dont go to uncle billys in hilo...LOL. also, spend more than a couple of days on the big island. its a treaure and...quite big

i recommend you look to rent a house. they are quite reasonable( i beleive) and with 8 people you would do well. they usually have all the ameneties of home... sometimes even including boogie boards, grills, and usually maps and hints about local sightseeing.consider staying on the hilo side but north of hilo. ive staying in laupahoehoe a few times, and the location was perfect . takes less than an hour to reach the kona side beaches, and about 35 minutes to hilo. hilo has a great farmers market on sat mornings, and south of hilo you will find awesome tide pools and of course volcano national park.ive also gone open range horse back riding in the mountains near waimea. absolutley glorious! aloha
