Aloha 2.0: Big Island!

Day 1:

Landed at the Kona Airport and got our much desired Mustang :D. And we went straight for lunch to the Kona Brewing co. If you have been to Maui and are here because you loved the Maui brewing co, this place will disappoint. Its unhealthy fast food at best. From there we went straight to target and bought supplies for the rest of the trip. This time we had finally decided to do breakfast at the hotel and we bought the mini packs of cereal and almond milk and some oats and bananas and bread and butter and were set for a decent snack at any time. From there we started driving to to volcanoes national park for our first night at the volcanoes village. The drive was beautiful, comparing to the hana maui coast in small pockets. We started the drive at about 3:30 which meant that we did not find a single coffee shop open all along the road. Very disappointing considering I was kind of imagining kona coffee stands all along the road like the fruit stands in Maui. meh. Also, we were late so we decided not to stop at the black sand beach. By the time it was 5 we were starved but unfortunately reached the punalu'u bake shop late by a couple of minutes so time that well - it is a decent stop on the way for a quick snack.

Oh and as usual, the Gypsy Guide was on all along keeping us entertained.

Volcano village is beautiful. It is the textbook definition of a quaint silent town - think Twilight's little town vibes. But everything closes early everywhere on this island and we were starved so we made a rapid entry into the only open restaurant - but boy was it awesome. Just the right blend of fancy and laid back and historical.

The Inn we stayed at - Volcano Village Estate was excellent, newly renovated yet ultra charming and every bit comfortable - the tiny room had everything you could possibly think of including but not limited to heated beds, heated towel racks, a mini fridge ready with breakfast and two awesome breakfast-in-bed trays.

Day 2:

Jet-lagged we woke up at 5:30am and had a very early breakfast and were at the national park at 10 am the next morning, a an unheard feat for me.

Volcanoes national park is imo what you make of it. Both of us were thoroughly impressed by the grandeur of the volcanoes though honestly it wasn't as magnificent as it would have been in 2018 or even 2021.

Preparing for this day took us a while the previous night but it is fairly obvious once you are inside the park. You start at the Kailua visitor center to gather a weather update and then we went on to the right side of the center to do the major sightseeing points. Then onto the other side - the thurston lava tube which is a very short walk but very interesting. Then we started on the iki crater trail and we thought it was small but turned out it was quite daunting. Took us atleast 2 hours and at 1000ft elevation (oh the steps at the end) it was quite exhausting. Straight for lunch at the volcano house - another decent meal and two excellent drinks later we were on our way back to kona. This time we made it to the bakery but had had too much sugar to care for more so we just decide to buy one malasada and call it done. The location however is quite pretty with the Stars Hollow Gazebos, tamarind trees and tiny stream running along.Plenty of parking so you can chill about that. We missed the black sand beach again - so maybe it is just not for us. We reached our second airbnb and this one was even better - perfect for our 6 day staycationy vacation. definitely designed by some interior designer, another freshly renovated wonderfully furnished home. We had beautiful views of the golf course and the mountains behind us - if only we could see more of the ocean, it would have been flawless. We decided to go out for a desi dinner today and I think for the first time in the US I had dal roti and chawaal by the ocean at one of the only 2 indian restaurants on the big island - kamana kitchen.

Day 3 -

The morning started with a coffee hunt. We went to the nearest farmer's market and found some excellent oat-milk cappuccino at the white nene coffee roaster stand. we bought some local tropical fruits and went home for a nice breakfast.

Next we went to the place we were both most excited about - the coffee farms at kona joe. breathtaking views and a wonderful coffee roasting experience.

Next onto the Kona coast for some very long walks along the main Kona shopping and restaurant hub. Dinner at the Huggo's restaurant by the ocean for some fresh fish and tropical cocktails.

Day 4:

We started this day a little late with a lunch at the Tommy Bahama restaurant and though this had no ocean views, it was overflowing with people - more local than tourists in my opinion. really good food and feels. Then we shopped at the store below and were off to hilo. the drive itself was quite fun. Listening to the Gypsy guide and we stopped at the conventional points - the waipuo (sp?) lookout point (very scenic) and the Akaka falls (make sure to have about an hour before 5pm here, also they charge a parking fee so make sure you make it worth it) and then onto hilo. We took the scenic route towards the last few miles and stopped by a very rustic coffee store in a small town on the way. We drove around hilo but did not like this town too much. Maybe we were just tired but it just wasn't exciting enough and also most stores were closed. After one final stop at rainbow falls (meh) we started back towards kona. We were kind of hoping to make it to the mauna kea summit but we were just too late. Only so much in a day. I think the drive through the clouds near the summit area was quite the experience in itself. Then we had a scenic oceanfront dinner at the Ulu restaurant at the four seasons hotels. Lesson - it pays to reserve your table in advance, they do give you the better ones.

Day 5:

The most adventurous of all days - the ziplining day. We had a quick lunch pickup at () and subway for me and then we wanted to go to the Hapuna beach. But we were late and thus ended up eating in the hapuna beach parking lot - but boy did we have an excellent ocean view.

We tried for the last couple of days to be able to book the most popular ziplines on big island which include the umaema or kolakola or the botanical gardens all of which cover a waterfall but were all booked in advance so we ended up at the kohala zipline. Yes a waterfall would have been more fun but this was such an experience too - we had two great guides and just being in the woods away from devices and crowds was very calming. we did 8 ziplines, 6 bridges and one final rappel.

Finally on recommendation of our guides we went for lunch at the sensei sushi place and tried sake. We loved it so much that we packed some for lunch too :D

the king and queen shops are a full blown shopping mall (or two) and we did spend some more time shopping at the fancy grocery store for some local banana bread and guava danishes.

Day 6

Tuesday and back to work. Breakfast at home, Sushi lunch at home and finally in the evening we decided to go to the beach - the magic sands beach. We picked up some coffee and spend some time at the beach and then went for a final long walk along the coast and dinner at the Huggo's on the rocks. An ideal last night here with island vibes, lots of food, coconutty drinks and mai tais and live music and some very appropriate songs :D

Day 7:

We tried very hard to fit in a visit to the beach but failed. Instead we went to the main Wednesday farmer's market for one more cappuccino from the white nene and some final shopping. Unfortunately we could not fit in lunch and ended up at the airport hungry. Bad mistake since this very unique airport had barely anything to eat - anyway we managed to pick something up and that's it. Back to the Bay.