Big island advice

was there last month. Trip planned long in advance. Kinda of sucked that Volcanoes National Park was closed. Might want to check on that before you book.
We stayed Kailua-Kona. Do the trip up Mauna Kea.

Graduated from UH Hilo 15 years ago.

Kona is more touristy and your flight options will be better. Hilo is a smaller town and less touristy because it is on the rainy side of the island.

1) Hapuna Beach... one of the best beaches in the world. I love it.
2) Mauna Kea- watched sunset from the summit on 9/11/2001. Cold as shite honestly but surreal. Then you can watch the stars in an amazing way from the midway point
3) Waipu Valley on the NE side. Breath taking views and you can go down into the valley
4) 6 ton bridge- north of Hilo and you can jump off the bridge 30 feet above the water
5) Kona for coffee
6) South Point- green sands beach; super cool spot but a bit of a hike if you don’t have 4WD
7) Ocean Sushi Deli (Hilo)- my favorite sushi in the world
8) Banyan St (Hilo) just a quick drive if you are already in Hilo... badass trees

Those are a few things. I like to relax and enjoy the sun. Driving across Saddleback (road between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa) is an interesting experience. You get to see a ton of climates.

Hope that helps.

fantastic advice. we drove the entire circumference of the Island and saddleback and you are right on point. we stayed at the Fairmont and it is a spectacular hotel. my best advice is to eat where the locals eat; i e not the hotels.