Hawaii – Day 7 – Travels with Carolyne

Big Island – Day 7 of a 8-Day Trip in Hawaii

Day 7 consisted of a Kula Kai Cave tour, exploration of Kailua-Kona, and then ending with a snorkel with the manta rays at Keauhou Bay.

Day 7
Big Island

The day started with breakfast at the house once again. The cave tour was a bit later in the morning, so it was nice to have a slow morning. The Kula Kai Cave Tour is about an hour and forty-five minute drive from Hilo and consists of a series of lava caves formed centuries ago. Their connections are so vast and there are multiple surface exits. Our tour guide even told us that one of the cave exits is by his home and he has walked home through the caves from his office. There are multiple levels of cave tours – part of the group, including myself, just did the walking tour and a smaller group of us did a full cave tour that involves scrambling and wearing gear (helmut, head lamp, gloves, and knee pads). Both tours start with a history talk about the volcanos and the rock formations on Big Island prior to entering the cave. It was very informative. There is a cool spot in the cave where a red light has been placed and it makes it look like there is lava oozing down the walls.

After the tour, we drove to Heavenly Hawaii Coffee Farm to try out Kona coffee. The coffee farm offers tours, but we decided just to do the coffee sampling – which they let us do for free! The view from the farm is great too.

Next, we drove to Kailua-Kona (also known as just Kona) and walked through the town – stopping at the shops to browse and taking pictures of the ocean.

For dinner, we went to a bbq restaurant called Ohana Q. I ordered the brisket sandwich which came with tortilla chips and freshly made salsa. Note if you are following this itinerary and going to the Manta Ray Snorkel afterwards, I would recommend not eating too much prior to.

It was then time to head to Keauhou Bay for the manta ray snorkel (must be booked ahead of time). This was a great experience. There are so many manta rays in the ocean and they swim so close to you. Highly recommended! Note – warning for those who get seasick easily, seasickness may happen on the boat. It is pitch black out and there will not be a point in the distance to stare at to help the seasickness.