As promised, I’m here to share all of the details about our family vacation with Club Wyndham Kona Hawaiin Resort. Mike + I have never visited the Big Island so we were really excited to explore.

First of all, renting a car or van is a must. This will help with exploring the island, saving money, and saving time. We went with a van that we found on the app, Turo. The island doesn’t have as many car rentals available so it made it hard for me to find something. So, Turo is locals on the island who rent out their own vehicles. It was so convenient. They communicate + send all of the instructions in the app. The car was left for us in self parking + that’s where we returned it.

Where to stay:

Club Wyndham is a perfect home away from home when visiting the Big Island. Here are all of the reasons why Club Wyndham was the perfect resort for our family.

First of all, the staff was so welcoming + helpful.

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Secondly, the villas sleep six. And, they are so spacious which is perfect for our size family.

I hate to feel crammed in a room or in a condo when vacationing with the family.

I can’t brag enough about how much that we enjoyed the large living room to the beautiful view from our balcony to the claw foot tub in the master bedroom.

Thirdly, I loved having a fully stocked kitchen to cook breakfast each morning + to store all of the snacks for our adventures.

Fourthly, each villa has a washer + dryer.

Club Wyndham will provide fresh towels each day if needed. I thought this was a really great amenity since we were so busy each day with not enough time to wash.

Fifthly, the resort has two gorgeous pools on the property that were perfect for an afternoon swim. The boys loved going for a swim before dinner.

Lastly, the resort is centrally located. It is walking distance to the beach, to a great coffee shop, and more downtown shops + restaurants. We didn’t have to drive far to get to all of the hot spots on my list. And, it was great to be only 15 minutes from the airport.

What to do:

Visit End of the World~

Cliff jumping was on our list. We visited a beautiful area suggested by a local that had a smaller cliff that people will jump off when the water isn’t too rough. It’s called the End of the World. That’s what we put in our GPS. It was a fun experience and has a beautiful view of the coast.

Visit multiple beaches to swim + snorkel~

Our favorite beach was by far Kua Bay. It was about 30 minutes from our resort. It’s a white sand beach, and the water is spectacular. We were able to snorkel a little + see some sea turtles and fish.

Closer beaches to our resort is Magic Beach + Hanl’s beach which is close by and walking distance from Club Wyndham.

Best for snorkeling~

HONAUNAU BAY + KAHALU’U BEACH PARK are both great suggestions.

Visit the Green sand beach, Papakolea ~

It is 1.5 hours from Kona, but it is an easy drive. It was so worth it. The entire family LOVED this adventure. The views were breathtaking. There are only four green sand beaches in the world. And, this is one of them. The green sand is grein olivine crystals from years of volcanic activity.

There is a 45-60 minute hike to get to the beach OR the option that we went with {+ HIGHLY suggest} is pay one of the men with their trucks to take you to the beach. It’s only $20/person to take you there and back. They will wait for you while you swim. We packed some food + enjoyed a meal on the beach~ picnic style. Pack water + sunscreen!!!

Visit Punaluu Black sand beach~

It’s only 40 minutes from the green sand beach. We ran out of time and couldn’t add it to our agenda.

But, they say that the black sand beach is covered with sea turtles. Also, they have a cliff jumping adventure at Ka Pae cliff. This cliff is much higher than the other one that I mentioned above.

Visit Waterfalls near Hilo~

Our kids voted not to go to the other side of the island. They were pooped.

But, Hilo has all of the beautiful waterfalls.

Pe’epe’e falls and the boiling pots

Rainbow falls

Akaka Falls {.4 miles hike}

Visit Waipo Valley + the overlook~

This is on the Hilo side of the island. It is about 1.5 hours from Kona. And, it is about 40 minutes from the waterfalls. They have a black sand beach + picturesque view.

Visit Kilauea~

This is where the active volcano is located, but it is 2 hour drive from Kona.

We highly suggest to take a helicopter tour to see everything + to save on time.

Visit a Coffee farm~

We did this on our last day because the island is known for their Kona coffee.

The tour at Greenwell Farms was free which was nice, and it was only 45 minutes long. They gave a complete breakdown of the process of how they produce their coffee. Hula Daddy is another one that came highly suggested.

Experience an authentic luau~

We Attended the Sunset Luau. The food, the dancing, and the show was awesome.

These are the top 5 luau suggestions from locals~

Legends of Hawaii Luau

Mauna Kea Luau

Voyagers of the Pacific

Island Breeze Luau

Sunset Luau

Where to eat:

We are foodies. And, we were so excited to try out some of the best restaurants on the the island.

I do have to say that Journey’s Cafe was our favorite lunch spot. From the quaint, inviting vibe to the fresh menu items, it was amazing. For brunch, we can’t rave enough about our experience at Coffee Shack. The views, the welcoming staff, and fresh baked bread were all fabulous.

**A few other suggestions that we *tried or wanted to try~**

*Loko Wraps

Under the Bodhi Tree

Magic’s beach grill

*Basik Açaí

Lava Lava Beach Club

Ulu Ocean Grill or Beach Tree at Four Seasons

Da Poke Shack

*Umeke’s

Foster’s Kitchen

*Scandinavian Shaved Ice

For dinner, we did learn the hard way that most of these places were a long wait or booked days in advance. So, we needed reservations for most of the nicer places. To be safe, I highly suggest to make the reservations 7-10 days in advance.