Christmas is the busiest time of year on the Big Island of Hawaii so it is best to plan out your stay in order to get to do everything you want to. Many of the restaurants, rental car companies, and activities are sold out. Here is some information that you will find helpful for your stay this Christmas:
Rental Cars– It appears that most of the rental cars are sold out. They also have some extra vehicles that do not show available online so if you are having trouble finding a vehicle please contact us at waikoloavrm@aol.com.
Hilton Waikoloa Pool Pass– Many guests get day passes to use the Hilton pool for a day during their stay. During the holidays these are very limited so if you would like to take advantage of one of these passes you need to plan well in advance. If the hotel is full they do not sell pool passes. Contact us at waikoloavrm@aol.com so we can set it up for you.
Whale Watches/Sunset Sails/Luaus/Helicopter Tours– These are the three most popular activities during the holidays and typically are sold out a month in advance. Some are typically available down in Kailua-Kona, but if you are staying in the Waikoloa Beach Resort or Mauna Lani Resort you may not want to drive down there. Please contact us at waikoloavrm@aol.com if you have any questions regarding these activities.
Mauna Kea Christmas Day Brunch– Mauna Kea Hotel typically has the best Christmas Day brunch. It is about a 10 minute drive north from Waikoloa Beach Resort on Queen K Hwy. This is typically sold out two weeks prior to Christmas.
The Charity Trees at Mauna Lani– Each year the Mauna Lani Bay hotel hosts a Christmas tree contest for the local schools. Each class decorates a Christmas tree and it is placed in the Mauna Lani Bay hotel lobby for the contest. You can walk through the Mauna Lani Bay and see all the trees as well as the hotel being dressed with poinsettias. It is great to get you into the Christmas spirit and it’s FREE!
Restaurant Reservations– Most restaurants are sold out for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Eve two weeks in advance.
Recommend Churches– There are several churches on the Kohala Coast. Annunciation Catholic Church in Waimea offers Christmas Eve masses at 5 pm and 10 pm. The 5 pm mass is a children’s mass. The Christmas Day mass is at 8 am. It is a beautiful church with windows throughout which allows you to see the mountainous terrain in Waimea. Please click here to view a map of how how to get to Annunciation Catholic Church. New Hope Waimea is a nondenominational church in Waimea and offers Christmas Eve as well as Christmas Day services. The Christmas Eve service is typically a very kid friendly service. Click here to view a map of how to get to New Hope Waimea. Ascension Catholic Church is one of the closest churches to the Waikoloa Beach Resort. It offers a Christmas Eve mass at 7:30 pm and Christmas Day mass at 10 am and is just about a 10 minute drive. Click here to get directions. These times are tentative and will be updated as the holidays get closer.
Grocery Shopping– Many of the local stores are closed Christmas Eve and all of them are closed Christmas Day. If you would like to have your grocery shopping done for you please contact us with a list of desired items. The charge is 30% of the cost of the groceries and will be charged to your credit card on file.
Golf Tee Times– All of the desirable tee times are usually booked well in advance leaving open only afternoon tee times. Currently the Waikoloa Golf Courses offer the best rate if you reserve your tee time through them directly. They can be reached at (877) WAIKOLOA for Waikoloa Beach Courses and (808) 885-6622 for Mauna Lani Courses. If you want to play outside of the resort you are staying at, please contact us at waikoloavrm@aol.com and we can arrange discounted rates for you as long as you reserve your tee times two weeks in advance.
Late Check Outs– We are unable to offer late check outs or early check ins during this very busy season. If you have a late flight on your departure date we can arrange you a day room at the Marriott or Hilton at a good rate. It is very important to do this now as both hotels are typically sold out. Please let us know if you would like for us to make this reservation for you.
We hope you find this information helpful and please contact us at (808) 987-4519 or waikoloavrm@aol.com for help scheduling any of your activities while you are on the Big Island of Hawaii.
New Years Eve– There will be fireworks at the Waikoloa Beach Resort. The show more than likely will be at Queens Bowl, which is towards the front of the resort. They typically release where they will be shot off from a few days prior to New Years Eve. If it is clear, the best spot is to go to Kawaihae to the Seafood Bar and enjoy cocktails there and then to watch all the fireworks get shot off from the various resorts along the coast from where the road “y’s” going down into Kawaihae Harbor (this can only be done on a clear New Years).
We just got back from a trip to the Big Island. This information was very helpful in figuring out what to do during out stay.
The Marriott luau was awesome. We also went and ate at Cafe Pesto, which was just as good as the resorts, but at a better price.
The highlight of our trip was a whale watch. I would highly recommend that if you are in Hawaii during the winter.
We hope to return to the Waikoloa Beach Resort!