REVISED itinerary - still requesting help!

Aloha - thank you all so much for setting me straight on some of my misconceptions in my first itinerary attempt. I have taken your suggestions to heart, and, as promised, here it is - the REVISED itinerary for the BI portion of our trip. Once again, any comments or feedback would be greatly appreciated :o)

THURSDAY: arive KOA at 1:21PM - pick up full size rental car (no JEEP!) - drive 5 miles to rental home. Evening at Kahua Ranch that evening (pick up at 4 pm at local hotel)

FRIDAY: 8 am - 3 tank scuba diving charter. Get lunch in town (any suggestions for cheap and casual???), hit Costco or Walmart to stock up on supplies for the rental home, take the rest of the day at leisure to enjoy the pool at the rental home, get settled in, maybe grab a workout, cook dinner at the house and watch the sunset.

SATURDAY: In the morning, explore the Mauna Lani Resort grounds (petroglyohs, etc)(would this resort be nice for a late breakfast/brunch or an early lunch - or is there someplace better in the area to do that?? We want to eat a big meal in the later morning hours so that we can skip lunch and be good and hungry for the Surf, Sand, and Stars Buffet tonight). Drive up the coast and explore the Pu%26#39;ukohala Heiau. Drive to Kahua Ranch for an afternoon private horseback ride. Back to the rental home to freshen up for a 7 pm seating at the Surf Sand and Stars Buffet. (we plan to arrive early and enjoy the sunset from the bar before getting distracted by all that fabulous food!)

SUNDAY: Sleep in, very lite breakfast at house, grab a work out and get a massage (suggestions for a good but not too exorbitantly expensive place in the Kona area would be very welcome!!!). Lunch in town.

2:35 pick up for the Mauna Kea Summit Adventures tour.

MONDAY: 9 am horseback ride through Wai%26#39;pio Valley. Drive up to Pololu Valley. Which historical and/or cultural sights do you recommend for the drive back to Kona? Relaxed dinner at the rental house, get laundry done and everything re-packed for morning departure to Volcano.

TUESDAY: early morning depart for Volcano National Park. See Place of Refuge and tour a coffee plantation along the way. Should I try to see the southernmost point? Is the parking close enough that it would be OK to leave stuff in the car? You have already convinced me to skip the green sand beach - LOL. Check in at the military camp at Volcano National Park. Depending on what time we actually get to the park, we may try to see some of Chain of Craters Road and/or go to lava flow if possible.

WEDNESDAY: Explore Volcano National Park. Go to see lava flow if possible in evening?

THURSDAY: depart Volcano early and drive to Hilo. Check in hotel, then explore waterfalls, scenic drive and any interesting sights in Hilo. Suggestions?

FRIDAY: 8:54 am flight to Honolulu

I think this itinerary works better than the last, and I%26#39;ve allowed for a little more down time while still fitting in all of the highlights that we did not want to miss. You may notice that we decided to scrap snorkeling all together and substituted in the extra horseback ride at the ranch. We should be able to see all the ocean life we want to on our scuba dive the day before. Also, you may notice that I have opted not to take the boat tour to view the lava flow. Mahalo to all of you for sharing the dangers of that activity with me. We might try for a helicopter tour instead, but I%26#39;m not really sure how we would fit it in, unless we did it Wednesday night from a Hilo location. Does anyone think that would be a worthwhile thing to squeeze in, or should I just content myself with whatever lava we can view from somewhere inside of, or just outside of, the park?

Again, thank you all so much for your help in making this a fantastic vacation! I can%26#39;t beleive its only 6 weeks away!!!!

Jen

REVISED itinerary - still requesting help!

Aren%26#39;t there safety issues in diving within 24 hours of flying?

REVISED itinerary - still requesting help!

Sat to way too full....either scrap the horses or trip north

The sun will have set shortly after 6 there is very little twilight here... sun goes down....its like turning off the lights.....boom... black

Tues....forget south point....not, OK to leave anything in the car... and south point has a history.

Plus it is pretty Boring...and desolate..... Id skip it

Pareo, altitude AFTER diving is the problem that can lead to the bends.

Speaking of which, is this sufficient time between diving and doing Mauna Kea, Fri morning to Sunday afternoon? HawaiiDan would know ...

I think this itinerary will work although to me it looks like hardly any down time. It appears that the ocean is not a big draw to you? I find the Pacific Ocean endlessly fascinating to watch.

This is all inland stuff except for the one scuba.

It would not work for me or for many visitors, but all that matters is it works for you. I do hope you don%26#39;t change your mind though because so much of your time is nailed down with bookings.

My only advice would be, look at how much time you%26#39;re spending doing paid tours. In that amount of time I might do one, two at most.

At South Point you CAN park close enough to watch the waves from your car, because I%26#39;ve done it. Whether it is worth it on a short trip, I can%26#39;t say. I did it on a two week trip, and on its own day, not en route to VNP. Allow 90 min--2 hours for the side trip.

Enjoy!

Aloha, and thank you all for your responses. I%26#39;ll be working them in to the plan. Based on what you all are saying, I think Southernmost point can safely be skipped - I didn%26#39;t realize it would be such a big detour to get there. And I am thinking that I can take the Pu%26#39;ukohala Heiau out of the plan for Saturday, and try to see if I can go there on the way back from the Pololu Valley on Monday.

I know we don%26#39;t have a ton of water activities on the agenda, and there is certainly no lying around on the beach time - but it is not because we don%26#39;t love the water. We really do. But we live in Miami, FL and my husband runs a charter scuba boat, so we are on (and under - LOL) the water ALL the time. And we can do the beach thing whenever we want to. When we are on vacation, our goal is to see and experience as much as possible, and to try to do things that we could not do at home. We don%26#39;t really have any good hiking in south florida, no rain forests, no volcanoes, no mountains, no working ranches, etc. So, while we do wish to get in the water, and to be able to see the water, we really want to do some of these other things more. Also, we will be on Kauai the week before the BI, and Ohau for the weekend after. We have at least one water activity planned for each of those islands as well.

Mahalo again for all of your help and advice - we are so excited for our trip!!!

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good place for a massage in Kona that is not too terribly expensive?

Dear Sightsieeing:

Here%26#39;s overall good reference page for island:

www.alternative-hawaii.com/special/bispdx.htm

If as far north as Pololu a walk down to beach is recommended (one of prettiest places on the islands). Arrive very early morining or late afternoon because parking spots are very limited.

Lapakani State Historical Park and Puukohala Heiau National Historic Site are easy side trips if you have time and are really into ancient Hawaiin culture.

A short side trip to Painted Church on you way down to Place of Refuge a good spot to sit and reflect for 15 minutes (plus really pretty %26amp; quaint).

Def. bag Southpoint (spend extra time getting familiar w/ VNP such as get Visitor Center, Art Center, Jaggar museum, sulfur banks out of the way) That way Wednesday you can focus on hikes and scenic drive on Chain of Craters road. Go at least as far as Petroglyph trail best on island.

Suggested route day trip in Hilo: Leave bags at hotel then check in later, Rainbow Falls, Hilo Farmers market if open, scenic bypass road (north of Hilo) to Botanic Gardens (at least 2 hours), stop at What%26#39;s Shakin for smoothie/lunch (headed north from Gardens), on to Akaka Falls walk loop. Maybe late evening drive over to Kalapana (assuming good flow conditions). Here%26#39;s good page for lava flow:

hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/images.html

Your gonna have fun, just don%26#39;t try to cram too much into one day, watch the roads, don%26#39;t turn your back on the ocean. Aloha, TheodoreJay

Aloha and mahalo TheodoreJay for all the specific suggestions to work into the itinerary - its so very greatly appreciated :o)