Over my winter break, my family and I had the pleasure of visiting the Big Island of Hawaii. While here, we did many fun things and also visited many amazing restaurants. Below, I will list activities and restaurants that I highly recommend doing and visiting if you visit the Big Island.
Activities:
- Zip lining with Skyline Eco Adventures
This zip lining company is located on the Hilo side of the big island and allows you to experience 7 different zip-lines through the jungle and trees. What I liked about this particular zip-lining company is that they start you off with some smaller zip-lines and slowly build up the size. I loved the last zip-line as it lasted for about a minute and a half and had a great waterfall view. Also, our zip-lining guides were very nice and had great knowledge about the area. All in all great experience and I highly recommend doing it if you are into extreme sports.
2. Snorkeling at night with Manta Rays
When we were doing research about what to do on the Big Island of Hawaii, this activity came up time and time again. We booked this activity through a company called Sea Paradise and had a great time. The snorkeling trip began at the dock by the Sheraton Hotel in Kailua Kona. This activity runs from roughly 6-8 at night and gives you about 45 minutes in the water with the Manta Rays. When you are in the water, the people who are running the boat instruct you to hold onto a giant raft and put a pool noodle underneath your legs so that you lay flat. Then, you lay flat in that position for about 45 minutes snorkeling and looking at the Manta Rays. This was truly a once in a life time experience and I 100% recommend doing it if you get the chance. I loved how close the manta rays got and the barrel rolls that they did were amazing. Also, the Sea Paradise boat experience was great as the Captain and Crew were very experienced. Overall, great experience.
3. Snorkeling at Two Step
This snorkeling spot is located near Captain Cook (30 minute drive from Kailua Kona) and was recommended to us by our zip lining guide. Before we went snorkeling here, we rented gear from Snorkel Bobs in Kailua Kona. This location is called 2 step because in order to get into the water, you have to go down 2 steps. This snorkel spot is the right hand turn right before entering the state park. While we were snorkeling here, we saw many interesting fish and also a turtle. Although a lot of the coral is dead and colorless due to bleaching, there are still a lot of fish and I highly recommend snorkeling here. I recommend going early in the morning because by the time we were out, the water was very crowded and it wasn’t as nice.
4. Surfing
When you are in Hawaii, I highly recommend going surfing. I have surfed before but while we were on the Big Island, we took surfing lessons from a company called Kona Town Surf Adventures. Kona Town Surf Adventures is a family run organization that offers private and group lesson for people. We went out for lessons twice with them and I highly recommend it. We also went out at 7:00 for both of our lessons which I highly recommend doing because if you go any later, the water gets really crowded and it is hard to surf. The surf at the area where we were doing lessons was great and I was able to catch many good rides. Overall, I highly recommend going surfing while you are in Hawaii.
Food:
- broke da mouth grindz
One day when we were looking online for places to eat lunch, my brother stumbled upon this restaurant due to its interesting name. I then proceeded to search it up and I found out that Guy Fieri had actually dined at the restaurant a few years earlier. Due to the fact that Guy Fieri had dined there, we decided to go there. This restaurant is located on the side of a hill near downtown Kailua Kona and we probably wouldn’t have found it without knowing about it. The food here was the best food that we had on the whole trip! The garlic Furikake Chicken was a great sweet, sour and spicy fried chicken and it had great sides. Also, the garlic butter Shrimp were amazing and I highly recommend them. Overall, the food was amazing and I highly highly recommend going here as it was our favorite restaurant!
2. Huggos
This was probably our second favorite place that we ate at while we were on the island. While dining here, we ate breakfast and enjoyed an enjoyed an amazing view of the ocean. This restaurant is also located in Kailua Kona and is right next to Snorkel Bobs. I recommend dining here for breakfast or even dinner as you can get a nice view of the water and feel the breeze. While dining here, I had a tater tot breakfast scramble and it was delicious. If you like tater tots, then you will definitely like this scramble. Also, we ordered the monkey bread french toast and it was awesome. It had a great cinnamon flavor and almost tasted like a cinnamon bun. If you love decadent breakfasts then this place is definitely for you. Overall, Huggos is a nice breakfast spot with a great view.
3. Island Lava Java
We went to this restaurant on our last day on the Island and had a great meal. This non-formal, quick dining restaurant is located right in Kailua Kona and if you sit in the upper level, you have a great view of the water. While here, we ate breakfast and it was really good. The Island style Pancakes were an elevated version of traditional pancakes served with coconut syrup and were delicious. Also, the Eggs Benedict was amazing and if you are a Benedict fan, this dish might be for you. This dish put a modern twist on the classic serving the eggs on croissants as opposed to english muffins. Also, to cap it all off, the service here was great and we had a great waitress. You may have to wait in a little line to dine here but trust me, its worth the wait.
4. Kuleana Rum Shack
This restaurant was one of our first dining experiences and was very good. We had to drive a little bit to go here as it was located on the North side of the Island in the Queens Shopping Center. While here, we enjoyed amazing traditional Hawaiian dishes with nice fresh flavors. I highly recommend ordering the Kalua pork sandwich as it has a great barbecue flavor and has a nice tender piece of meat. I also really really recommend ordering the malasadas for dessert. Malasadas are basically Portuguese doughnuts that are covered in powdered and cinnamon sugar. When the come to your table, you get to inject them/fill them with 3 fillings- chocolate, guava and coconut. These doughnuts were probably the best dessert that we had while we were on the trip!
Overall:
I had a great time on the big Island of Hawaii and really enjoyed all the amazing activities that I got to do. If you ever get the chance to do any of the activities that I listed above, I really recommend doing them as we only live once and can only experience certain things in certain locations. I also really enjoyed the food while I was in Hawaii and definitely had my fair share of traditional Hawaiian food. Until next time Hawaii!
Walker's World 