from grandparents to toddlers....

We%26#39;re planning a 2 week trip to the islands this summer for my sister in law%26#39;s anniversary. There will be two sets of grandparents. Two 30/40 something married couples and 4 boys ages 13, 11, 8 and 3. We have no real parameters of where to stay or what we want to do other than that everybody would like a chance to tour Volcano National Park and my husband and I and our kids (the two older ones) want some time to go diving. Something beachfront would be ideal... and not too touristy. We%26#39;ve all stayed in Honolulu at least once before and don%26#39;t feel obligated to return. We%26#39;ve heard that it%26#39;s a better deal to rent a house than to stay in a hotel, but don%26#39;t want to see the Grandmas spending their whole vacation slaving away taking care of the rest of us (which they would). Do any of the houses have maid/cooking service? If so does that service make it just as expensive as staying in a hotel? Any and all suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

from grandparents to toddlers....

We%26#39;d also consider a cruise, as we%26#39;d like to get to see a lot of the islands but don%26#39;t want to rat race around. If we did that is it better to fly to Hawaii and embark/disembark there or catch a boat out of L.A. or wherever they most commonly leave from? I%26#39;m still hoping one of the experts will pop in with some good ideas. Thanks again...

from grandparents to toddlers....

Maybe part time in Kona, part time in Hilo/Volcano, and part time on another island just to relax?

pzp... Do you have any specifics?

I%26#39;m not really familiar with Kona side, but there are some great snorkeling/dive sites there. I love HVNP. I think it%26#39;s worth driving over to Hilo and seeing what%26#39;s in the area - there are some nice falls, your kids would probably like Big Island Candies and the Macadamia farm, possibly one of the tropical gardens. Volcano is maybe 20 minutes away. You might want to make the short detour to see the black sand beach at Punulu%26#39;u; it%26#39;s pretty cool; beautiful beach. You%26#39;ll probably want at least a full day at HVNP. There are a bunch of neat things to see along Crater Rim Drive - steam vents, sulphur cliffs, Jaeger Observatory, Thurston lava tube, the rainforest (giant tree ferns!) You should drive to the end of Chain of Craters Road late afternoon, look at some of the things along the way (very short hikes) and stay at the very end until after dark to see the lava glow. With a 3-year-old you probably wouldn%26#39;t want to hike out across the lava.

You could take the southern route back to Kona and, on the way, detour down to Ka Lae, the southernmost point in the US. Admittedly not much there, but it%26#39;s kind of cool to be able to say you%26#39;ve been there. (Many, if not most, people think that Key West is southermost.)

Thanks. Do you have a dive operator you can recommend? We%26#39;re still in the early planning stages...trying to figure out where to stay... what to do...etc. I know that I%26#39;ll feel better once we all agree on the where to stay part. That seems to be the biggest point of contention. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated! :)

I don%26#39;t, but someone here will.