1-Week Family-Friendly Travel Itinerary On The Big Island

Planning a trip to Hawaii? Check out this awesome one-week family-friendly travel itinerary on the Big Island – one of Hawaii’s amazing islands full of beautiful places to explore! 

A few months ago, my family and I enjoyed nine days on the Big Island. We’ve visited Kauai and Honolulu before, so it marked our third Hawaiian island.

When we travel with our 5-year old, instead of doing a completely kid-centric trip (for instance, Disney), we like to visit places and participate in activities that are both exciting for us adults yet suitable and fun for our kid as well. Our daughter has developed into a great traveler who loves going for hikes, playing at beaches, and exploring new places. She goes everywhere with us, and we like to be adventurous!

Our itinerary for the Big Island includes things like playing on a black sand beach, hiking in a lava tube and around a volcano, visiting a local farm, and enjoying treats like out of this world shave ice. And today, I’m sharing our family-friendly travel itinerary on the Big Island to hopefully inspire you with ideas of what to do on vacation there with your own family!

Things to keep in mind:

• We were based on the southern part of Kailua-Kona in the coastal area of Keauhou.
• We arrived on a Thursday, and this itinerary starts Day 1 on a Friday.
• Getting around the Big Island is very easy with a rental car.

• Part of the reality of traveling with a child for us is not packing a ton into a day as we did before becoming parents and being selective about what traveling we do in the midst of a trip. I like to strike a balance of enjoying laidback time in the local area we’re staying while also venturing out for day trips. For this reason, we didn’t see every single major thing you can see on the entire island, and you’ll notice that there are some popular spots that we didn’t get to (for instance, the Kona Cloud Forest). Next time we visit the island, getting to the Hilo side and northern tip will be on my list!
• I’ve included some eateries in the itinerary, particularly when they’re convenient to where we spent the day, but I also have included restaurants that we enjoyed at the end of this article. We eat mostly healthy plant-based food, and when we travel, we definitely treat ourselves to some sweets and treats.

My Family-Friendly Travel Itinerary on the Big Island

Day 1 Agenda

Morning: Get settled, pick up any groceries you want for the week (we recommend grabbing snacks for beach & hike days + we mostly ate breakfast at our place), and pop into some local shops. We loved Petals & Provisions – a charming florist shop that has some great locally made products and food items, such as sourdough bread and homemade pasta. We picked up beautiful leis to wear + some goodies.

We also stopped at a few places right off Kuakini Highway, including Puna Chocolate and an art studio within the same plaza.

Afternoon: Soak up the sun and explore Ke’ei Beach!

On an island full of tourists, Ke’ei Beach was one of the quieter beaches we visited during our stay. With a secluded bumpy dirt road leading to the beach, it definitely feels like a local spot. The beach had little tidepools to splash and relax in – and don’t leave your snorkel gear behind! We saw some great sea life, including big sea turtles and neon-colored fish.

Evening: Have dinner in Kailua-Kona at Foster’s Kitchen – the waterfront views are lovely and the keiki menu includes mac & cheese, chicken tenders and grilled cheese – watch the sunset, and grab shave ice at Gecko Girlz Shave Ice (the cherry blossom is an indulgent treat!).

Day 2

Morning: Roam and taste your way through one of the many local farmer’s markets.

We enjoyed a morning at Keauhou Farmer’s Market, which was full of cute stands, friendly locals and fun music. There are many other weekend market arounds, including the Kona Farmer’s Market and Big Island Farmer’s Market within Outrigger Kona Resort.

Afternoon: Swim the day away at beautiful Kua Bay Beach.

The gorgeous clear water, white sand, and moderate waves made Kua Bay one of our favorite beaches on the island. My daughter had an absolute blast here – so much so, that Kua Bay was the only beach we visited twice on the Big Island! 

Day 3

Morning: Head out on a day trip to the eastern side of the island.

Grab breakfast at The Coffee Shack en route – a popular breakfast spot in Captain Cook that offers pretty views and items like Hawaiian French toast and a papaya boat.

Afternoon: Explore Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park – one of the most awe-inspiring and geologically significant national parks in the US with many options for short hikes with young kids. The park protects some of the world’s most active volcanoes. In fact, while we were there, Kīlauea was erupting and we got to see steam vents and lava flowing!

Tip: Don’t forget to pack your National Parks pass if you’ve got one. We have a lifetime pass that we forgot to bring on the trip, but the park kindly let us in for free anyways! 

We checked out a few lookout points, walked through the super short Thurston Lava Tube Trail (anyone can do this one!), and hiked the Kilauea Iki & Crater Rim Trail. The trail was a 3.2 mile loop with 740 feet in elevation gain that took us over a black rock crater – pretty neat!

The hike + lava tube walk took us about 3 hours to complete. Workout-wise it wasn’t too difficult for any of us, though it did get hot walking across the crater in the hot sun, so definitely pack a lot of water. Parking was a bit sparse when we were there, but the hike and lava tube were definitely a fun experience worth the pain.

Evening: Visit Punaluu Black Sand Beach on the way back to Kailua-Kona.

Who can resist the chance to visit a black sand beach?! Punaluu is a lovely beach on the way back from the park. Bring a picnic dinner or stop at Hana Hou, the southernmost restaurant in the U.S., to grab a bite.

Day 4

Morning: Do a Heavenly Hawaiian Coffee Tour. Tucked in the hills of Holualoa, this charming farm offers beautiful views and lots of personality.

The farm offers walking tours from 8:30 to 3:30 Monday through Saturday (book it in advance) that are educational for adults and short and interactive enough for kids to enjoy as well.

Afternoon: Grab refreshing acai bowls at the quaint spot Acai Hawaii (Basik Acai), then spend some time strolling around Kailua-Kona.

Evening: Enjoy the sunset at Honl’s Beach – a small, sandy beach park known as the birthplace of boogie boarding.

Head over to waterfront restaurant Huggo’s to grab dinner… or grab dinner first, then watch the sunset depending on bedtimes and the time of year! Huggo’s had live music and a hula dancer while we were there. My daughter LOVED the hula dancing and had a blast jumping in and participating.

Day 5

Morning: Journey to the southern tip of the island for the day!

First, visit Paradise Meadows Orchard & Bee Farm to check out the animals, farm and store.

Afternoon: Hike to Papakolea Green Sand Beach and spend the afternoon on one of four green sand beaches in the world! The sand’s greenish tint is created by a common mineral in Big Island lava called olivine.

The hike is about 5.5 miles round trip, so I wouldn’t recommend it if you have really young kids that do not go in a hiking backpack. However, the trail does not have a lot of elevation difficulty and it’s more of a walk, and it offers pretty beach views most of the time. There’s also the option to hitch a ride with one of the locals in their trucks, who were charging $20/person while we were there. Personally, we find the fun in the journey, and with making the trek ourselves, we got to come up on this breathtaking view:

It’s an absolutely stunning place! Unfortunately the wind was really strong while we were there, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the beach.

Evening: Grab dinner on the way back at Shaka Tacoz or another restaurant in Captain Cook, or elsewhere.

Day 6

Morning: Grab malasadas – Portuguese donuts first brought to Hawaii when people came to work in the sugar plantations. Popular spots include Paradise Bakery and Standard Bakery.

Recommendation: Get a guava malasada!

Then, bring your donuts to Higashihara Park – a great family park that features a wooden playground.

Afternoon/evening: Explore the Waikōloa Beach Resort area. Besides it being a beautiful area with a ton of resorts, restaurants and shops, there’s a lot of options of things to do, including ʻAnaehoʻomalu Beach, Waikōloa Petroglyph Reserve, Dolphin Quest, Hawai’i Keiki Museum and live music at at Queens’ Garden. Don’t leave without trying a shave ice from OBISIC in King’s Shop!

Day 7

Morning: Explore Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park, which celebrates the history of the Hawaiian people who lived on the land for centuries. Stroll along the footpaths, view the wildlife and take in the sights.

Afternoon: Swim and snorkel at Honaunau Bay. Also known as Two Step Beach, it’s located right next to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park and is known to be a great place for snorkeling and diving. We enjoyed swimming next to big sea turtles!

Note: There isn’t a ton of room to lay out on the beach here, and we spent most of our time here in the water.

Additional Big Island Eateries to Note

In addition to the restaurants I’ve mentioned in the itinerary, here are some eateries we enjoyed during our stay:

-Big Island Fireart, a Chinese eatery located in Waikoloa Village.

-Clover & Mug, a great little cafe where I had my first croffle (croissant + waffle), which was delicious!

-Island Lava Java, an oceanfront restaurant that serves every meal and has something for everyone. Pictured above is their vegan brekky.

-Journey Cafe, a casual spot tucked into Kona Inn Shopping Village that offers healthy vegan fare.

-Peaberry & Galette, a cafe that serves coffees, crepes and sandwiches.

And that’s a wrap on my family-friendly travel itinerary on the Big Island. I hope that my recommendations serve as inspiration for your Hawaiian travels!

Have you ever been to the Big Island? Any questions? Feel free to ask below!

Are you looking for more Hawaiian travel ideas?

Check out my article, 10 Memorable Experiences in Kauai.