End of Trip Thoughts on a Month on the Big Island

Hawaii: 11/10 Denalis.

It’s been an incredible trip, all around. I woke up this morning excited to go home (and, honestly, mostly excited to see Denali again), but not tired of being here or wishing I was already home. This tells me that I calibrated this trip right–long enough to really get to enjoy the place and the experience, but not so long that it got old or wore on me. I’ve already floated the idea of coming back next March with my hosts. 

I think the greatest gift of this trip has been unstructured time. My life is generally pretty heavily structured, and has been since at least high school, for good reason. That structure has only gotten stronger and more rigid as I’ve made decisions to work on my physical and mental health. I don’t regret that at all, and it’s definitely the right choice for me, most of the time. BUT, it makes it that much more fun when I carve out some time that I leave deliberately unstructured. Some of my best days on island have been the ones where I wake up, make myself a cup of espresso and sit on the patio to decide where I want to head that day. Having time to stop at a random road-side attraction or farm or coffee stand or chocolate vendor or trailhead has been really, really wonderful. Same for days where I finish dinner at 5:45 or 6, and decide to hop in the car and run down to the beach for sunset. Going forward, I’m going to try to carve out some unstructured time on a regular basis.

My strongest recommendations for folks visiting the Big Island:

1. If you can avoid it, don’t stay at the resorts. 

1. They’re perfectly nice, and I have definitely enjoyed some resort stays, but they’re really expensive, AND you’re going to miss out on 95% of what makes Hawaii magical. 

2. If you’re going to stay at a resort, be aware that the ones in Kailua-Kona have pretty mediocre beaches, but access to both the touristy and less-touristy parts of Kailua-Kona. The ones in Waikoloa are absolutely beautiful, but you’re also kind of stuck with their touristy restaurants and shops unless you rent a car (see #2).

2. Rent a car, for some or all of your stay, and explore the island.

1. Every part of the island I’ve explored has been extraordinary. The biggest theme of the trip for me has been that everywhere I go, I think to myself “huh, if I moved to Hawaii THIS is the place that I’d want to live.” An hour later, rinse and repeat.

2. RESPECT THE LIMITATIONS ON YOUR RENTAL. Don’t try to drive up Mauna Kea or to the Green Sand Beach down south in a rental. It will get VERY expensive, very quickly.

3. Gas is expensive, particularly the farther you get away from a Costco. In April 2024, the best I’ve seen is around $4.60/gal and it’s frequently above $5/gal for regular unleaded. See #9.

4. See #3.

3. Before you come, build a chill playlist your entire party will enjoy (or at least tolerate), and bring the range of cables you might potentially need to connect to a car. If you drive on the big island, you’re going to spend a lot of time going much slower than you expected (sunday drivers, constant road construction/maintenance, school buses, etc.). Be ready to crank the music up, open the windows, throw an arm out into the sun, and enjoy the stunning beauty and warm air. 

1. Personally, I listened to a lot of the Traveling Wilbury’s, Tom Petty, The Grateful Dead, and Bonobo cruising around the island.

4. Ask locals where they’d recommend you eat. Some of my favorite stops around the island have been the result of asking a random person on a coffee farm or striking up a conversation in line with a local. UNSTRUCTURED TIME IS YOUR FRIEND. Seeing an interesting looking sign and pulling over for a cup of coffee or a chocolate sample or a cup of fresh fruit is magical.

5. Bring water shoes. Even the nicest beaches here have some lava rock, both around the edges and often on the ocean floor once you get ten or fifteen feet from the shore. If you want to hike, bring good hiking shoes with sturdy bottoms (bc, again, lava rock).

6. EAT ALL THE FISH. I’m not a particularly big fan of fish, but the amount of fresh ahi, ono, mahi mahi, etc. that I’ve eaten here could stun a small horse.

7. EAT ALL THE PINEAPPLES. For serious. Your call if you want to spend time hunting a $50 white pineapple, but I honestly will 100% do it again.

8. EAT ALL THE APPLE BANANAS. I really, legitimately thought this was a drop bear-type thing when my friend Robin first told me about them a decade ago. They’re real. They’re magical. And they’re good for you, particularly if you’re moving around and sweating a lot.

9. Practice your shaka, especially if you regularly wear any University of Oregon gear.

10. Costco is your friend in Hawaii. Forgot to bring flip-flops (aka slippers)? Costco. Gas? Costco. Bulk sunscreen? Costco. Booze? Costco. Groceries? Costco. Even pineapple? Costco. My friend Jim (general counsel at Costco) used to joke that if it wasn’t sold at Costco, he didn’t need it. He’s … not entirely wrong, especially here.

11. Prepare for almost every possible microclimate. In Olympia, I joke that if you don’t like the weather, wait fifteen minutes and it might change. Here, if I don’t like the weather I drive fifteen minutes in any direction and it WILL change.

1. Bring a light rain shell, and several pairs of shoes if you want to do any hiking (especially on the east side).

2. Especially if you’re staying outside of the major touristy areas, bring a change of warmer clothes. The house I’m in is at 1500 feet, and it gets pleasantly chilly overnight and in the early mornings, and I’m very glad that I brought a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeve shirt. 

12. Every region has its own personality and characteristics, and their own coffee and chocolate. TRY THEM ALL.

13. Budget more time in the Volcano Park than you think you’ll need. I spent a couple of full days there, and I still didn’t do everything I wanted to.

14. If you can afford it, take a sunset tour to the top of Mauna Kea, especially if you have even a passing interest in the night sky. [note: I would 100% not do this drive myself.]

Phil’s basic mainlander Hawaiian geography for visitors:

• Generally, east side is rainy and cooler, west side is dry and warmer. EXCEPT: elevation REALLY matters. This house is 1500 feet up from the beach (around 5 miles of driving), and I’d guess it’s consistently easily 15-20 degrees cooler up here than at the water. Particularly if you’re in the Kona coffee belt, the pretty consistent pattern is morning sun, afternoon clouds, evening rain (which is why around 6:00 most nights I’ve been running down the hill to the beach for spectacular sunsets). 

• West side seems generally more touristy, east side more locals (but there are plenty of locals on the west side, and tourists in Hilo).

• Roads: 

• The belt road (Hawaii 11, 19, and 190) is a circular road that circumnavigates the island, seems mostly to stick to around 1500-2000 feet in elevation. 

• The saddle road (Hawaii 20, aka the Daniel K. Inouye highway) crosses between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and connects the western and eastern sides of the island if you don’t want to drive all the way around. It’s … spectacular, going from high desert to moonscape to lush, green jungle. It’s also the highest-speed limit road on Hawaii. 

• My imperfect understanding of the regions:

• Kona coast: most of the western side of the island. Beautiful beaches, couple of cities, most of the resorts, and some of the most expensive coffee real estate in the world.

• Kailua-Kona: the biggest place on the west coast, 15-20 minutes south of the Kona airport. Couple of big resorts, lots of touristy stuff, Costco.

• Waikoloa: resort area and fabulous beaches, 15-20 minutes north of Kona airport. Fancy shops, some good food, and a couple of my favorite beaches on island.

• The Kona coffee belt: if you’re a coffee drinker, you should spend some time here wandering the farms.

• Kohala/Hamakua: the north end of the island. Spectacular vistas/lookouts and beaches, some smaller towns.

• Waimea: twenty minutes north-east of Waikoloa. Mid-sized town in old ranching area. Couple of good restaurants and a killer patissiere. 

• Hawi (pronounced Havi): little town north of Waimea, birthplace of Kamehameha. The Polulu lookout is just passed Hawi, and I’d suggest that the vista is almost as impressive as Waipi’o. The hike is only .6 miles down to the beach, but it’s also a HELL of a climb. I want to come back and do it next time. The mountain road from Waimea to Hawi is one of the prettiest drives I’ve ever done, and I’d recommend it to anyone who has the time.

• Waipi’o valley: one of the most spectacular views on the island. The road down to the valley is closed to non-locals at this point, though I do want to hike it the next time.

• The north Kohala coast is also an extraordinary place to watch the sunset, and I saw humpbacks off the coast both times I went up.

• Hilo: the northeast part of the island.

• Hilo: biggest city on the island, middle of the east coast. Has what I think of as the best farmers market on island, and some really great restaurants and fun activities/locations. Probably 90 minutes from the airport on the belt then saddle roads.

• Puna/Kau: the southern side of the island, home to Volcano National Park, the southernmost point of the United States (not counting territories), and some spectacular beaches. In particular, I’d recommend the southern point park, Punalu’u Bake Shop, Punalu’u Black Sand beach, and the Volcano Park. The drive around the south is also stunning, going from jungle on the eastern side to moonscape on the western side before turning back into the Kona cloud forests.

Biggest surprises:

• Holy hell LASIK is amazing. I didn’t know that people could see a humpback whale’s hump from or spume from shore. And it’s amazing to be in the ocean AND able to see. Turns out it really reduces my unreasoning terror of sharks to be able to see more than four feet while in the water. 

• I no longer float. Which is suuuuuper weird.

• I’d forgotten how much fun just driving can be. My last four cars have all been performance-ish cars, chasing a very particular (and evolving!) profile, but man this trip reminded me how much fun it can be to spend a day cruising around paradise in a solidly-built, perfectly capable car (shout out to Nissan’s Xterra!).

• When I’m well-rested and relaxed, I wake up waaaay earlier than I expect.

• I’m not particularly sensitive to caffeine anymore. One cup of coffee or seven shots of espresso, it all seems roughly the same. Intensely coffee ice cream right before bed? Meh. On a couple of my hiking days I got out early enough that I didn’t make coffee and didn’t realize it until mid-afternoon that I’d never actually caffeinated.

Aloha to an incredible experience.