For a week on the Big Island with kids, I’d split your stay: about 4 nights on the Kona side and 3 nights on the Hilo side, and see Hawaii Volcanoes National Park from the Hilo side.
Don’t split if you have 4 days or less, or if your family mostly wants a resort vacation and hates switching hotels. In that case, stay on the Kona side the whole time and give the volcano one long day.
I’m a Hawaii travel consultant for families and the host of the Hawaii Travel Made Easy podcast, and I’ve planned the Big Island both ways for my own family.
In 2021 I road tripped it with my 5-year-old, and in 2023 with my 10-year-old, and we stayed in three or four places each time. In April 2027 I’m taking my whole family to one resort for the entire week.
A quick note on trip length. If the Big Island is your only island, I recommend 7 to 10 days if you can swing it. If you’re island hopping, 5 to 7 days works. This post is built around 7 nights.
October 2026 update: Two hurricanes hit the Big Island this year. Hurricane Lala did serious damage in Kaʻu, on the south end of the island, in August, and Hurricane Nolo flooded the same area again in late September. Highway 11 through Kaʻu reopened on September 27, 2026. Punaluʻu Bake Shop is still closed, and part of the ʻAkaka Falls trail is closed as of October 1, 2026. Check road and park conditions before any day that takes you south or east.
This episode goes deeper on how many days you need, especially if the Big Island is one stop on an island-hopping trip.
Should you split your stay between Kona and Hilo?
Yes, if you have a week and you want to see more than your resort. The national park is 2 to 2.5 hours from Kona and about 45 minutes from Hilo, so where you sleep matters a lot on this island.
Kona is the dry, sunny side with the beaches, the snorkeling, and the big resorts. Hilo is the rainy, green side with the waterfalls, and it’s the closest town to the volcano. I compare them in detail in Kona or Hilo: where to stay on the Big Island.
| Your trip | What I’d do |
|---|---|
| 3 to 4 days | Pick one side and let the other go |
| 5 to 6 days | One base on the Kona side with one long volcano day, or add a single night at Volcano House |
| 7 nights or more, first trip | Split it: 4 nights on the Kona side, 3 nights on the Hilo side |
| 7 nights or more, outdoorsy or on a budget | Flip it: 3 nights on the Kona side, 4 nights on the Hilo side |
| Any length, kids who love resorts | One base on the Kona side and one volcano day |
One of my consultation clients planned to stay in Waikoloa the whole trip and make a few quick visits to the volcano. Then they saw the drive was 2 to 2.5 hours each way, and the plan fell apart.
When should you not split your stay?
Don’t split if you only have 3 or 4 days, if your kids hate moving hotels, or if you found a deal that only works as one long stay.
With 3 or 4 days, pick one region and let the other go. You’ll lose too much of a short trip to packing, checking out, and driving.
Those last two are why my own family is staying put in April 2027. My kids love resort vacations and don’t like moving around so much.
My husband has never been to the Big Island, but he has limited vacation days and mostly wants to relax. He wants to see Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, maybe do one other excursion, and that’s it.
So we’re spending the whole week at Hilton Waikoloa Village. The main reason is that the Costco Travel sale was really good, and it included a free rental car for the week.
I’ll probably leave my husband at the pool with the boys while I run off and explore more of Waikoloa and the Kohala Coast.
If that sounds like your family, plan one volcano day and make it the only long drive of the trip. I’m looking at a volcano day tour for ours so nobody has to drive.
How many nights on each side, and which side first?
For 7 nights, my usual answer is 4 on the Kona side and 3 on the Hilo side. It really depends on what you want to do on each side.
I’d give Hilo the extra night if you’re really outdoorsy and want to do more Hilo hikes. I’d do the same if you’re on a budget, because Hilo lodging is cheaper than the Kona side.
I start in Kona. Both of my split trips did. That’s because we have direct flights from Seattle to Kona plus we usually have pre-booked tours scheduled (like a luau, ATV tour, boat ride, etc).
On the east side, most families stay in Hilo and day trip to the park. I suggest Volcano House if you want a unique experience. It sits inside the national park, and I’ve stayed there twice. In 2021 we could see the lava glow from our room. Rates run around $300 or more a night.
My Volcano House review covers the rooms and the food.
These are the places I’ve stayed, and I paid for every one of them myself.
| Area | Where I’ve stayed | Best for | Drive to the national park |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kona town | Royal Kona Resort (2021), Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel (2023) | Ocean tours and being in town | 2 to 2.5 hours |
| Kohala Coast | Fairmont Orchid (2023), Hilton Waikoloa Village (booked for April 2027) | Big resort pools | 2.5 hours or more |
| Hilo | Grand Naniloa (2021), Inn at Kulaniapia Falls (2023) | Waterfalls, lower prices, a shorter drive to the volcano | About 45 minutes |
| Volcano | Volcano House (2021 and 2023) | One or two nights inside the park | You’re already there |
I usually recommend hotels over condos because Hawaii has so many illegal vacation rentals. If you do rent, make sure it’s a legal one. I prefer VRBO and Booking.com for that. My full list of where to stay on the Big Island with kids has more hotels on each side.
Budget about 19% in lodging taxes on top of the room rate in 2026, including the Green Fee.
How long are the drives on the Big Island?
Longer than they look on the map. Kona to the national park takes 2 to 2.5 hours depending on where you’re staying, and Kona to Hilo takes 1.5 to 2 hours on Saddle Road.
| Drive | Time without stops |
|---|---|
| Kona to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park | 2 to 2.5 hours |
| Kona to Hilo on Saddle Road | 1.5 to 2 hours |
| Kona to Hilo on the Hamakua Coast | 2.5 to 3 hours, easily 4 with stops |
| Kona to Hilo the south way, past the park | 3 hours or more |
| Hilo to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park | About 45 minutes |
| Kona to ʻAkaka Falls | About 1 hour 50 minutes |
| Waikoloa to Kona town | About 40 minutes |
| All the way around the island | 5 to 6 hours |
Saddle Road cuts across the middle of the island and it’s the shortest way between the two sides. Most people choose the coastal route, which is a lot longer. My post on getting from Kona to Hilo explains each route.
I’ve driven Kona to the park three times, and one of those was when I was a teen. I’ve done Kona to Hilo on Saddle Road twice. One of those wasn’t planned. We were staying in Hilo when our Kona activity got rescheduled, so we popped over for the day.
My kids get car sick, so they were not stoked about the long drives. The roads aren’t very windy, though, so they were pretty okay. We kept lots of snacks in the car, and they napped a bit.
The south road has also closed on me. In 2023 my oldest and I did surfing lessons in Kona and then drove down toward South Point, only to find the road closed because of flooding.
We had to backtrack and take Saddle Road to get to Volcano House (an extra 2.5 hours), and we missed our dinner reservation at The Rim.
So check road conditions the morning you move, and don’t book a dinner you can’t miss for that night.
Which part of the island should you see each day?
Plan one part of the island per day, and put all your Kona-side days together and all your Hilo-side days together. This is the layout I’d start from for a split week.
7 nights, split stay
| Day | Where you sleep | Part of the island | Big activities |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kona side | Arrive, pool, groceries | 0 |
| 2 | Kona side | Kona town and the water | 1 |
| 3 | Kona side | Kohala Coast beach or resort day | 0 |
| 4 | Kona side | South Kona | 1 |
| 5 | Volcano or Hilo | Move day, with the park in the afternoon | 1 |
| 6 | Volcano or Hilo | Hawaii Volcanoes National Park | 1 |
| 7 | Hilo | Hilo and the Hamakua Coast waterfalls | 1 |
| 8 | Fly home | 0 |
7 nights, one base on the Kona side
| Day | Part of the island | Big activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive, pool, groceries | 0 |
| 2 | Resort day | 0 |
| 3 | Kona town and the water | 1 |
| 4 | Resort day | 0 |
| 5 | Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, all day | 1 |
| 6 | Resort day | 0 |
| 7 | Kohala Coast | 1 |
| 8 | Fly home | 0 |
You don’t have to end the trip in Hilo. In 2023 we made it a loop. After Volcano House we moved to the Inn at Kulaniapia, hit the Hilo waterfalls, got malasadas at Tex Drive In, and finished at the Fairmont Orchid on the Kohala Coast.
For ideas on what goes in each day, start with my guides to Kona and Hilo. The ʻAkaka Falls hike is an easy one for the Hilo days once the full trail reopens.
How many big activities per day work with kids?
One big activity per day is plenty on the Big Island. On a move day, the drive is the big activity.
The ones my family has done and would build a day around:
- Surfing lessons in Kona. My oldest and I did these in 2023.
- Swimming with dolphins at Hilton Waikoloa Village. It’s the only reason we drove up to Waikoloa on that trip.
- The Waipiʻo Valley shuttle. I did it with my youngest.
- Ziplining in Kohala. I did this one with my oldest.
- A full day at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. My guide to the park with kids covers the hikes and where to eat.
A real move day: Kona to Volcano House
Switching hotels sounds like a hassle, so this is the day I’ll write out. It’s how our move day went in 2021, when my youngest was 5.
We checked out in Kona and made a little road trip out of it. The route goes south on Highway 11, around the bottom of the island.
Our stop was PunaluÊ»u Bake Shop for ice cream. The bake shop has been closed since Hurricane Lala in August 2026. Management has said it will reopen but hasn’t given a date.
For now, I’d stop at The Coffee Shack in Captain Cook instead. It’s on Highway 11 in South Kona, so it comes early in the drive. It’s open 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and closed on Wednesdays, as of October 2026.
Highway 11 through Kaʻu is open as of October 2026. If it closes again, take Saddle Road to Hilo and drive up to the park from there. Hilo to the park is about 45 minutes, so plan on 2.5 hours or a little more for the whole drive.
Then we drove on to Volcano House and dropped our bags. We drove over to the Sulphur Banks and one of the lookouts, but it was pretty foggy. We also walked around the hotel area and went to the visitor center. When you’re sleeping in the park, a foggy afternoon isn’t your only chance to see it.
A few things are different right now. Kilauea Visitor Center is closed for renovation through late 2026, and the temporary Welcome Center is at Kilauea Military Camp. The Sulphur Banks Bridge has been closed since Hurricane Nolo. The park charges $30 per vehicle and doesn’t accept cash, as of October 2026.
Kilauea has been erupting in episodes since December 2024, with pauses in between. If seeing lava matters to your kids, check the USGS update and the park’s conditions page that morning.
The next leg was a short one. We hit up Target, got saimin, and braved the rain on the drive to Hilo. On our last day we did Waipio Valley and then the Mauna Loa Factory on our way to the Hilo airport.
If you want every day planned to that level, with the stops and the timing, that’s what my Big Island travel guide is for. It’s $29.99 and 47 pages, with a 7-day itinerary, daily schedules, and an interactive map.
What would I skip on the Big Island with kids?
Personally, I’d skip the Mauna Kea summit. I don’t like to be cold, and my kids are only 10 and 12. The official guidance is that anyone under 13 shouldn’t go above the Visitor Information Station.
I’d also skip Green Sand Beach. You have to hike in direct sunlight to get there, and that’s not my family’s vibe. We’re not big on going to beaches just to hang out.
I’d skip South Point right now because of the hurricane damage. KaÊ»u is still cleaning up, so if you drive through, be patient and spend your money at resident-owned businesses that have reopened.
And don’t try to drive the full loop around the island in one day. I’ve been in the car for that, and it was exhausting! I don’t recommend it.
The usual rule applies here too: skip any hike or swimming spot that’s on private property or past a no-trespassing sign.
What should you book first for a Big Island family trip?
Book your hotels first, then your rental car, then the one or two things that need a reservation.
- Your hotels. Decide whether you’re splitting before you book anything. A package deal can settle it for you, like mine did.
- A rental car. A rental car is not optional on the Big Island. Compare rates at Discount Hawaii Car Rental before you book.
- Dinner at The Rim, if you’re staying at Volcano House. Dinner reservations are required, as of October 2026.
- Your Kona-side ocean tours. Snorkel and manta ray tours fill up, so book those before you fly.
Leave the rest open so you can move days around for weather and road closures.
How do you turn this into a full plan?
If you want it handed to you, my Big Island travel guide has the complete day-by-day, along with tours, hotel picks, a packing list, and a food guide.
If you built your own plan, or had AI rough one out, have someone who knows the Big Island check it. My itinerary review is $50. You send me a Google Doc or PDF with up to 5 questions, and I send back comments on your document within 2 business days.
If you’re still choosing islands or planning for a big group, a one-on-one consultation is the better fit. And if you’re just getting started, my free 7-day Big Island planning course and my Big Island with kids page are good first stops.
Big Island itinerary FAQ
How should a family plan a week on the Big Island? Should we split Kona and Hilo?
Plan a week on the Big Island as two stays: about 4 nights on the Kona side for beaches and ocean tours, then 3 nights on the Hilo side for the volcano and waterfalls. See one part of the island per day and plan one big activity per day. Skip the split if your family wants a resort week, and do the volcano as one long day from the Kona side.
How many nights should you spend in Kona and Hilo?
For a 7-night trip, I usually suggest 4 nights on the Kona side and 3 nights on the Hilo side. Flip that if your family is outdoorsy and wants more Hilo hikes, or if you’re on a budget, since Hilo lodging is cheaper. It depends on what you want to do on each side.
Can you visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park as a day trip from Kona?
Yes, but it’s a long day. The drive is 2 to 2.5 hours each way, and longer from the Kohala Coast resorts. If it’s your only long drive of the trip it’s doable, and a day tour means nobody in your family has to drive.
Is it better to stay in Hilo or at Volcano House?
Most families stay in Hilo and drive about 45 minutes to the park. I suggest Volcano House if you want a unique experience, because you’re sleeping inside the national park. I’ve stayed there twice.
How long is the drive from Kona to Hilo?
Kona to Hilo takes 1.5 to 2 hours on Saddle Road, which cuts across the middle of the island. The Hamakua Coast route takes 2.5 to 3 hours without stops, and the south route past the national park takes 3 hours or more.
My last two Big Island trips were road trips with one kid, and the next one is a week at one resort with all four of us. Both are good ways to do this island. Figure out which one fits your family before you book anything.
I really hope this helps you figure out your Big Island family vacation. I know it can feel overwhelming!
 | About the author: Marcie Cheung is a Hawaii travel consultant for families who has visited Hawaii more than 40 times. She is the founder of Hawaii Travel with Kids and host of the Hawaii Travel Made Easy podcast. She offers one-on-one Hawaii trip planning consultations and itinerary reviews for families, couples, and honeymooners. |