About to go to Big Island for first time

Hapuna Beach is great. You will love it. At Hapuna Prince I think they just have poolside lunch service and a café inside - casual eating at high prices. That is why we always brought a picnic. If you don't like the what's going on at the Price for lunch, Mauna Kea has a nicer beachside café for lunch. Still basic sandwiches at high prices, but you can't beat the location and atmosphere.

If you want to explore the nearby harbor town of Kawaihae, go north on the highway just past Spencer Beach, and there are several good places to eat; Café Pesto is our favorite, but there are other spots as well as places to get plate lunches and burgers.

Another option for eating if you are done with Hapuna Beach (or want a long break from the beach) is to drive about half an hour upcountry to Waimea. You get completely different scenery and there are several good places to eat: Merriman's is fantastic fisherman/farm to table kind of place; Big Island Brewhouse; Red Water Café; Hawaiian Style Café and others. You need shirts for these places.

 

Hawaiian Shaved Ice in the town of Kona is awesome. Shaved ice with fro-yo in the middle. Sounds odd, but it's fantastic. I wasn't going to try it, but once I did, it was magical.

I stayed on the Big Island for a month several years ago. Visited the volcano (the steam vents are rad), visited the lava tubes on the Hilo side and enjoyed the beautiful waterfalls, watched lava flow into the ocean (we had to walk over old hardened lava rock that covered the highway for a better view), etc. Go to the local surf spot known as Banyans right near a couple of condo buildings for good surfing/bodyboarding. Go to Magic Sands Beach for good body surfing. We also went to the Green Sand Beach (the sand is green - it's rad; little bit of a trek to reach, but worth it).

We went to check out some of the big resorts and what not for various activities (such as the main Hilton). I can't remember the name of the hotel, but there's one that people would gather at after dusk, as it was a great place to see the rays at night.