Hawaii (Big Island) Travel Forum

How long driving is expected?
Thanks for your input.

Less traffic, not as touristy, is the HI-19 N out of Hilo. Take it north and around to then take HI-190 for fastest route to Kailua Kona. It is about a 2 to a 2 1/2 hour drive.

The southern route via Hwy 11 has several low speed limits through small towns. For the hurried, this may prove tiresome.

The northern route, as travelgourmet has stated, is quickest.

But each of those drives are unique and can be a whole day long to complete if you decide to stop at all the beautiful sights along the way. And both hold beauty of their own. So taking time to smell the roses may just make the trip all that more enjoyable - no matter how long it takes.

BlueCollar is right. Stop to smell the flowers should be, stop to see the waterfalls. Going from Hilo, north on HI-19, right away is Rainbow Falls, almost downtown Hilo. See it in the morning when the spray mist is hit by the sun to form rainbows. What a way to start seeing the Big Island. After that there is Honomu with one of the most dramatic waterfalls in all of Hawaii, Akaka Falls. This is one stop to surely make as there is a wonderful path to take through bamboo forests, trees, and little waterfalls, even a mid side one, Kahuna Falls before you come to the Akaka Falls with a 400 foot drop and you can catch it all, directly across from the roaring water. At the bend westward, miles up the HI-19 is the beautiful Waipi'o Valley with greenery, black sand beach, and waterfalls to gaze at from the lookout. By the turnoff onto HI-190, sits the 150,000 acre Parker Ranch and the famous Paniolo(Hawaiian Cowboy) at Waimea/Kamuela. Down by Waikoloa, only a short drive now to Kailua-Kona, sits the Disneyland of Hawaii, the Hilton Waikoloa Village, with the trams and boat rides with waterfalls and huge pool. Now, you coast into Kailua-Kona and enjoy this tourist paradise along Ali'i Drive. Aloha.

Yesterday the Volcano National Park was closed for awhile as has happened before because of sulphuric acid in the air. So highway 11 may not always be open. We just got back from Ka'u and haze is heavy except in Ka'u itself.

I have uploaded most of my photos from our 9-night Big Island stay (just got back last week) onto my flickr page. If you'd like to see the sights you'll encounter, look here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17144603@N02/sets/