Everything I Did On the Big Island!

Written By Dominique Tungpalan

Table of Contents

  • Where did I stay on the Big Island?

  • Activities we did and what we rate them.

  • The food we recommend and the stories behind them.

  • The things we bought that made our trip amazing!

    ***I make a commission if you use any affiliate link that you may click on. Please and thank you in advance for your help! ***

Aloha and welcome!

My name is Dominique, but my friends call me Niqui (Ni-kki)! I love going on trips knowing absolutely nothing before doing research. Should I do research before spending the time, money, and energy? Yes, absolutely! But do I really do that? No…not really. But that’s okay!

I hope that if you are planning on going any trip, you get to somehow come across my blog and read about my experiences.

I dedicate my time and energy to share my stories with my fellow travelers hoping that they’ll learn something from my experiences. I hope you say, “That place sounds like a great idea!” or “Oh actually, I didn’t know that either. I’m glad I read about it.”

Honestly, I’m just glad that you’re reading in the first place!!! Thank you for the support, mahalo and enjoy :)

Here’s a layout of the places that we went to on our trip!!! Before going on this trip, my fiancé and I did NOT have any sort of plan. We just said “That looks like fun let’s do that!” Or “Yes we definitely should do this because it’s the Hawaii vibe”. We splurged on tour guides of different activities such as Snorkeling with Manta ray’s, Surfing lessons, and a Submarine Tour. We explored the rest of the island on days we did not have activities. But I wondered what would happen if I were to write down all of the places that we’ve visited so that, so the picture above is exactly what you think it is!

How long did we stay for?

We stayed on the Big Island for 7 days. Now if you’re wondering if seven days is too long or too short. It all depends on what you want to do on your trip! Some people say that three days is too long, others say that three days isn’t enough. It is all based on preference and what your budget is. Be real with yourself! Book yourself a trip that you will enjoy and remember for the rest of your life. Arthur wanted to go full out because little did I know that he had a sneaky surprise. Keep reading and you'll see what the surprise was :)

Where did we stay?

We booked everything through Expedia. We stayed at an Airbnb called the Kona Magic Sands Oceanfront Studio. We are simple people who don’t ask for much. It provided everything that we needed on our trip! Full kitchen, bathroom, small living room, dining table, AC, ocean view, pool, and what we loved the most is that there were beach supplies! We took their snorkeling gear, beach matts/towels, beach chairs, and sand castle tools with us to the beach that is right outside the Condo. Although a little confused on how to get in, we figured it out! The AC ended up breaking and we called the owner to see if she can fix it. She was super nice and helped us get it fixed. She even checked in on us to see if everything was okay on our last few days.

Arthur’s big surprise!?!?

Long story short, I am engaged!!!!! It was the most wonderful moment in my life. I didn’t have a clue that he was going to propose to me! No one accidentally spilled the tea that something exciting was going to happen on the trip. No spoilers, nothing that would have me suspect that he was going to pop the big question. I couldn’t believe my eyes! The picture above is a place on the Big Island called, Waipi'o Valley. Arthur really wanted to get to this place before sunset, but I didn’t put any thought into it because he is usually like that when we go traveling. There was only one other couple that was there and the view was perfect. When the sun was slowly setting it created a contrast between the mountain and the water. The lookout had beautiful landscape! There were butterflies in the air and three to four cats playing in the tall grass. Arthur set up his phone and started his beautiful speech. Now, when I was a little girl, I thought that when the love of my life would propose to me I would be leaping in joy. But the moment when Arthur got down on one knee, I just started crying because it was the most wholesome moment in my life. Happy tears were flowing down my face and all I wanted to do was hug him. It was the most perfect way and I couldn’t ask for a better proposal.

Activities we did and what we rate them!

***If you’re interested in knowing what company’s we went through, please contact me!!!**

  • SNORKELING WITH MANTA RAYS: 1000000/10 

IT WAS AMAZING! You get to swim with those beautiful creatures. Arthur and I loved it so much to say that we recommend it to anyone who goes to Kona. I don’t want to say too much about the experience because I want you to see it for yourself, but here are some things to expect. You will take a short boat ride to see these magnificent creatures. There is no harm done to them by seeing them. We are in their environment and help them by feeding them! You will be provided a wet suit and complimentary snacks. Side note: We recommend to bring two towels, wet and dry. It will get cold on the boat, use one to get dry & the other to stay warm. The tour company offers Go Pro’s, but we bought our own Waterproof Floating Phone Pouch from Amazon. It worked just as fine and we didn’t have to pay the cost to rent the Go Pro’s. The product we bought off of Amazon was less than $15!!! Link: https://amzn.to/42ZscaX

  • SURFING LESSONS: 9/10 

Ya know… the older you get the more you understand that some physical things are for people who are in shape. Other than that, the place we went through was called Kahalu’u Bay Surf and Sea. They were very informative and made us feel safe while being out in the ocean. The guides were super nice! They provided wet shoes that we wore while surfing and swimming out to catch the perfect waves for beginners. The wet shoes protects your feet from stepping on the rocks and keeps you steady on the surf board. Most importantly, use sunscreen! Unfortunately, Arthur didn’t put any sunscreen on and he suffered the consequences later. PLEASE USE REEF SAFE SUNSCREEN! This is something that I had to buy on the Island because I purchased a sunscreen brand that was NOT environmental safe. Be considerate of the planet and animals! :) Here is a link to a Reef Safe Sunscreen: https://amzn.to/40Sn0Ur

  • SUBMARINE TOUR: 10/10

Loved it! You take a small boat ride out that leads you to the submarine. Our tour guide was super funny and made our experience wonderful! Saw things that I never thought I’d see and learn a ton about the ocean. It is very family friendly! Once you climb down a latter to get into the submarine, you sit back and enjoy the show! I wished that I would’ve brought my handy dandy Stanley water thermal water bottle with me. I love that even if it’s hot in Hawaii, my water still stays super cold! Here is a link to a Stanley Bottle: https://amzn.to/3ZBPgtk

The food we recommend to eat!

  • Ulu Ocean Grill [$$$$]

Funny story! We accidentally stumbled upon this restaurant. We were on our way back from visiting the Volcano’s National Park and ended up craving sushi. As young tourists, we didn’t think to look at the $$$$ price rating on google. When we got to the entrance, it was really fancy. We had to get through a gate in order to get to the parking lot of the restaurant. Turns out, it is a 4.5 star hotel called Four Seasons . After dinner, we found out that suites in this hotel run about $2,000.00 for a single night. Arthur and I were treated as royalty the moment we walked in. Oh trust me, we definitely felt out of place! The staff was absolutely amazing and their food was out of this world.

  • HiCO Hawaiian Coffee [$$]

I’m not much of a coffee person, but I tasted their Ube Coffee and absolutely fell in love!!!!! We liked it so much that we decided to go back a second time in the day. They also sell different types of coffee and amazing cafe food. Arthur bought a great quality shirt from the cafe

  • Shaved Ice [$]

Did you know that when it got too hot, Japanese immigrants in Hawaii used tools to shave ice off of large blocks of ice. They then coated it with sugar or added fruit to give it some taste! That is the history of shave ice in Hawaii. In modern day, there are a bunch of new things that can be added to your amazing dessert that’ll cool you down in the heat such as, scoops of ice cream, fruit, condense milk, candy, etc! You gotta try!!!!!

  • Zippy’s [$$]

This is my childhood!!!! I will only eat chili from this place. Just like the west coast of the United States has In-N-Out and Raising Cane’s, Zippy’s is a food chain in Hawaii that everyone has to try. It is a sit down restaurant so get comfy and eat at a restaurant that has been in business in Hawaii since 1966.

Things I bought that made my trip easier!

***I make a commission if you use any affiliate link that you may click on. Please and thank you in advance for your help! ***

Thank you for reading my blog! If you are interested in visiting any of the places that I mentioned, I am more than happy to book anything that you want to do! I will do it all for you. No need to do it yourself.

Dominique Tungpalan
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