4 Day Itinerary for Big Island

Hey everyone! I recently took a trip to Big Island with some girlfriends and wanted to share what we did. I wanted to make the most of our trip with the short amount of time we had. It was both my friends first time on Big I so I wanted to show them as much as possible. So whether you are wanting to go island hopping or just plan a quick trip, I hope you find this blog post useful!

Day 1

We flew into the Kona airport from Oahu and then went to go pick up our car. If you are traveling to Big Island you will definitely need a rental car. We stopped by target to pick up some things we would need for the next couple of days and then drove up to North Kohala where we were staying. We stopped at Kohala Coffee Mill on the way to fuel up on some coffee. This place has amazing breakfast and lunch options as well! You can find their business website here, definitely check them out if you are in the area. After we dropped everything off at the house we went to Hapuna Beach. This beach isn’t super rocky so it’s great for swimming. For dinner, we ate at Mi Ranchito which was delicious and is actually right across the street from Kohala Coffee Mill in a little town called Hawi.

Day 2

The next day, we drove down to Kiholo Bay, which I wrote about in my “Top 10 Things to do on Big Island” post. We spent all morning there and saw lots of sea turtles. We took a quick dip at the queens bath on the hike back as well. Afterwards, we went to downtown Kona. If you are planning a trip, I would recommend getting a place in or around this area. When I went for my gap year, my friends and I found an affordable place (off craigslist, believe it or not) within walking distance of downtown and it was perfect. We got some dole whip, which is a must if you’re in Hawai’i and walked around. For dinner, we got Shimaichi sushi, it was super yummy and I highly recommend it. Then, we drove to Mauna Kea for sunset. We didn’t go all the way to the top since we didn’t have a four-wheel drive but you can park at the visitor center and walk up to a sunset look out point across the street. It was actually my first time and it was beautiful, I can’t believe I hadn’t gone sooner. However, there is a lot of controversy surrounding the topic of Mauna Kea. I would encourage everyone to read this article from Vox to learn more about it.

Day 3

On day three, we drove over to Hilo. We went to Pe’epe’pe Falls which is my absolute favorite waterfall, which I also have previously written about. Then, we drove right down the road to the Rainbow Falls lookout. Rainbow Falls has some incredible history behind it and If you want to learn more I would suggest reading this article. Both waterfalls are fed by the Wailuku River and definitely worth visiting if you’re on the island. After our waterfall adventures, we stopped for some food at Makani’s Magic Pineapple Shake. They have everything from Acai bowls and smoothies to coffee and sandwiches. We ended our day in Hilo at Richardson Beach Park. It’s a black sand beach and it has some fun little tide pools to swim in.

Day 4

On our last full day we decided to go to Pololu Valley. The valley is located in North Kohala and from the look out point you can hike down to the black sand beach. The hike is about a mile roundtrip and offers some incredible views of the valley. This is one of my favorite spots on the island, my first time coming here was six years ago with my family and I feel so grateful that I’ve been able to come back twice since then. Afterwards, we got lunch at Fresh Off the Grid. This place is seriously amazing and you have to get the poke nachos if you go. We took it easy the rest of the day and went to Seafood Bar and Grill for dinner. They have a ton of options on the menu and an awesome dessert menu which was a plus!

On the last day, we went to Island Lava Java for breakfast in downtown Kona. They have amazing coffee and a great selection of breakfast items on the menu. After that, it was time to head over to the airport. Overall, it was an amazing trip. If you had told me when I was 13 that I would be going to the big island for a fourth time I probably wouldn’t believe you. But, it really is an incredible thing to be able to go back and show my friends how beautiful the island is. Thank you so much for reading! If you’re looking for more things to do on the Big Island, check out my top 10 favorite things to do there.