Big Island Hawaii Itinerary: 7 Days With Kids (Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free)

We went to the Big Island last week, and y’all. I came home with sand in every bag, a camera roll I can’t stop scrolling, and a list of things I’d tell my past self before booking.

Here’s the thing I keep telling people: we’ve now done both Oahu and the Big Island, and every single one of my kids likes the Big Island better. It’s a slower vibe, way less crowded, and so much cooler for adventuring. One honest caveat — my kids are all teenagers, and the Big Island really rewards a crew that’s up for hiking, snorkeling, and long drives. If your kids are little, or you mostly want to relax on a soft-sand beach, I’d either stick to the Kona side here or pick a different island — and maybe save the Big Island for when your kids are big enough to adventure right alongside you.

So that’s what this is. The real version. Where we stayed, what we did each day, what we’d do again, and the couple of stops I’d skip if I had a do-over. We’re a family of seven feeding five growing boys, we eat mostly gluten-free and dairy-free, and we travel on a budget — so all of that shaped the trip.

If you’ve been staring at a map of the Big Island feeling a little overwhelmed (it’s the biggest island and it is BIG), I get it. I felt that too. The island has two completely different sides — a green, rainy, waterfall-and-volcano side, and a sunny, beachy, snorkeling side. Trying to do both from one home base means a lot of driving.

Here’s what worked for us: we split the trip. Three nights on the Hilo side, three nights on the Kona side. It cut our drive times way down and let each half of the island be its own little adventure. (If I did it again, I’d actually shift the balance — two nights on the Hilo side and four on the Kona side. More on why below.)

Here’s exactly how our week went — plus the food, the budget, and the honest tips.

TL/DR (Too Long Didn’t Read): Our Top 3 Favorite Things We Did!

I get it, you’re busy. Here’s the skinny on what we all voted were our favorite things:

1. See the Volcano Erupt. I’ve seen a lot of amazing nature things. This was easily in my Top 3 lifetime experiences. See Day 4 for details.
2. Night Swim with the Manta Rays. Absolutely magical and breathtaking. No, it’s not scary, just incredible. See Day 5 for details.
3. Snorkeling (with Turtles) – The snorkeling on the island is magical. 4 of us were able to swim with a sea turtle during our snorkel (See Day 3). Amazing!
4. BONUS FAVE: Kīlauea Iki Trail (Volcano National Park) – If you are looking for budget-friendly activities you can control (we got lucky with the volcano and manta rays are $$$), this hike is one of the coolest and most beautiful ones we’ve ever done! See Day 2 for details.

Our favorite beach? Two Step for snorkeling (See Day 5) and Hapuna for a gorgeous white sand beach you can actually boogie board on (See Day 6). 

Why You’ll Love This Itinerary

• It’s a real family trip, not a highlight reel. Five kids, a budget, and a couple of plans that fell apart (hello, surf advisory). I’m telling you what actually happened.
• It’s built around two home bases so you’re not driving three hours round-trip every single day.
• Every food stop notes gluten-free and dairy-free — what worked for us and what wasn’t safe for our family.
• It works with kids. Short hikes, snorkeling, beaches, and one very late night for manta rays that was worth every yawn the next morning.
• It’s honest about the misses. The cloudy lookout, the rocky beach, the market we hit on the wrong day. Learn from us.
• There’s a budget breakdown so you can plan for your own crew.

Where We Stayed

We split our six nights between the two sides of the island, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Nights 1–3: Papaʻikou (the Hilo / Hāmākua side). This is the lush, rainy, jungle side — waterfalls, black sand, rainforest trails, and the gateway to Volcanoes National Park. We rented a Vacasa home here with enough beds for our crew and a kitchen so we could make breakfasts and pack lunches. This Vacasa got the job done, nothing fancy but the location and price we needed. The house doesn’t have AC, which got hot, but does have fans.

Nights 4–6: Waikoloa (the Kona / west side). This is the sunny, dry, beachy side — calm snorkeling coves, white sand, manta rays, and an easy 30 minutes from the Kona airport for our flight out. Our Vacasa here was amazing – a whole house, with a hot tub! Would definitely recommend.

Splitting it meant we only packed and unpacked once mid-trip, and we were never more than an hour or so from that day’s adventures. If you only have time to stay on one side, the Kona side has the easier beaches and weather — but you’d miss a lot of the magic of the Hilo side.

One thing I’d change if I did it again: I’d do two nights on the Hilo side and four on the Kona side, instead of splitting it evenly. Here’s why. The Hilo side is the adventuring side — the jungle, the waterfalls, the volcano, and the national park. You absolutely want to get over there and see it; it’s some of the best of the island. But it isn’t the Hawaii most people picture. The beaches are rocky, and while a few are good for snorkeling, they’re rough to actually lay out and beach on, and we never found anywhere that felt safe to surf. Two full days was enough to hit the Hilo highlights. The classic, sunny, soft-sand, easy-water beach days all live on the Kona side, and I wish we’d given ourselves more time over there for that.

Getting Around & What to Pack

Rent a car. Not optional here. The Big Island is huge and the good stuff is spread out. We logged a LOT of miles. A minivan or SUV with room for everyone (and beach gear) is the move.

Bring or buy snorkel gear. We brought our own (we love the full-face sets – so much easier to use!), but you can also grab cheap sets at the Walmart in Kona, which was our very first stop off the plane.

Pack real layers for Mauna Kea (and check the weather first). I know, you’re going to Hawaii, why would you pack a winter coat? Because Mauna Kea is FREEZING. Jackets, hoodies, long pants, and a couple of blankets. One thing we learned the hard way: call the Visitor Station to check cloud cover before you make the long drive up. More on that below.

Reef-safe sunscreen. It’s the law in Hawaii, and it’s better for the water you’re about to fall in love with. There’s this spray option on Amazon that’s easy.

Food from home. Just like our Oahu trip, I packed a bunch of gluten-free and dairy-free snacks and breakfast staples so we only had to eat out once a day. It saves a shocking amount of money for a big family.

The 7-Day Big Island Itinerary

Here’s how our week actually shook out — including the days we rearranged on the fly.

Day 1 (Friday) — Arrival, Waterfalls & First Sunset

We flew into Kona (KOA), picked up the rental car, and made a beeline for Walmart in Kona for groceries and beach supplies. Then we drove a little over an hour to our home base in Papaʻikou and checked in.

On the way and around Hilo, we hit:

• Rainbow Falls — a quick get-out-and-look stop. You can’t swim or hike, but it’s right there and is an easy win. My kids also enjoyed climbing around the cool trees in the area next to the falls. But if you are only going to go to ONE falls, see Akaka Falls further down – it was our favorite with a rad easy hike. 

• Richardson Ocean Park — this ended up being such a fun first taste of the island. Lava coastline, tide pools, and black sand. The water was a little too rough for us to get in, but we walked around and explored — and we spotted two sea turtles just swimming right there in the water. My son is obsessed with turtles, so seeing them in the wild on day one was a huge, exciting moment for him. It’s also a great spot for sunset.

One heads-up: we’d planned to do Akaka Falls this first day, but when I mapped it, Google showed it closing at 5pm. (I’ll be honest — I didn’t actually call to confirm or try going after five, so I can’t say for sure.) We didn’t want to risk the drive, so we moved it to Sunday. More on that below, because we ended up loving it.

Then: an EARLY bedtime. Travel days with kids are no joke.

Day 2 (Saturday) — Volcanoes National Park

This was a big one. We left Papaʻikou early and drove about an hour to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

• Kīlauea Iki Trail — about 3.3 miles, two to three hours, and one of the best hikes we’ve ever done as a family. Don’t let “crater hike” fool you — the first stretch winds through lush, jungly rainforest that is so green and pretty and cool, and then it drops you down to walk across the floor of a crater that was a lava lake not that long ago. That mix of jungle up top and surreal moonscape below is what makes it special. One of my boys called it the most beautiful hike we’ve ever been on — and we have been on a LOT of hikes — so that tells you something. If you do one thing in the park, make it this.

• Thurston Lava Tube (Nāhuku) — a quick walk through an actual lava tube. Heads up that it’s currently only partially open, so we didn’t get to walk the full way through. Still a really cool, worthwhile stop — just know you may not get the whole experience right now.

• Chain of Craters Road — I’ll be honest about this one. We drove it to feel like we’d really seen the whole national park: lava fields, ocean cliffs, and the Hōlei Sea Arch at the very end. But it’s a couple of hours round-trip, and we couldn’t get a good view of the sea arch at the end; it was super windy, and it didn’t feel worth the drive for us. I don’t know that I’d do it again or recommend it — unless you really just want to say you’ve seen the entire park.
• Devastation Trail — this is a commonly recommended short, flat walk through a stark volcanic landscape. We didn’t end up doing it. Our crew was tired and we felt like we’d already seen the best of the park with the Kīlauea Iki Trail, so we called it. Worth knowing about if you have the time and energy.

On the way back we stopped at Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach to look for turtles. We were told it was too rough to swim, but there were some kids in the water, so it’s doable if you want! My kids loved “vibing” there and the black sand is unique and beautiful. And we DID see a turtle just chilling on the beach – so cool!

After we grabbed malasadas at Punaluʻu Bake Shop. Two honest heads-ups here. First, don’t go right before they close — we did, and they were already out of the lilikoʻi (passion fruit) glazed malasadas they’re famous for, so we ended up with chocolate ones instead of the signature flavor. Second, if anyone in your family is dairy-free, brace yourself: there was almost nothing in the whole shop two of my kids could eat (one’s allergic to dairy, one is sensitive and avoids it), so they each just got a drink. That was genuinely hard, and it ended up shaping a decision later in the trip.

Quick heads-up: the volcano was not erupting on our actual park day — it went a couple days later, and we caught it then (more on that on Day 4). That’s exactly why you keep an eye on the webcams the whole trip.

A note on the Shaka Guide app: This is a download-and-go audio app that narrates a self-guided tour through the park (and other areas of Hawaii). I’d heard good things — multiple people recommended it — so we tried it. Honestly? It wasn’t for us. I didn’t learn as much as I’d hoped, and it has to be done in its set order. We naturally wanted to do things in a different order, and you can’t really do that with it, so we ended up not using it much. It might be your thing, but it just didn’t match our style of adventuring.

Day 3 (Sunday) — Hāmākua Coast, Akaka Falls & a Drive Across the Island

This was our most rearranged day, and I learned a few things the hard way.

• Hilo Farmers Market — we went Sunday and it was small, maybe 20–30 vendors. Come to find out, the market is HUGE on Wednesdays and Saturdays (around 200 vendors). So if you want the full experience for souvenirs and fruit, plan for a Wednesday or Saturday. Don’t be me. But my DIL did love getting to drink out of a coconut there!

• Akaka Falls — the one we skipped on Day 1, and I’m so glad we came back for it. It’s a short half-mile paved rainforest loop, and it’s pure “Jurassic Park” Hawaii. We loved it. (Remember that 5pm-close note — do this one earlier in the day to be safe.)

• Waipiʻo Valley Lookout — this is one of the most photographed overlooks on the island… on a clear day. We got clouds. No real view, no good pictures, and honestly not worth the long drive for us that day. If there’s any way to check the weather or a webcam before you commit to the drive, do it.

• Laupāhoʻehoe Point — a roadside lava shoreline park. We stopped, but I wouldn’t go out of your way. It’s too rocky to swim, the tide pools were nothing special, and it’s really just a fine spot to stretch your legs if you’re already driving by. My kids could have been happy here for a while if it was the only beach on the island, but I feel there are just better places to spend your time on the Big Island.

Since the lookout was a bust, we pivoted and drove across the island to Puakō on the west side and spent the rest of the day there instead. Not the most convenient drive, but a much better afternoon. Here 4 of my kids snorkeled with a sea turtle = AMAZING!

Day 4 (Monday) — Watching the Volcano Erupt, the Drive to Kona & a (Cloudy) Try at Mauna Kea

Moving day — but it started with something we couldn’t pass up. We’d been watching the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory updates and the live webcams all week, and Monday morning Kīlauea was actively erupting. So before anything else, we went and saw it first thing. Watching that glow in person is one of those memories that doesn’t really fit in a photo. We didn’t catch it on our actual national park day a couple days earlier — it just happened to go this morning, which is the whole reason you keep checking the webcams.

“How do I know when the volcano will erupt?” Tip: Kīlauea erupts in episodes that typically last around 8–12 hours. Check the USGS/HVO site and the live webcams before and during your trip — if it’s active while you’re on the island, drop your plans and GO.

After the eruption, we packed up the Papaʻikou house (keeping our warm layers easy to grab) and made the long drive across the island toward the Kona side.

• Pololū Valley Lookout — this is a beautiful, commonly recommended overlook, but it’s a two-hour-plus drive. After getting clouded out at the Waipiʻo lookout, we didn’t want to gamble another long drive on a viewpoint we might not even get to see — so we skipped it.
• Lunch at Nephi’s Smokehouse — my son picked this one, and it was a great call. Most of the menu is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, which made it an easy stop for our crew. (I can’t personally confirm dedicated celiac-safe prep, so if cross-contact matters for you, ask when you order.)

FRIES

• Waikoloa shopping — we strolled the Queens’ MarketPlace and Kings’ Shops for souvenirs while we waited for our 4pm check-in.

Then we checked into our Waikoloa home, ate, changed, and grabbed every warm layer we owned for what we’d planned as the main event:

Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station for sunset above the clouds and stargazing. It’s about an hour and fifteen up. A heads-up that matters: our rental was through Enterprise, and they expressly forbid driving to the summit — most rental companies do, and we knew that going in. The summit road is rough, unpaved in stretches, and sits near 14,000 feet, so you need time to acclimate anyway. The plan was to stop at the Visitor Station (around 9,200 feet) instead, which I’d read was still worth it for the sunset and the stars.

Here’s the honest part: it didn’t work out for us. We made the hour-and-fifteen drive up and it was rainy and socked in with clouds — we couldn’t see a thing, and the staff told us it wasn’t going to clear. So after an hour each way, we turned around with nothing to show for it. A big bummer.

My tip if you’re going to try it: call the Visitor Station first and ask about the cloud cover and rain before you commit to the drive. It’s a long way up to get skunked. If the skies are clear, I’ve heard it’s incredible — and bring serious warm layers, because it gets VERY cold up there. Jackets, hoodies, pants, blankets, snacks. More than you think.

Day 5 (Tuesday) — Snorkeling & Manta Rays

We left Waikoloa early and drove about an hour and fifteen south.

• Breakfast at The Coffee Shack (the one with the geckos) — a fun, scenic start.

GECKOS

• Two Step snorkeling — we’d watched the surf reports nervously, but conditions held and we got to do it as planned. It’s one of the best snorkel spots on the island, and it lived up to it. NOTE: There’s not a beach you can “beach” at here. If you have littles or want to snorkel in shifts, be sure to bring chairs and things to do while you wait for snorkelers!

Now, the honest part. We’d planned to surf this afternoon, but a surf advisory shut it down. So we pivoted: we spent the afternoon in Kona town doing souvenir shopping, thrifting, and just hanging out — which was actually a nice, low-key break.

We also tried Kohanaiki Beach, and I’ll save you the trip: I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s super rocky, and a wave snuck up and absolutely drowned our stuff. (True story. Lesson learned.)

Then we rallied for the highlight of the whole trip: the Manta Ray Night Snorkel. We left Waikoloa around 5:30 for a 6:30 tour and were back by about 9:15.

OH MY GOSH, this is so freaking cool!!! Floating in the dark while giant, graceful manta rays loop right beneath you? Incredible. DO IT. Our guide said we would be “licking distance” to a manta ray and it was so true!! Literally right up to you, and the largest one we saw was 15 feet across and 50 pounds. No, these are manta rays, so they don’t have a stinger and only eat plankton – completely safe.

I hear the company you use makes a difference. One friend I have did a tour and only saw a ray for 2 seconds – so sad! We did the Kona Snorkel Trips and the earlier 6:30 tour. I would recommend them!

Day 6 (Wednesday) — Hidden Beaches & Our Best Beach Day

Our last full day, and we let everyone sleep in after the manta rays.

We’d hoped to surf again, but the advisory meant no surfing the whole back half of the trip — so we leaned all the way into beach day instead.

• Açaí bowls at Kona Wave Cafe — instead of the popular Basik Açaí, we went for this more budget-friendly Kona spot. Tasty and a good value (even if not amazing), and an easy dairy-free way to start the day.
• Makalawena Beach — this one takes a short 15–20 minute walk across lava rock to reach, and it is SO worth it. Turquoise water, soft sand, fewer crowds. If you want one “wow” beach, this is it.

• Hāpuna Beach — a huge, easy white-sand beach to round out the day. This is the only beach we went to that had white sand and no ROCKS at the shoreline. A great place to relax or boogie board. I wish we had gone to this one sooner and spent more time here – hands down the nicest beach we went to!

• Sunset at the beach — the perfect way to close out the week.

Day 7 (Thursday) — Departure

We left Waikoloa around 7:30, made the easy 30-minute drive to the Kona airport, and flew home with happy, sun-tired kids. Staying on the west side that last night made the morning flight painless.

What I’d Do Differently (Honest Tips)

A few things I wish someone had told me:

• Give the Kona side more nights. We split it three and three, but I’d do two nights on the Hilo side and four on the Kona side. Two days is enough to see the Hilo highlights — the jungle, the waterfalls, and the volcano — and the Kona side is where all the soft-sand, easy-water beach days are. We ran short on exactly that.
• Hit the Hilo Farmers Market on a Wednesday or Saturday for the big version (~200 vendors), not the small weekday/Sunday one.
• Do Akaka Falls earlier in the day — Google shows it closing at 5pm, so don’t save it for the evening.
• Only drive to Waipiʻo Valley Lookout on a clear day. Check the weather or a webcam first if you can. Clouds = no view.
• Laupāhoʻehoe Point is a leg-stretch, not a destination. Too rocky to swim.
• Skip Kohanaiki Beach (or at least don’t set your stuff near the water — those waves are sneaky).
• Dairy-free families, go into the famous bakeries with a plan. Punaluʻu Bake Shop and Tex Drive-In are malasada-famous, but there’s almost nothing dairy-free at either — mine could only get a drink. And don’t show up right before close, or the signature lilikoʻi malasadas will be sold out (we got stuck with chocolate). Pack your own treats so no one feels left out.
• Watch the volcano webcams. If Kīlauea is erupting while you’re there, rearrange your day and go see it.
• Chain of Craters Road is optional. We drove it to feel like we’d seen the whole park, but the sea arch view at the end was a letdown and it was super windy. Skip it if you’re short on time and don’t just love a long scenic drive.
• You can skip the Shaka Guide app. Lots of people love it, but the set order didn’t work for how we like to adventure, and I didn’t learn as much as I’d hoped. Try a free option first before you commit.
• Build in flexibility for water days. Surf advisories are real and can cancel snorkeling or surfing with little notice. Have a backup plan.
• Call the Mauna Kea Visitor Station before you drive up. It’s over an hour each way, and we got rained and clouded out with zero view. A quick call about the weather could’ve saved us the trip. (And if you do go, over-pack warm layers — it’s freezing.)
• Know your rental car’s Mauna Kea rules. Most companies, including Enterprise (ours), forbid driving the summit road. We knew going in, so we planned for the Visitor Station instead.

Where We Ate (Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free)

I wrote a whole separate post on how we flew with allergen-friendly food to Hawaii on a budget — that’s where you’ll find the full rundown of the restaurants we actually ate at and how we handled gluten-free and dairy-free on the island. Go read that one for the food details.

For groceries, our two big stops were Walmart in Kona (first stop off the plane for beach supplies and pantry food) and Costco. At Costco we mostly just got fresh produce and a fast and easy meal (Aidell’s Pineapple Chicken Meatballs). 

A few treat stops worth knowing: The Coffee Shack has a fun breakfast spot (with geckos!) on the way to snorkeling. For açaí, we skipped the popular Basik Açaí and went for a more budget-friendly spot in Kona instead — Kona Wave Cafe. It was solid and tasty and a good bang for your buck, just not anything amazing.

Now an important note for dairy-free families: a couple of the famous bakery stops lean heavily on dairy. Punaluʻu Bake Shop (malasadas and sweet bread) and Tex Drive-In (also malasadas) are both highly recommended spots — but there’s very little a dairy-free kid can actually eat at either. At Punaluʻu, two of my kids could only get a drink, and it was hard enough that we ended up skipping Tex Drive-In altogether later in the trip rather than put them through feeling left out again. So if anyone in your group has a dairy allergy or sensitivity, plan ahead: let these be a treat for the folks who can have them, and pack your own snacks for everyone else.

Gluten-free and dairy-free spots we’d try next time. Real talk: this was my son’s senior trip, so we let him pick where we ate, and we just didn’t eat out much. So I can’t personally review these. But as a gluten-free, dairy-free blogger, I did the homework, and these are the spots that come up again and again for our kind of eating. If you’ve got more restaurant time than we did, start here (and always confirm your needs with staff, since cross-contact is a risk anywhere):

• Foster’s Kitchen (Kailua-Kona & Waikoloa) — lots of gluten-free options and a dedicated gluten-free fryer, which is the green flag I always look for. Two locations, both right where you’ll be on the Kona side.
• Racha Thai (Waikoloa Village & Waimea) — a 100% gluten-free Thai spot, and so much Thai food is naturally dairy-free anyway. It’s tucked into little food courts, but worth hunting down.
• Sweet Potato Kitchen — 100% gluten-free and organic with a ton of vegan (dairy-free) options, so basically the whole menu is safe for a crew like ours.
• Journey Cafe — this one got highly recommended to me by a friend right after our trip (she even sent photos that had me wishing we’d gone). It’s entirely gluten-free and dairy-free, plant-based, with organic, local ingredients — exactly the kind of place where you don’t have to ask a single nervous question before you order.

Bonus dairy-free treat: Nicoco Hawaiian Gelato (Hilo & Pāhoa) churns coconut-milk gelato that’s vegan and gluten-free — the kind of dessert stop where my dairy-free boys could actually get the real thing instead of just a drink.

Budget

I almost left this out, but I know it’s one of the most helpful parts — and I believe in being transparent about money. (As always: we save and plan for trips like this. It’s not magic, it’s budgeting.)

Here’s the big one: we covered our flights, both home rentals, and our rental car entirely with points. That’s a massive chunk of a Hawaii trip handled before we ever spent a dollar. I’m not going to put fake numbers on those lines, because for us they were essentially free — and if you want to learn how to do the same, I walk through the whole system in my travel hacking post. Start there.

So the only real out-of-pocket costs left for us were the on-the-ground stuff:

• Activities (manta ray tour, park fees, etc.): The highest cost here was the manta rays, as it was the *only* paid activity we did. It cost $182 per person, and 6 of our family did it, for a total of $1097. Beyond that, we paid about $300 in parking and entrance fees.
  • I’m really glad we booked with who we did, as it allowed cancellations up to 48 hours beforehand. My husband doesn’t love deep water and didn’t come, grateful I was able to get that money back!. 
• Food (groceries + eating out + treats): We brought a lot of food with us that I didn’t total. But, we spent $489 at Walmart and Costco for groceries on the island for 7 days with 7 people. We spent $470 for three meals and a beach snack eating out. OUCH. This is why we brought or cooked most our food!
• Gas: We spent $344.36 on gas for the week. 

TOTAL (out of pocket): $2700 (again, this is not including house, car rental, or flights, which we used points for)

FAQ

How many days do you need on the Big Island? A week was a good amount for us. It let us split our time between the two sides and still have a real beach day at the end. You could do the highlights in 5–6 days if you’re moving fast, but the island is big and the drives add up.

Should you really split your lodging between two sides? For us, yes. The Hilo (east) side has the waterfalls, rainforest, and Volcanoes National Park. The Kona (west) side has the sunny beaches, calm snorkeling, and manta rays. Staying on both meant way less daily driving. We did three nights on each side, but if I did it again I’d do two nights on the Hilo side and four on the Kona side — the Hilo side is the adventuring side and you can hit the highlights in two days, while the Kona side has all the classic sunny beach days you’ll want more time for. If you can only pick one, the Kona side is easier with kids.

Is the Big Island good for families? Absolutely. The hikes we did were short and doable, the snorkeling spots were beginner-friendly, and seeing the volcano and the manta rays were once-in-a-lifetime moments for our boys. Just pace yourself and plan for early bedtimes after big days.

How do you know if the volcano is erupting? Check the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) site and the live webcams. Kīlauea erupts in episodes that usually last around 8–12 hours, so if it’s active while you’re nearby, go see it.

Do you need a rental car? Yes. The Big Island is spread out and the best stops aren’t close together. A car (with room for your crew and gear) is essential.

Is the Big Island doable gluten-free and dairy-free? It is. We brought a lot of our own gluten-free, dairy-free food and only ate out once a day, then filled in with groceries from Walmart Kona and Foodland Waimea. I break down the restaurants and food strategy in this post.

What should you pack for Mauna Kea? Real winter layers — jackets, hoodies, pants, and blankets. It’s near 9,200 feet at the Visitor Station and it gets cold fast after sunset. We stayed at the Visitor Station rather than the summit — the summit sits near 14,000 feet and most rental cars (ours was an Enterprise) aren’t allowed up the summit road anyway.

Is Mauna Kea worth it? Honestly, I can’t personally vouch for it. On a clear night, by all accounts I’m told it’s incredible — sunset above the clouds and amazing stargazing — but we got clouded and rained out at the Visitor Station and never saw a thing, even after a long drive up. So I can only pass along what others say, not what we experienced. Call the Visitor Station to check the cloud cover and rain before you commit to the hour-plus drive each way, so you don’t get skunked like we did.

Other Hawaii & Family Travel Posts You’ll Love

If you’re planning a family trip to Hawaii, these will help you map it all out:

• Our Family Trip to Oahu — our full Oahu itinerary, activities, and budget.
• Flying With Allergen-Friendly Food to Hawaii on a Budget — exactly how we eat gluten-free and dairy-free on the island without spending a fortune.
• Save $$ with Travel Hacking – How we paid $0 for our flights, housing, and rental car for this trip!