Headed to Kona for spring break, have not had much time to research this trip and this is my first time in HI. We are staying at the Fairmont Orchid, and have rented a Jeep for the week. It will be my wife and I, and two of our girls age 4 and 12. Kids are expecting a beach, but form research that's not really a thing. TIA!

The Fairmont Orchid has a fantastic beach and snorkeling lagoon. I think it's all man-made, but it's perfect.

Two great excursions on the island are snorkeling with Manta Rays (we used Manta Ray Dives of Hawaii) and a sunset trip to the summit of Mauna Kea.

Our trip to the summit was cut short due to bad weather, but a friend at work did it after us and the photos are absolutely stunning. Company is Mauna Kea Summit Adventures.

Not sure of the age requirements on either activity, so you may be limited by that.

Snorkel at Two Step and get out to the bay near Captain Cook Monument to snorkel as well. Volcano National Park is cool. And definitely swim with the mantas. That's one of the coolest things I've ever done.

Mauna Kea observatory is unreal. You go up the saddle road. Need 4WD to go to the very tip top.

We went last summer and had a great time! Our kids were 8 and 10, so similar. Loved the Fairmont Orchid. The lagoon area is great for snorkeling and swimming. The pool is great too. Wear some kind of water shoes when snorkeling; there's sharp rocks and sea urchins in there.

Our favorite activity was a snorkeling boat trip. We went with Captain Zodiac. We did the morning session because they said it often rains in the afternoon, and it was indeed raining on our boat ride back.

We also loved the coffee tour at Heavenly Hawaiian. They walk you through their process from planting to harvesting to drying to roasting. And the samples were really good. We grabbed lunch at Randy's Huli Chicken and Ribs (Hawaiian bbq) and ate it at Kamakana Playground park.

The volcano was erupting while we were there, so we went to Volcanos National Park. It's a long drive from the hotel. We left early to try to see the eruption before sunrise, but didn't quite make it. It was still a cool thing to see. We did the lava tube hike and the trail of craters drive. We ate at Cafe Ono nearby. And we stopped at Punalu'u Bakery on the way back, would definitely recommend. We tried to stop at the black sand beach, but it was packed.

If you need groceries at the hotel, go to KTA at Waikoloa Village.

I did a discovering SCUBA dive with Kona Honu divers. It was a 1:1 dive with an instructor and didn't have to be certified. Had a great time with that.

We did the luau at the Fairmont Orchid and we all enjoyed it. It was little cheesy, the food was good not great (can probably say that about most stuff we ate, Texas has better food), but the Mai Tais were good and unending.

2wealfth Man said:

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Mauna Kea observatory is unreal. You go up the saddle road. Need 4WD to go to the very tip top.

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This. Unbelievable up there

Hapuna Beach is the beach your looking for. Short drive north, but classic sandy beach.

La-Oloa is a small beach but convenient in the south part of town. If not crowded worth visiting.

Stunning. I will go back one day to see that for myself. We actually made it to the summit, but we couldn't see more than 15 feet in front of us. IThe telecscopes almost completely blended in with the clouds/fog. t was snowing, and the park officials made us turn back around. Pretty much the biggest disappointment I've had on a vacation.

Hapuna beach (lifeguards call it breakneck) has some of the best sand on the island. Wintertime surf is dangerous due to the shore breaks, but calm in the summer. You have plenty of good advice here already, definitely check out the lava tubes near Hilo. You can skydive off the west tip of the island if that's your thing. You can rent a kayak and cross the bay to get to capt cook to snorkel rather than hike. Way more enjoyable imo. Keahole airport is kind of fun/small outdoors, but don't get there too early when going home. You will be all sweaty and gross for your flight. Enjoy

Anyone been to Mauna Kea AND Haleakala at sunrise? If so, how do they compare?

Another vote for swimming with the Mantas. Just an extraordinary experience.

Papakolea Green Sand Beach is one of very few green sand beaches in the world. The hike to get to it is murder, but my 82 year old MIL did it so you can too.

Punalu'u is a nice black sand beach just north of Papakolea.

Agree with Stinky, Hapuna beach is the best "true" beach experience on the island.

Got back early this morning, and we had a great time. Thought I would update this thread in case anyone comes across it.

Fairmont Orchid was nice. Next time we go, I would prefer renting a house or condo with a kitchen-

First day we went to Mountain Thunder coffee farm. They had a free guided tour, and after for ten bucks you could do a self guided nature hike. Highly recommend this place, we had a blast. They had a couple of cats, and one named princess that was their mascot. We planned to visit a seahorse farm as well but they wanted $70 per adult and $50 for kids. Seemed ridiculous for a 30 minute tour, so we passed and don't regret it.
https://www.mountainthunder.com/

For the rest of the first day we picked up some lunch and went and had picnic at a beach at the old airport. Then we went to a salt farm. I wasn't impressed, but the girls seemed to like it.

We stayed here last year and loved it. grilled steaks on the lanai on one evening after hitting Costco. Breakfast in house every morning.

https://www.vrbo.com/1586927

Lava Lava beach club is great for a drink at sunset.

For future reference for anyone going, our favorites:

Activities:
Black sand beach (Polulu Valley Beach)
Ziplining with Umauma
Spearfishing with Top Shot Spearfishing
ATV tour (Kohala UTV Adventure)
Any of the many snorkeling tours (such as Fair Wind or Captain Zodiak)
Surfing lessons with Kona Town Surf Adventures
Captain Cook Monument Hike
Golf, many courses available, Mauna Kea Course is awesome
Hapuna Beach (some really good snorkeling on both ends of the beach as well)
Rappelling at Kulaniapia Falls

Restaurants:
Canoe House
Merriman's
FORC
Meridia
Roy's
HaLani at The Auberge Mauna Lani
Brown's Beach House
Manta
Pueo's Osteria
Ulu Sushi

Da Poke Shack - INCREDIBLE