I need help with itinerary.

My husband and I are spending 5 nights on the Big Island. Does this itinerary make sense?

Mon - Arrive at Hilo airport at 2:30. Pick up rental car. Greenpoint Nursery Tour or Hawaiian Vanilla Company. Check into Volcano Village Lodge.

Dinner at Miyos or Kaleos in Pohoa.

Tues - Volcano National Park - Kilauea Ike Trail, Thurston Lava Tube, Devastation Trail, Chain of Craters. Afternoon drive to South point to Punalu%26#39;u Beach Park. Dinner at Shaka Restaurant.

Wednesday - Depart Volcano early. Visit Hilo Farmers Market. Explore waterfalls or scenic drives. Early check-in to Mauna Lani Resort. 3:00 Mauna Kea Summit Adventures Tour.

Thurs - 11:00 Drive North to Hawi. Visit Polulu Valley Lookout. Swim at Hapuna Beach. Explore Mauna Lani Grounds. Dinner at resort.

Fri - Early am snorkel tour with Dolphin Discoveries. Explore Kailua- Kona area. Luau at KVR or dinner at Four Seasons.

Sat - Waippo Valley shuttle tour and lunch in Waimea, or more snorkeling/beaches.

I need help with itinerary.

I am glad that you are going, but that is a lot of stuff you are packing into your 5 days. Are you going to take any time just to relax and take in your surroundings? It appears as if you are going none stop from the time you land.

One piece of advice. Never do any tours with luggage in your vehicle. Check into your lodging first then tour. Safety first.

I would come into this trip with an open mind and not have everything set in stone. You might get here and find out that something that you thought you just had to do suddenly isn%26#39;t that important. Make sure you take the time to smell the plumeria, okay? Your time will pass much too quickly, savor every moment of it!

I need help with itinerary.

I would agree with what makauff said.

You are making some interesting choices, which is neat. You must have been doing some research to come up with some of the places, which is cool.

I%26#39;ll just point out what will NOT work that I see straight off, without trying to reconfigure it.

I son%26#39;t know Greenpoint Nursery, where is it? But Hawaiian Vanilla was in Paauilo last I heard, and no way does that work coming into Hilo airport in the afternoon and staying in Volcano!

I would never recommend the first thing after landing in Hilo to go drive the Hamakua coast and then back to Hilo.

Plus you say you are checking into VVL which is Volcano Village, THEN going back to Hilo, or to Pahoa for dinner. Definitely don%26#39;t recommend driving back down the mountain. Eat before you go up there, or in Volcano Village.

Unfortunately, Miyo%26#39;s is in the Waiakea Villas by the Wailoa Lagoon, which is the scuzziest housing project in Hilo, so I would NOT eat there with all my trip luggage in the car. You cannot see you car from the restaurant.

Same goes for downtown Pahoa, only triple. Theft and break-ins have been rampant there lately. So better to eat dinner in Volcano.

If you want to take a short drive north of Hilo before going to Volcano, you could do that, but having your luggage hampers you from doing most things, except possibly the Botanical Garden, which isn%26#39;t on your list.

Tues - I would not try to do VNP, Punalu%26#39;u and South Point in one day. Punalu%26#39;u at the most. South Point is a lot more time.

Wed- once again you should not go see the waterfalls with your luggage, nor do you have time to do much.

The Mauna Kea trip is going to be exhausting starting out that day leaving Volcano at the crack of dawn, driving Hamakua, then back across the island in a van, up and down the mountain. Holy moly!

Thurs - you want to reverse this as the ocean is best in the morning and you can drive to Hawi any time of day. This day is barely doable but doesn%26#39;t do justice to any of the areas.

Fri - OK for the day, but I would say only do the dinner if you don%26#39;t have to go back to the hotel and drive south again. But as you are doing a snorkel tour you will have to go shower and change before dining at the finest restaurant or the Lu%26#39;au. Why not make it simple and dine at Brown%26#39;s Beach House, which is close to your hotel? It%26#39;s wonderful.

Sat- I can%26#39;t write any more, I am exhausted just thinking about this trip!

Sorry, but you are packing in what you could do in twice the time into 5 nights. Also I think you%26#39;re kind of not taking advantage of the wonderful resort you%26#39;re paying dearly to stay at.

Here is a stab at a more realistic trip, although I can%26#39;t make your priorities for you.

Mon 2:30

Maybe stop at the store and get some food and drinks as Volcano Village store is very poor. Then go check in at VVL. It will be almost 4pm

Go over to the park and perhaps drive Chain of Craters for sunset, then have dinner at Kilauea Lodge. If not Chain of Craters, go to Jaggar Museum overlook and the visitors center, leaving the hikin for next morning.

Tues - go into Hilo in the morning and do the waterfalls if they%26#39;re important to you. OR do Punalu%26#39;u, not both. Spend the afternoon in the park. Or the reverse.

Wed- stop at Farmer%26#39;s Market if your luggage is all in the trunk. Proceed to the Mauna Lani. Explore the grounds. See a sunset. Eat at the Canoe House. Wait on the Mauna Kea tour for a day you%26#39;ve done less driving.

Thurs - do your Friday stuff with DolphinDiscoveries, but consider not so much driving to go to dinner. I would visit Place of Refuge rather than seeing Kailua-Kona. Consider having a casual dinner in Kona.

Fri - go swimming if conditions allow. Hava a beach day, then do the Mauna Kea summit.

Sat - if you have the energy, do the Shuttle Tour, and possibly have lunch at Hawaiian Vanilla Company. Afterwards, you might make that drive to Hawi and Pololu.

You don%26#39;t say when your flight is, but if later, get the Mauna Lani to hold your bags. Not sure how you will snorkel that day with no place to shower once you check out. You might ask for a late check out, but it would still be afternoon when you got back to the hotel, even without Hawi or a beach stay.

My advice is to skip one or more of the tours. I would keep the snorkel tour and let the rest go.

I changed the Mauna Kea around so that the early morning snorkel wasn%26#39;t the next morning ...

You really do have to trim, and you have to take seriously that you can%26#39;t visit these tourist attractions that are trailheads where you leave your car with stuff in your car, unless you don%26#39;t care if someone takes it all.

Sad but real.

I agre with KK, I wouldn%26#39;t drive to Paho or Hilo to eat at Miyos or especially at Kaleo. You will be at the Lodge which has one of the best restaurants on the island.

WOW! You have packed 2 weeks into 6 nights, as KK said you really have done some homework. I can not add much to her advice, which is amazing.

I assume you are doing multi-island so when you arrive on Monday you will not be all that tired? Mon: Head up to Volcano Village and drop off your luggage, pre-arrange dinner with them and head over to VNP until dinner. That would be a nice full first day.

I would forget Vanilla Co. this trip.. I did check out Greenpoint Nursery on line and it does look interesting, I have never been there but I am adding it to my list of things to do.

I would forget Ka Lae (south point) this trip, you just do not have the time.

Good God....none of your trip is doable....your driving hundreds of miles a day and cant possibly even come close to doing even 1/3 of your wants.

Mon... drive from airport to Volcano....forget everything else dinner at Kiluea lodge thats a full day.

Tues... Volcano national park.... forget south point and Punalulu. thatds another 6 hours Eat at Kiluea lodge

Wed driive to Mauni alni check in...go to Mauna Kea thet afternoon.....nothing else possible

Thurs....Ok

Friday...ok

Sat... either Wiapio or snorkel.... not both

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