Sorry, were you expecting a beach shot? Here ya go:
We stayed ten days in Kona. I VRBOed a condo in a complex that was in Waikoloa, right between two luxury hotels. We had our pick of the Hilton Waikoloa Village or the Fairmont Orchid.
Trip tip: In Hawaii ALL beaches are public. That means you can park at any hotel and walk out and use the beach and they have to let you. No one ever looked twice at us when we did. The shot above was taken from the restaurant at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. Great Hawaiian pizza BTW.
After 10 days in Kona, we were ready to head to Volcano. Another pro tip is that even though you can get Kona shaved ice nearly anywhere in the continental US, on Hawaii you can only get it in Kona (?) so treat yourself to some before you leave the area.
We went by way of the Captain Cook monument (meh) and the black sand beach (meh). I would skip both unless they’re on your way somewhere. We stayed two nights at a lovely home in Volcano, about 5 minutes from the entrance to the national park. Two days at the park was amazing, and also enough. Be sure to stop by the restaurant at night to see the lava pits glowing in the distance. Also, don’t miss the lava tubes, the kids loved it.
Also, there is something really special about the Volcano National park. The gift shop does have the usual chotckies and snow globes, but they also have an artist shop in the park that has the most exquisite local, and reasonably priced art for you to take home. Yay!