The bulk of our trip was staying in Kona and visiting the sites on the Big Island. We have never been here before so we were excited about seeing what the island has to offer. Turns out it was a lot.


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Horseback Riding with Paniolo Adventures

One of the first things the girls wanted to do was horseback ride so we found this place called Paniolo Adventures way on the north end of the island. It was a nice scenic hour drive from Kona. We chose the 1 hour "City Slicker" route because none of us are experienced horseback riders. It was a nice day, nice scenery and a good time had by all.


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Luau at Royal Kona Resort

No visit to Hawaii is complete with a Luau. This one was great. The setting right on the water was awesome, open bar, good food and a great show. The kids especially liked the Samoan Fire Dance.


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Ocean Kayaking in Kahaluu-Keanhou

The girls wanted to Ocean Kayaking one day, which normally would be an easy trip to the rental shop right on the strip but this day was some big Canoe Race day and the strip was packed. I found another place a few miles south of Kona that had kayaks available. It was in Kahaluu-Keauhou near the Holua Resort at Mauna Loa Village. What was nice is thay had a three person kayak that was perfect so we could have one adult take both kids at the same time.


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Black Beaches and Green Beaches

Everyone knows Hawaii has a lot of black sand beaches but did you know Hawaii also has green sand? It's true, sorta. We heard about the mythical green sand beaches from a friend but there was very little in any tourist guide about them. Apparently the locals want to keep them secret.

It took us two visits to the South End to actually find a green sand beach. We never made it to the nicer one because it's pretty hard to get to our really not possible with little kids. But with a 4x4 it is possible to get to one of the other beaches without too much trouble.


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