The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!

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The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!Processed with VSCO with s2 presetThe Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!

The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!

Hello fellow travelers! Over the summer, I partnered with the Island of Hawaii Visitor’s Bureau to go on the ultimate trip of a lifetime through the beautiful Island of Hawaii. Today, I am sharing with you the exact itinerary I used for my 6 day road trip. My trip planner, Jourdyn, worked very hard to put this awesome itinerary together for me, and it turned out amazing!  You can see the article I wrote about the trip here. The pictures above were all taken from the roadtrip! One thing I have learned about traveling, is the more effort you put into planning your trip on the front end, the better your vacation will turn out.

There’s nothing worse than going somewhere new and having to Google things to do while your there. To prevent this from happening to you, I’ve detailed where we stayed, where we ate, what we did, and what companies we used. There are multiple options on where to eat for every meal, so you can have your pick based on what you are in the mood for!

I hope you find this itinerary to be of help. If you have any questions or need more recommendations, feel free to comment below or send me an email! I have provided links to where we stayed, as well as restaurant links so you can check out the menus before you go!

Day 1: 

Arrive at Hilo International Airport (ITO)

Dinner recommendations in Volcano:

• Thai Thai (casual, Thai)
• ‘Ōhelo Café (wood-fired pizzas, island-inspired dishes)
• Kilauea Lodge Restaurant (continental cuisine, local flavors)
Evening: Check in to 5th Street Ohana

Estimated drive time from Hilo International Airport: 40 minutes

Overnight 5th Street Ohana

Day 2: 

Morning: At leisure Explore Hilo

• Onekahakaha Beach Park
• Lili‘uokalani Gardens
• Waiänuenue (Rainbow) Falls – Wailuku River State Park

• Downtown Hilo

Afternoon/Evening:
KapohoKine Adventures – Evening Volcano Explorer 1:30-8:30 PM

Overnight at 5th Street Ohana
Day 3: 
Breakfast recommendations in Volcano

• Kilauea Lodge Restaurant (breakfast served 7:30 – 10 a.m.) –
**My personal favorite- we ate here twice! The banana pancakes, loco moco, and French Toast were our favorites!
• Volcano’s Lava Rock Café (breakfast served 7:30 – 11 a.m.) –

At leisure Explore Ka‘ü

• Punalu‘u Black Sand Beach
• Punalu‘u Bake Shop 

South Point Beach  **Amazing lookout! The Visitor’s Bureau discourages cliff jumping. But…. *cough..it’s a must do..cough**

Estimated drive time from 5th Street Ohana: 40 minutes
Drive to Kona via Highway 11 / Hawai‘i Belt Road

Lunch recommendations near Captain Cook:
• Loko Wraps (Hawaiian, Mexican, smoothies) –
• Big Jake’s Island B-B-Q (Hawaiian, barbeque) –
• Da Poke Shack (casual, poke)

Afternoon/Evening:
3:00 p.m. Check in to Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel
Estimated driving time from 5th Street Ohana: 2 hours and 15 minutes

Dining recommendations in Kona:

• Honu’s on the Beach (buffet)
• Kona Brewing Company 
• Huggo’s 
• Broke Da Mouth Grindz –**Our favorite restaurant in Kona! It’s tricky to find but so worth going!

Day 4: 

Morning:
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Captain Zodiac – 4-Hour Morning Raft and Snorkel Adventure

(Go in the morning while the water is super clear! Once the crowds begin to arrive, the water becomes cloudy and it’s hard to see.)

Afternoon/Evening:

 

Explore Kona

• Historic Kailua Village 
• Hulihe‘e Palace 
• Moku‘aikaua Church (oldest Christian church in Hawai‘i) –

Overnight Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel

Day 5:
Breakfast recommendations in Kailua-Kona:

• Island Lava Java (coffee shop, café) –
• Daylight Mind Coffee Company (coffee shop) –

Explore North Kohala:

• Häwï town 
• King Kamehameha Statue
• Pololü Valley Lookout – 
*You may hike to the valley floor, but swimming at the beach is
discouraged because of strong currents. Once you get to the valley floor, the trail continues on! It’s tough and wet but the views at the end are incredible!
Estimated drive time from Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha’s
Kona Beach Hotel: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Lunch recommendations in North Kohala:

• Häwï
o Bamboo Restaurant (casual, Pacific Rim cuisine) –
o Sushi Rock Restaurant (sushi, Pacific Rim cuisine) –

• Kapa‘au
o Kings View Café Hawaii (casual, café) –
o Minnie’s (casual, Hawaiian) –

• Waimea
o Village Burger (casual, Hawai‘i Island beef burgers) –
o Merriman’s Waimea (Hawaii Regional cuisine) –

Evening:

Dinner & Show: Island Breeze Luau

Located at the hotel. (We got the premiere seating and it was so worth it! We were up front and first to the food!)

Day 6:

Morning:

Paddle boarding at Kona Boys Beach Shack

Kona Boys’ Beach Shack is located on the beach at Kamakahonu Bay, fronting
Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. The Kona Beach
Shack opens at 8:00 a.m.

11:00 a.m. Check out of Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel

At leisure:

Kaloko-Honoköhau National Historical Park –

Greenwell Coffee Farm Tour

Board flight back to the mainland!

The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!

Have you ever been to Hawaii? Have you ever been on a road trip? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Don’t forget to check out my book, THE SMART GIRL’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HER TWENTIES, for loads of advice on how to plan your dream vacation! Order or download your copy here. To read more about it, head to my books tab.

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And make sure to follow me on Insta: @courtneylivin and on Pinterest: Courtney Livingston ♥

Thanks to the Island of Hawaii Visitor’s Bureau for sponsoring this post.

54 thoughts on “The Ultimate Island Of Hawaii 6 Day Road Trip: Meals, Excursions, and Where to Stay!”

  25. Courtney, love your road trip photos and the recipe for vegetable soup from the previous post. Was I ever on a road trip? Kinda Sorta. You see when I was in Elementary school my sisters and I came home one day and met Mom at the door and she said we’re going to Niagara Falls. She had packed our suitcases and off we went with Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa so that’s the closest to a road trip I ever got.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  29. This place looks so beautiful. It’s definitely on the list of the places I want to see next year; I usually go to South Carolina when going to the US, because I have friends there, but I definitely want to see other places next time, and Hawaii seems so beautiful!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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