Following 6 days in Maui, we’re heading to the Big Island for a week!
Day 1
We say goodbye to Maui and fly with Hawaiian Airlines to the Big Island’s Hilo International Airport (ITO). Instead of picking up our rental car at the airport, we’ll take a taxi to a nearby Enterprise location, saving us $100 on our week’s rental!
Depending on how we feel, we may head straight to Volcanoes National Park or we may stay in Hilo to explore before checking into our vacation rental found through Airbnb, just 10 or 15 minutes north of the city.
Day 2
The Hilo Farmer’s Market is open! I’m looking forward to talking to the vendors, sampling fresh produce, and buying some food to take away.
After getting our fill, we’ll explore Hilo or Volcanoes National Park, whichever we didn’t do the day before and hopefully snorkel at a spot that’s been recommended to us between Hilo and the Park.
Day 3
It’s time to depart Hilo and head for the Kona coast! Along the way we’ll stop for lunch and a tour at the Hawaiian Vanilla Company. If we’re up really early, we might stop at Akaka Falls, though we’ll probably do this on our last full day on the island.
>>> Read about our lunch and tour at the Hawaiian Vanilla Company! <<<
When we arrive in Kona, we’ll check into our vacation rental (yes, you guessed it, secured through Airbnb), before taking it easy the rest of the day.
Day 4
I’m not sure if I’m going to sleep the night before! On this morning we’ll be flying high over the island with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. The tour includes flying over Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, which has been continuously erupting for the last 30 years. We’ll also get to see about half of the island from above! Of all the things I wanted to do in Hawaii, this was my number one, can’t-miss experience. I’m so thrilled for this flight!
>>> Read about our helicopter flight over the Big Island! <<<
Lava flow meets the ocean
creditDays 5-7
It’s hard to believe, but for three straight days we have no set plans! I’m hoping we visit plenty of coffee plantations, snorkel, eat good food, and just enjoy one another’s company without having to be at a particular place at a particular time 🙂
Departure day
Our flight back to Maui doesn’t depart until late afternoon/early evening, so we’ll make the most of the time we have left! First, we’ll board a submarine and head underwater with Atlantis Adventures. I’m so glad we’ll be able to see the Big Island from so many vantage points 🙂
>>> Read about our submarine experience! <<<
On the way back to Hilo, we’ll stop at coffee farms, Akaka Falls, and anywhere else we’ve missed that we want to see before we leave Hawaii and return to the main land.
Within a couple of months of returning from the honeymoon, I’ll tell you all about our experiences. Til then, aloha ♥
Twitter Updates
A friend shared your blog. Wonderful writing!
Why did you decide to blog and update social media during your honeymoon? I can see the blog IF you are getting compensated but why did you all decide to share your honeymoon with your FB followers?
I’m interested in the cultural shift, if there is one, of being immersed in each other for a few days-weeks and coming back filled with stories and (secrets), to sharing (and many oversharing) with their entire fb audience (more than just close family and friends) DURING the honeymoon. I married my husband 32 years ago but even then the question of the day was how often/if we should call home.
Hi Kara, thanks for stopping by!
Good questions. I’m actually not blogging during my honeymoon, though I’m clearly online a bit to post to social media here and there and of course reply to your comment 🙂 The posts that are going live during the honeymoon were written over a week before we left for Hawaii.
We’re taking so many photos that it would be too time consuming to go through them all when we return. Each day we take 30 minutes or so to share a few online. As a travel blogger, I enjoy sharing what I experience during my travels, and while this is also our honeymoon, it’s also our first time to Hawaii and we’re glad we can share a few photos with folks at home who are interested.
I don’t make a living blogging and haven’t tried, but I have received some media discounts for some of the experiences we’re enjoying. I would have mentioned those brands on Twitter and Facebook anyway, but I’m definitely doing so in a timely fashion since I’m working closely with several companies.
There may be a cultural shift with sharing, but we don’t think we’re over sharing and on our personal FB pages, we don’t mind if everyone sees the photos we’re posting and the status updates we share.
All the best!
Heather