Hi everyone! We just came back from our honeymoon in Hawaii and since I got a lot of help and advice from the knot/nest before going, I thought I'd try to give a few tips/reviews for anyone considering a honeymoon on the big island..
Hotel:
Hitlon Waikoloa Village- This resort was AMAZING- beautiful and full of activities and things to do. The resort is HUGE and has 3 main buildings you can stay in (connected via lonnggg walkways, trams, or river boats). We stayed in the Lagoon Tower (which I would recommend as it was a short walk from the main lobby and near the main pool). Our room was beautiful and overlooked the protected lagoon where you can snorkel, paddle boat, etc. The resort has 3 pools, dolphins, shops, full spa, activity centers, 6+ restaurants. I will warn you that eating there is pricey, so consider going out of the resort for meals. Otherwise, it was a wonderful place and a beautiful location for a honeymoon.
Activities:
Night Time Manta Ray Dive- There is a reason why this is a Travel Channel top 10 dive to do- we actually snorkeled it... basically you go out just before sunset and then get into the water once it is dark. Since we snorkeled, we held onto a large floating ring while a huge light was cast down into the water- the light attracts plankton and the manta rays come and feed on them. They were HUGE and GORGEOUS and it really is a unique experience. There are a lot of different companies that offer this dive, and most will offer a discount if you book more than one activity through them.
Paradise Helicopter 2 hour tour of island- Even though I got sick on the ride, it was definitly worth it. We were able to see the entire island, including the volcanic area. This is probably one of the only ways to actually see flowing lava (when we went to the Volcano National Park it was impossible to get to see it during the day). We also were able to see the beautiful waterfalls on the Northern coast of the island that you probably could not get to by car.
Atlantis Submarine Dive- Since I cannot SCUBA, this was a way for us to go wayyy down under the water. We were able to see all kinds of creatures and fish and 2 shipwrecks, which was veryyy neat.
Hope this helps anyone heading to Hawaii!!!
