Kona Experts: Morning Arrival Advice?

[BDMX2]

Hi Guys,

We're getting so close to our trip to the Big Island and then Kauai!

As I contemplate our first day, I figured I should ask for some advice. We have a red-eye flight and arrive at KOA at 7:30 a.m. so by the time we get luggage and rental car I'm assuming it will be about 8:30 a.m. and I think we'll want to go have breakfast somewhere before hitting Costco and a smaller grocery store...which probably won't open until 10:00 anyway. We're staying at Wyndham Kona and I've confirmed with them that they'll be able to hold groceries for us until our unit is ready...so we're good there, I just need suggestions for breakfast/brunch and maybe a quick something to do after dropping groceries that says "you're in Hawaii!" while we're waiting to check in.

Mahalo!

 

[DeniseM]

Two things:

1) You are going to be tired.

2) You don't want to leave your valuables in the car in most places where you might go sightseeing - that's a magnet for car break-ins.

If it were me, I'd pack swim suits in the carry-ons, and after you shop, change into the suits, *lather up with sunscreen, and hang out by the pool in the afternoon. You can swim or snooze, depending on each person's preference. When you do your grocery shopping, pick up deli sandwiches and cold drinks for an easy lunch. You can also buy an inexpensive insulated bag and put ice in it to keep your sandwiches and drinks cold - and then use it every day for your adventures.

*Can't emphasize this enough - the sun is brutal in Hawaii.

 

[Luanne]

For breakfast a lot of people like the Pine Tree Cafe, which is between the airport and Kona. In Kona you could go to Fish Hoppers. I've been there for lunch and dinner, but not breakfast.

I like Denise's idea of hanging out at the hotel.

 

[Passepartout]

+1 for swimsuits & cover-up in the carry ons. You may not be able to check in until 4:00 pm. That's a long time to hang out after a red-eye. I probably wouldn't be buying a full supply of perishables.

But, Hey! Relax. It's Hawaii!

Jim

 

[DaveNV]

The Safeway in Kona is open 24hours. Costco opens at 9:30 on Saturdays.

Dave

 

[buzglyd]

Go to Huggo’s It’s right on the shoreline with a beautiful view. Plus there is a beach at the Marriott courtyard if you want to take a morning swim.

 

[Luanne]

Go to Huggo’s It’s right on the shoreline with a beautiful view. Plus there is a beach at the Marriott courtyard if you want to take a morning swim.

I didn't realize Huggo's served breakfast. I wonder if this is relatively new. Love them for dinner so you can watch the sun setting.

 

[buzglyd]

I didn't realize Huggo's served breakfast. I wonder if this is relatively new. Love them for dinner so you can watch the sun setting.

I’m not sure if On the Rocks does but the building next door to it does for sure. It’s all the same kitchen I believe.

 

[Luanne]

I’m not sure if On the Rocks does but the building next door to it does for sure. It’s all the same kitchen I believe.

I checked the website before I posted. Yes, Huggo's serves breakfast, they open at 7:00 a.m, close at 11:00 a.m., then open again for dinner at 5:00 p.m. Huggo's on the Rocks opens at 11:00 a.m. so I assume they do not serve breakfast.

 

[lynne]

Our favorite spot in Kona for breakfast is Frenchman's Cafe https://bigislandguide.com/frenchmans-cafe. A wonderful french bistro that locals enjoy. Very tiny place, great service and even better food.

 

[zentraveler]

I second DeniseM as well. We do this a lot and its only a day flight from California for us! But travel days are hard and tiring, with all that entails and by the time you add in shopping and jet lag, I also recommend you have breakfast and hang out where you will end up staying.

Her lunch idea is fabulous (as is the sunscreen), and all of our resorts (mostly Marriotts) have taken good care of our groceries (they are used to this). And the resorts usually have quieter places, libraries, niches somewhere if you just want to chill out or read and don't need to be in the blazing sun until you check in. Settle in, have an umbrella cocktail, unwind and enjoy being there. Plan your next few days, have a nice dinner and rest up to hit the ground running rested after a long trip. (Any red-eye is a long trip in my book )

 

[easyrider]

I might go to Hapuna Beach and park my car near the Three Frogs Cafe which is in the park. Then I would rent a couple of chairs and an umbrella from Three Frogs. A fish taco and beverage would be bought after I planted the umbrella and chairs. I wish I was there now.

Bill

 

[BDMX2]

As always, you guys are so great! Such a wealth of information and great ideas, many many thanks!

We do need to go back to the airport around 1:30 to pick up my parents, who are joining us but flying in from elsewhere. Maybe we'll do our grocery/Costco run when we head back that way and just chill in the morning through mid-day. Huggo's breakfast looks really yummy! Hard to anticipate how hungry we'll be or what we'll feel like, but it is great to have ideas in my back pocket so we aren't starving and have the "now what?" moment while we have the hangries

 

[jjking42]

Good ideas


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[geoand]

Pine tree Cafe works great for breakfast or lunch or dinner. This is not a fancy place but it does provide good eats. We have breakfast there before we fly home.

 

[daventrina]

Hard to anticipate how hungry we'll be or what we'll feel like...

Hungry and tired and excited and a dozen other things all at once ...
It is hard to describe getting off the plane in Hawai'i other than .... AAAAAHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh ... home

 

[LisaRex]

I second (third) Denise's advice. You'll be exhausted, so I wouldn't plan much of anything when I arrived. I'd pack a soft-sided cooler and change of clothes (e.g. bathing suit and cover up suitable for appearing in public) in my carryon. When I arrived on island, I'd immediately drive to my hotel, ask them to hold my bags, and maybe grab a quick breakfast. After changing into my bathing suit, I'd nap by the pool for a few hours. At noon, I'd fill up my soft-sided cooler with ice and head to Costco, which isn't that far away, and do the bulk of my grocery shopping. Then I'd head to the airport to pick up my parents. Hopefully by the time you return, it'll be check-in time. If not, you can stop at a smaller grocery store to fill in the stuff that you couldn't get at Costco.

 

[BDMX2]

I second (third) Denise's advice. You'll be exhausted, so I wouldn't plan much of anything when I arrived. I'd pack a soft-sided cooler and change of clothes (e.g. bathing suit and cover up suitable for appearing in public) in my carryon. When I arrived on island, I'd immediately drive to my hotel, ask them to hold my bags, and maybe grab a quick breakfast. After changing into my bathing suit, I'd nap by the pool for a few hours. At noon, I'd fill up my soft-sided cooler with ice and head to Costco, which isn't that far away, and do the bulk of my grocery shopping. Then I'd head to the airport to pick up my parents. Hopefully by the time you return, it'll be check-in time. If not, you can stop at a smaller grocery store to fill in the stuff that you couldn't get at Costco.

Ooh, I love that you sequenced it all out for me!

 

[Gypsy65]

I see a lot recommending Costco
We are going to the same area next fall.
We do not have a Costco by us ( maybe 45 minutes away ) as we have Sams

Would the savings on Big Island be worth getting a membership?
We could also use it at home. Just not as often as Sams that’s 5 minutes away

 

[Luanne]

I see a lot recommending Costco
We are going to the same area next fall.
We do not have a Costco by us ( maybe 45 minutes away ) as we have Sams

Would the savings on Big Island be worth getting a membership?
We could also use it at home. Just not as often as Sams that’s 5 minutes away

Hopefully Dave will chime in, but he's said in the past that if you join, and then find you're not using your membership, you can cancel and get a refund.

We do have a Costco membership. What we use it for now is sunscreen and chocolate covered mac nuts. We stop on the way from the airport to get the sunscreen, and we stop a few days before we leave for the chocolate covered mac nuts and then send them home as we give them out as gifts when we return. We found that the quantities for most food items were too much for us. For example, this year we bought a 12 pack of canned tuna and ended up leaving most of it. Costco is also good for gas, and car rentals.

 

[Gypsy65]

Another??

Sorry. Don’t mean to hijack the thread

But
I have 2 weeks booked at Hilton Kohala Suites
Should I change one week for another island or stay where I am at??

 

[LisaRex]

I have 2 weeks booked at Hilton Kohala Suites
Should I change one week for another island or stay where I am at??

While I wouldn't island hop with just one week, I'd definitely consider it with 2. Each island truly is unique and while you might fall in love with Big Island, the other islands are worth checking out. The big problem is figuring out which one. There really is no right answer, because everyone has their own notion of what makes a great vacation.

Generally speaking, Big Island has a sunny, flat touristy side (Kona) and a rainy, mountainous volcano side (Hilo), both of which are worth seeing. But aside from the active volcano, which is definitely worth seeing (not really a day trip from Kona, IMO), I think that BI lacks the character that the other islands have. (Don't shoot me, BI lovers!). It's the youngest island by far (it's still growing) and just hasn't had time to develop its soul, IMO.

I personally wouldn't want to spend two weeks there, but then again I would gladly put up with the traffic on Oahu to see the WWII sites. I'd gladly put up with the Lahaina traffic to go whale watching off Maui.

So, my advice is to picture 2 ideal weeks and then investigate whether BI will give that to you.

 

[Luanne]

Another??

Sorry. Don’t mean to hijack the thread

But
I have 2 weeks booked at Hilton Kohala Suites
Should I change one week for another island or stay where I am at??

It may depend on how often you get to Hawaii. If this were an infrequent trip I think I would try to do two islands. Since we've been to Hawaii many times, and now that we're older and retired, we prefer to spend two weeks in one location.

 

[Luanne]

Another??

Sorry. Don’t mean to hijack the thread

But
I have 2 weeks booked at Hilton Kohala Suites
Should I change one week for another island or stay where I am at??

Just to add to my earlier thoughts. If you do stay at Kohala Suites for the entire two weeks request to stay in the same unit. They will accommodate you if they can. I called a couple of weeks ahead and they said they would make a note, but to request again when we checked it.

When we stay on the Big Island for two weeks we take a two night trip down and stay in Volcano Village. That gives us time to spend in Volcano National Park, and Hilo, without having to make that drive and back in one day. Since we're using timeshare time I don't mind spending the money to stay. Our favorite place, well to be honest it's the only place we've ever stayed in Volcano Village, is the Kilauea Lodge. It's been sold and changed hands since the last time we stayed, but I've heard it's still as lovely as ever.

https://highwaywestvacations.com/properties/kilauea-lodge

 

[DaveNV]

I see a lot recommending Costco
We are going to the same area next fall.
We do not have a Costco by us ( maybe 45 minutes away ) as we have Sams

Would the savings on Big Island be worth getting a membership?
We could also use it at home. Just not as often as Sams that’s 5 minutes away

Chiming in, as requested.

You don't need to have a warehouse near you to save money. You can join Costco via their website, at Costco.com, and order from them online. But even then, you can save enough on your Hawaii vacation to pay for the membership card. ($60 for a year's basic Gold Star membership. There are higher priced options with other perks.) If you buy a tank of Costco gas for your rental car, you'll save about $10 to $15 over "outside" gas station prices in Hawaii. If you spend much money in the Hawaii warehouses at all, especially for fresh meat or alcohol, you'll easily save the rest of the membership cost. And if you rent a car for your trip through Costco Travel (on the Costco.com website) you can literally save a few hundred $. So you can very easily get your membership dollar back in a few steps. So even if you didn't use it again that year, you'd get your membership costs back.

But let's say you did all that, or even more, but then decided you weren't getting your money's worth out of it. You could go back to Costco, even on the last day of your membership year, and cancel the membership. You'd get your entire $60 back, no matter how much you'd used it or saved using it that year. Costco wants you to be happy.

If you happen to have a membership at both, and then compare Costco with Sam's, you'll become a Costco shopper. There really is no comparison. I say that because I've done it, and not just because my spouse has worked for Costco for more than 20 years. it really is a better company. As they say, YMMV.

Dave