Hawaii Travel Made Easy Podcast—Hawaii travel tips, Things to do in Hawaii, Hawaii vacation planning

Best Areas to Stay on the Big Island

• Marcie Cheung • Episode 74

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0:00 | 6:28

Kona vs. Hilo: Choosing the Right Side of the Big Island for Your Vacation

In this episode of Hawaii Travel Made Easy, Marcie explains the critical differences between staying in Kona and Hilo on the Big Island. She offers detailed advice on which side to choose based on your planned activities, the length of your stay, and the type of experience you seek. Marcie highlights the geographic challenges of traveling between the two sides, the unique weather patterns, and the types of accommodations available. She also provides practical tips on budgeting for accommodations and state park fees. Whether you are planning beach activities and snorkeling or exploring Volcanoes National Park and waterfalls, this episode will help you make an informed decision to maximize your Hawaii vacation experience.

00:00 Introduction: Kona or Hilo?
00:28 Deciding Based on Activities
01:32 Travel Time Considerations
02:13 Trip Length and Split Stays
02:42 Weather and Vibe: Kona vs. Hilo
03:28 Accommodation Options
04:38 Budgeting for Your Trip
05:11 Final Tips and Conclusion

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About Your Host: Marcie Cheung is a Certified Hawaii Destination Expert who has visited Hawaii 40+ times and spent 20+ years as a professional hula dancer. Through Hawaii Travel with Kids, she helps families plan authentic, affordable Hawaii vacations that respect local culture while creating unforgettable memories.

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You know that moment when you're staring at a map of the big island trying to figure out where to book your hotel, and you're thinking Kona or Hilo, they're only on opposite sides of the island. How different could they really be? Pretty different actually. And choosing the wrong side can mean you'll spend more time in your rental car than you will at the beach. I'm Marcie and you're listening to Hawaii. Travel Made Easy. Let's get started. So you've decided on the big island for your Hawaii trip. Great choice. But now comes another decision, Kona or Hilo. And if you're like most people I talk to in consultations, you're probably Googling Kona versus Hilo right now and reading articles that say Kona has beaches and Hilo has waterfalls, which sure, that's true, but it doesn't really help you figure out where you should actually stay. Right. Here's what I want you to think about instead, what do you actually wanna do on the big island and how many days do you have? Because those two things matter way more than anything else. Let's say you're planning lots of beach time, snorkeling, maybe that Manta Ray tour everyone talks about, or a sunset dinner cruise. Then Kona makes total sense. That's where all those activities happen. The west side has the sunny beaches, the resort areas, and most of the water-based tours leaving from there. But if you're really excited about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, or you wanna see Rainbow Falls and Akaka Falls, or you've got a Maunakea Stargazing tour booked, then Hilo puts you way closer to all that stuff. Now, here's where people mess up, and I see this all the time. They underestimate how long it takes to drive across the island. I can't tell you how many people book their hotel in Kona and then realize that Volcanoes National Park is two and a half hours away each way. So that's five hours of driving if you're trying to do it as a day trip. And honestly, you can't properly see Volcanoes National Park in a day trip. There's just too much there. The big island is massive, bigger than all the Hawaiian Islands combined. So when you're looking at that map, thinking, oh, I'll just drive over to the other side for the day. Remember, you're looking at anywhere from two to three hours minimum, depending on which route you take. Sometimes longer if there's traffic or weather issues. Trip length matters a ton here. If you've got a week or more, a split stay makes total sense. Stay three or four nights in Kona, then move over to Hilo for another three or four nights. That way you're not doing those brutal cross island dries each day and you actually get to experience both sides without feeling rushed. But if you only have four or five days total, pick one side and explore it. Well, you'll have a way better trip than if you're constantly packing and unpacking your suitcase and burning half your vacation time in the car. For first time visitors to the big island, I usually lean toward Kona, if you have to pick just one, and here's why. The weather's more predictable, you're going to get sunshine pretty much every single day. Beach access is better. There are more restaurants, more resort amenities, if that's your thing. And honestly, when most people picture their Hawaii vacation, they're picturing something that looks more like Kona than Hilo. Hilos beautiful, don't get me wrong, but it rains a lot, like 132 inches of rain a year kind of lot. That's part of what makes it so lush and green and gorgeous. But it also means you might wake up to gray skies and steady rain. Some people absolutely love that vibe. It's quieter, it feels more local, way less touristy. But if this is your first Hawaii trip and you're dreaming of beach days and sunshine. Kona's the Safer bet. Let me talk about hotels for a second, because accommodation options are really different on each side. Kona has tons of resort options. The Four Seasons Hualalai Mauna Lani, Maunakea, Fairmont Orchid. These are big, beautiful properties with multiple pools, spas, golf courses, three or four restaurants each. They're all up on the Kohala coast with those stunning white sand beaches. If you want that full resort experience where you can just stay on property for a few days and be perfectly happy, Kona delivers that. There's also a Hampton Inn that just opened in Kona in 2026. If you want something more mid-range, and the outrigger Kona Resort is a good option too. If you want resort amenities without quite as big of a price tag as the luxury places, Hilos different. You've got hotels there, not resorts. The Grand Naniloa is probably the nicest hotel in Hilo. It's right on the waterfront with a golf course. I stayed there with my youngest son and it's a great hotel. There's also Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and SCP Hilo, which is this eco-friendly, minimalist property. If that's your style. But nothing in Hilo is gonna feel like a Maui resort or a Kona resort. It's more practical, low key, which honestly some people prefer. There are a couple things to budget for in 2026, Hawaii's transient accommodations. Tax went up from 10.25% to 11% as of January. So when you're comparing hotel prices online, remember that tax gets tacked on at the end. Plus resort fees at the big Kona Resorts can run anywhere from$40 to$60 per night. Also, if you're planning to hit some of the state parks, they started charging fees. Kekaha Kai State Park on the Kona side now charges$5 per person for entry and$10 per vehicle for parking. Not huge amounts but worth knowing about if you're planning to be chop. So here's my bottom line. If your trip is focused on beaches, snorkeling, water, sports, stay in Kona. If your trip is about waterfalls, rainforest, and volcanoes, national Park, stay in Hilo. If you've got a week or more, do a split stay and get both. And if you're sitting there feeling overwhelmed trying to figure it all out, that's completely normal. The big island is complicated, way more complicated than the other islands because of how huge it is and how different each side feels from the other. This is exactly what we work through in consultations. Because once I know what you actually want to spend your time doing, I can tell you exactly where to stay and how to set up your days so you're not wasting hours in the car when you could be at the beach or standing next to a waterfall. It's really about matching your hotel location to your actual plans, not just booking the prettiest resort You can find, if you haven't listened to episode 51 yet, go back and check that one out. It's all about planning a big island trip from scratch, and it'll give you the whole framework for thinking through these kinds of decisions. But this hotel location decision, this is one of the biggest ones you'll make for your trip. Get this right and everything else falls into place so much easier. If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe and leave a review. It helps other listeners find this podcast. Happy planning and aloha.