to their location from the airport.
- Book your car rentals and lodging in advance so you have something reserved but check rates about a month and only a week out because you might find some better rates. We saved $500 on our car rentals between Oahu and the Big Island by checking back to see if some lower rates popped up, but if they didn't, I still have something reserved.
- Be sure to get involved in the local culture which I found harder on the Big Island than on Oahu, which I was surprised at, but still seek out the cultural opportunities.
- Remember that most restaurants close by 7 p.m., and even McDonalds will close by 8 or 9 p.m., so plan on eating earlier.
Those are our tips. Book that trip and have a great time.
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