Big Island Hawaii with Kids

We visited The Big Island Hawaii with kids in August, 2018 when our twins had just turned 8 years old. Here’s what we did:

What to do

Helicopter Excursion

• We chose Paradise Helicopters and had an amazing adventure!
• They have a mandatory safety video first, and they outfit everyone with a personal floatation device and a headset. 
• We were in a four seater chopper with doors (although there were other options as well).  
• Our guide was amazing, especially when responding to the questions our kids asked! 

• We saw the volcano and waterfalls during our flight, but they have other options for this too.

Swim with the Spinner Dolphins (Our FAVE!)

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• The concierge at the hotel offered many choices, but we decided on Wahine Charters for an excursion to swim with the dolphins.  We were a little surprised when we boarded a small motor boat with just two other tourists.

• Our boat, the Wicked Wahine had none of the bells, whistles or safety precautions you would expect of an American tourist attraction. The crew consisted of two adults and one teenager.  They said things like “if someone falls in the water and you see it, it is your responsibility to keep watching that person and yell ‘Man over board!'”, and “if something should happen to the crew, here is the radio.  Dial the local police, because the coast guard is based in Honolulu and will take 4 hours to get to you”…I was a little concerned, to say the least!
• As the boat sped along, the crew gave out flippers and snorkels.  They anchored when they saw the first pod of dolphins and basically said “get in as quick as you can so you don’t miss them”.  The two other tourists on our boat happily jumped into the Pacific and were off.  Being a little reluctant, our party was too slow.  We re-boarded after a short swim, and waited impatiently while the crew searched for more dolphins.  
• We were NOT disappointed!  When we finally found them, got organized and jumped into the water, we found HUNDREDS of dolphins.  They were AMAZING!  They swam right next to us and every now and then, we caught them flipping and performing other acrobatic feats above the sea.  We were swimming with the dolphins in the ocean for TWO HOURS!  The crew said we were super lucky to have such an amazing swim!  We felt so too.

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• Exhausted and satisfied, we enjoyed the crew-provided pineapple and muffins as we sped back to shore.  
• Don’t miss this bucket list opportunity!!!

Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm

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• At Ocean Riders, they grow shrimp to feed seahorses, mate the seahorses (the MALE carries the babies!) and raise the seahorses.  
• On our one hour tour, we saw infants, pregnant males, and mating seahorses.
• We were privileged to feed and even pick up the seahorses!

• The tours are limited. Make sure you get tickets online.

Mauna Kea

• Be sure to hydrate on your way up

• We decided when we got to the Visitor’s information center (9,200 feet up) that we would not venture to the summit (14,000 feet up) for sunset, as we had planned. First, were concerned that we wouldn’t get a parking spot if we vacated the one we already had.  Also, they recommend that kids under 13 (?) should not venture the to the top, as they are concerned about altitude sickness (NOTE: Kids are not allowed on the tours either).  

• Despite not heading to the summit, We got incredible sunset views! 

• Since Hurricane Lane was coming, the sky was unusually cloudy, but we still got to see Saturn (and the ring was so clear!!!), the moon, and Jupiter (and two of its 72 moons).  It was amazing!  
• Be warned that it is FREEZING…you will need a fleece and a windbreaker even in the summer. Also, there is no food up there, so bring a picnic for your dinner.

Snorkeling at the Captain Cook Monument

• Fair Winds Catamaran – this was a WAY more touristy excursion than the last.  It was a huge boat full of people (including infants and toddlers) with a huge breakfast spread and a barbecued lunch made by the crew while we swam.
• There were tons of rules, life jackets, rubber tires, noodles, etc. for water activities  
• We took a one hour trip to the Captain Cook monument where we went reef snorkeling

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• We saw many amazing fish, including an eel, but it was very difficult to take pictures.

• The boat had slides and shoots to get in the water, but they also had steps

• There was plenty of shade to relax under for those who didn’t want to swim, or for a quick nap on the way back into town

Hilo

• Volcano National Park was closed when we were on the island due to earthquakes and recent eruptions of Kilauea, but we did get to the Volcano Museum (donation suggested). All of the park rangers were there since they couldn’t work in the park anymore.  An extremely knowlegable ranger presented on recent events (Kilauea eruption and earthquakes), and how they have changed life on the island.  It was really interesting.  The other exhibits were meh, but the book store had some very good books about Hawaii and volcanoes for both kids and adults.  

• Hilo has a sadly lackluster downtown with a few not very tempting shops and restaurants. They also have a tsunami museum, a planetarium and a beautiful park, but we didn’t have time to visit these attractions.

Kona

• An adorable seaside tourist town, filled with reggae-playing al fresco restaurants (see below), bars and kichy souvenir shops, including one that sold Eukalales!

What To Eat: Big Island Hawaii with Kids

• Sansei Asian at Queens Market – We felt that the food wasn’t anything to write home about, but the décor was fun and the service was extra special

• Marble Slab Creamery at Queens Markethad mix ins like snicker bars…was yum

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• Chill’n On The Bay  – (Kona) the food was not good, but the atmosphere and view were amazing!

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• Scandinavian Shaved Ice– (Kona) – this place was supposed to be the best of all of the shaved ice shops. They have instructions posted at the door so you can make your decisions before you get to the front of the line (and I think there is always a line): choose your ice cream flavor topped with shaved ice, pick your three favorite flavors of syrup (MANY choices available), and add toppings.  Personally, I would rather have had ice cream or shaved ice…the mix was kind of strange to me, but my girl LOVED it.  We shared chocolate, vanilla and berry syrup ice on top of chocolate ice cream (Nina chose that combination, not I)

• Kona Coffee Co. – I highly recommend a stop there on the way to an early morning excursion…the coffee and coffee cake are yummy! While you’re there, grab a bag of chocolate covered mango for a snack later on…it’s SO good!
• Tommy Bahama– surprisingly delicious! This may have been the best meal we had in Hawaii…and the service was amazing!

Where we stayed: Fairmont Orchid Hotel

• We were at The Fairmont Orchid in the days leading up to Hurricane Lane. The hotel distributed letters with essential information once or twice daily, as news came in.  They were so kind to us when we told them we were concerned that our flight would be cancelled (we were booked to leave the night the hurricane was due to hit our area of the island).  They allowed us a 4:00 check out, and assured us that if we needed to stay, they would have space for us.  

• We had adjoining rooms, each with a balcony

• The swimming pool was huge and beautiful

• The spa offers outdoor treatments but they are more expensive than the same treatments inside (I had a good lomi-lomi massage, but it was inside.)
• There were tons of kids EVERYWHERE, so not a great honeymoon destination, imho. The hotel was SO KID FRIENDLY: the spa offered mommy and me manicures (Nina and I felt the service was just ok, not as special as we imagined it would be); they have movie nights and other kids activities like weaving; they even have a fish pond in the waiting area of the breakfast restaurant, and they give kids bags of food to feed the fish while they wait to be seated (which sometimes takes a while)..
• We found the poolside beachy restaurant food just meh…as was almost all of the food that we ate on the island, IMHO.  

• The hotel waterfront was beautiful

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• They have a lagoon (and snorkel gear), paddle boarding and other boats. 

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• The hotel’s Luau was small but fun (again, food was meh for us)

Getting Around the Island

• I recommend renting a car rather than relying on tour groups and taxis
• You must get a 4 wheel drive vehicle!  
• Oh, and basically it takes at least an hour to get anywhere on the big island 

Happy Travels!