I drove more on this vacation than any other vacation I’ve taken. When I returned our rental car* it turned out that I’d driven about 850 miles over eight days. I’m not used to driving that much in general** let alone spending a couple hours each day in the car while on vacation. But there’s really no other way to see the island. And the roads themselves are often spectacular in terms of the views they offer.
*A Nissan Versa which did pretty well.
**When I was working and commuting it was ~70 miles per day and maybe 90 minutes on the road total.
Flying-wise, the Kailua-Kona/KOA airport is a wonderful throwback. I miss being able to walk outside and board the planes via stair from the tarmac at San José/SJC. KOA takes that a step farther and is entirely outside. Yes it’s hot. And yes you sweat a lot while waiting to go through security. But I love the old-school nature of it and it reminds me both of a time when flying was not the chore it is now and how much I loved the Honolulu airport* when I was a kid.
*Which is also open-air and used to smelled of plumeria because of all the leis in the concourse. Not being able to meet, or send off, passengers at the gate now means that the last couple of time I was in Honolulu the airport smelled like every other airport.
Anyway, while I’ve organized the photos and posts based on subject matter, it’s also nice to be able to see my trip based on a per-day itinerary. Given the amount of driving I did, I felt like putting each day on a map would be useful for me memory.
Day 1: Kailua-Kona Airport to Waikoloa
Day 2: Based in Waikoloa
Day 3: Based in Waikoloa
Day 4: Based in Waikoloa
Day 5: Waikoloa to Hilo
Day 6: Volcanos National Park
Day 7: Based in Hilo
- Punalu‘u Beach
- Ka‘u Coffee Plantation
Day 8: Hilo to Kailua-Kona Airport
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I hope to go there one day and hike! Love to see more pics if possible ! :)
My last 18 posts haven’t been enough photos for you? I’m flattered!