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Hawaii, the big island.
Getting there: For US residents no passport needed which make this a destination for the 75% of them that dont have one. Our flight was 7 hours and 600 dollars each into Kona.
Getting arround:
We rented a car and Hertz upgraded us for our anniversary. It was reasonable at 28 dollars a day. Gas at this time was about $3.91
Where we stayed:
We stayed at a VRBO on a golf course in south Kona. In Hawaii electricity is very expensive so most home rental sites the places don't have central air. The particular condo we stayed in is owned by a friend, Jackie. Having stayed at Jackie's place on the mainland as well as in Hawaii. I can honestly say she goes out of her way to make you feel at home. She provided us with recommendations before arrival, was easy to contact, and left a very detailed book about the island and her favorite restaurants and beaches. Although we were only there for a week, we got to a lot of them. She has the place much better stocked than most rentals with actual equipment in the kitchen (like a sharp chef knife), multiple fans, games, beach gear, and snorkels. If you want to stay at Jackie's 2 bedroom condo that sleeps 6, the VRBO number is 1279811.
Getting there: For US residents no passport needed which make this a destination for the 75% of them that dont have one. Our flight was 7 hours and 600 dollars each into Kona.
Getting arround:
We rented a car and Hertz upgraded us for our anniversary. It was reasonable at 28 dollars a day. Gas at this time was about $3.91
Where we stayed:
We stayed at a VRBO on a golf course in south Kona. In Hawaii electricity is very expensive so most home rental sites the places don't have central air. The particular condo we stayed in is owned by a friend, Jackie. Having stayed at Jackie's place on the mainland as well as in Hawaii. I can honestly say she goes out of her way to make you feel at home. She provided us with recommendations before arrival, was easy to contact, and left a very detailed book about the island and her favorite restaurants and beaches. Although we were only there for a week, we got to a lot of them. She has the place much better stocked than most rentals with actual equipment in the kitchen (like a sharp chef knife), multiple fans, games, beach gear, and snorkels. If you want to stay at Jackie's 2 bedroom condo that sleeps 6, the VRBO number is 1279811.
What we did: The first day we booked the body glove snorkel trip which provides breakfast, lunch, snorkels, fins, paddle boards, reef safe sunscreen and pool noodles. https://www.bodyglovehawaii.com/snorkeling-cruise This tour was a bit on the expensive side, but as I was 3 months pregnant I needed to avoid the smaller bumpier raft boats. They were very nice and even rescued my husbands lost phone.
The next day we drove north for some beach hopping. We started at Mauna Lani beach. You park at a public historical park and walk past lava tubes and fish ponds before arriving at a small beach by a clubhouse. The beach is public use and well maintained. We found this location great for snorkeling as there were a few reefs and a lot of fish. There were also paddle boards for rent, but the price was quite steep at $35 for half an hour. The next beach we went to was A-bay which is a very large sandy stretch of beach with showers and a public bathroom. The sandy bottom made this one much easier to enter but both days we were there it was incredibly windy.
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We drove over to the other side of the island. It was quite unique driving from the dry side of the island to the wet side. In the Hilo area we checked out waterfalls, a farmers market, and a lagoon style public beach