it was on a tour organized by the University of Hawaii for Mainlanders attending summer sessions there (we stayed in the dorms of a boarding school), but the Big Island is "big" only in relation to the other islands.

It's worth driving around the whole island and into the center for the sheer variety of landscape: black lava, jungles, landscapes that look like the American West in higher elevations, and snow at the top of Mauna Kea.

You might want to post your question in the Hawaii Forum, where a lot of locals can give you more in-depth answers.

I did post in the Hawaii Forum.

We were on the Big Island in December one year. Didn't need a jacket in Hilo, but by the time we got to Volcano, we did. Hilo was nice--we stayed at a small hotel there called The Dolphin Bay Hotel. This is anything but a resort; it is a mom-and-pop small hotel with a very warm Hawaiian welcome. Homemade muffins and coffee in the morning, and fruit picked off of their own trees in back. You can hear a stream babbling at night through your open window. We used it as a base to tour the whole island. Hilo is not a resort town but more of a normal working town with some nice little restaurants and the U. of Hawaii. The eastern shore is not beach but more rocky with giant waves hitting them in a spectacular display.

The Big Island isn't so big. It take two hours or so to go from one side to the other. The east shore is lush and tropical and the west is beaches and sunsets. Highlights were Volcano National Park and going back at night to an area southeast of there to observe lava running into the sea. Kilauea Iki--a dry lava bed you can walk across. Akaka Falls north of Hilo. Sugar plantations and ranch land to the north. The west has some interesting historical spots like a city of refuge. Southwest there is a black sand beach with giant sea turtles. Also on the western shore are coffee plantations you can tour. Back in Hilo you can see Rainbow Falls and the Lyman museum--a relatively small museum full of cultural and natural artifacts, and a historic mission house.

That's a lot of helpful info. I don't like resorts, that's why I like Kauai so much. I'm sure the Big Island will be great too. I am thinking of staying in either Hilo or Volcano.

Feel free if you have more questions--I'll try to answer. We went in 2001, but are going again next month as a matter of fact. We are renting a house with our son and his family, on the Kona side this time. The kids want to see a volcano!

I'll look forward to hearing about it. I'm also thinking I should go to Alaska instead, since I'm having hot flashes at this lovely point in my life Humidity and hot flashes are no fun!

Actually I remember it being nice and breezy in Hilo. We had no air conditioning and didn't need it. Just opened the windows and the ceiling fan did the rest. In December it wasn't hot.