Question
Hello! My family and I (husband & daughters) will be on The Big Island the first two weeks of July. We want to be off the beaten path, away from "touristy" areas.
We have reserved a house in Hawaiian Paradise Park on the Puna Coast about 30 minutes from Hilo and 45 minutes from the volcano (this is the owner's description). In your opinion, is this a good location? We visited Oahu last year, and my girls really love tide pools and the like. We almost got a house in Kapoho Beach Lots but it was only available for five days during the fifteen we are going to be there. We really didn't want to move around from house to house, but after reading your article on Puna, I'm not sure that it wouldn't be worth it to stay on the Beach Lots. The gentleman who owns the house that we will probably rent says it is located on a "cliff" above the ocean but an easy drive to more "child friendly" areas.
I know we're going to have fun no matter where we stay. The house we rented in Oahu (North Shore) was ocean front and my daughters just had such a good time looking in the tide pools every morning. I was hoping to find something like that on The Big Island - but we can always drive somewhere.
answer
The oceanfront area in Hawaiian Paradise Park is over 3 miles long so
I can't tell you exactly what the area is like, except on all 3 miles of it,
the water is completely inaccessible -- so there won't be any tidepools.
The subdivision is very nice - and very large. It is pretty quiet, and you
won't have to worry about being bothered, but it really is far from everything.
You will have gorgeous views of the ocean, and nice nighttime wave
sounds, and very pretty sunrises, but no sunsets. The ocean
road is nice for walking - almost no traffic (they are mostly dirt roads).
It is a 25 minute drive to Hilo, a 40 minute drive to the National
Park entrance, and a 30 minute drive to the Kalapana and Kapoho
areas. It is a 2.5 hour drive to Kona.
As you can see, if you stay here you will spend a lot of time in the
car if you go anywhere.
Follow up
I've gotten my older daughter a slot at Dolphin Quest on the 10th and my two younger ones are on the wait list for a time slot later the same day. I've already told the two of them the chances are slim but we're trying. On the 5th we're going to Waipio (I think I spelled that right) horseback riding - found that on your web site. We're doing the longer trip to the waterfall to swim and have lunch. My middle daughter is an English style equestrian so she's really excited to be on a horse - even though "trail riding is Western".
I also want to plan a trip to snorkel somewhere neat and possibly try kayaking. I'm sure we'll spend alot of time at the National Park. I want to do things but not spend the whole trip running around like mad - somewhere in there I'm going to relax!!
Follow up reply
Your daughter is going to love the dolphin quest!! Even your younger ones will get plenty to
watch. I did it and thought it was amazing and my father-in-law also was completely bowled
over by it (and he's 60!).
Waipio is great! -- The road down is very scary, but once you get there you won't believe
how beautiful it is. There are even wild horses down there that may try to steal your sandwiches.
Definitely, definitely kayak - it's easiest on Kona side (Kealakekua bay is the best) but if you can't
get out there you can go in Hilo, rent them on Banyan drive and go inside the breakwall (safer).
If you want to snorkel on the Hilo side, you could go to Richardson's Beach Park - it's a nice, small
black sand beach. Not a whole lot to see but you will see some fish and maybe even a turtle.
You could also try Ahalanui Warm Ponds in lower Puna for hanging out in the water.
You are going to have such a good time -- let me know when you are back, I'd love to hear
about the house you stayed in and what you liked the most. Aloha, Lisa
