Volcanoes NP is great and has a cool 5 mile-ish hike. Two-Step beach is as good a spot to snorkel as you can find with public access. Waimea has great restaurants and a really cool historical LDS Chapel. The ice cream made, Island Creations or something or another, at the dairy outside Waimea is exceptional- and I am Mormon so I know good ice cream. The beach, sandy type, scene wasn’t great but I only went to the resort beach.

It is our favorite island but we prefer rural & slower paced places. If you want a bit more buzz Kauai might be a decent bridge between hustle & bustle of Maui & Oahu and Kona.