【Hawaii Travel Blog】Nature’s Cottage – Big Island Airbnb

Airbnb and Booking.com are my two favourite travel accommodation booking sites.

I usually start my accommodation search on Booking.com because of its “book now, pay later” and “free cancellation” policies. The beauty with these policies is that you are usually allowed to cancel within a week of your travel time, sometimes even a day before, for free! I love it because it allows me to lock in my top choices as early as I start planning my holidays (and all my friends know I often plan my holidays 6 months in advance) without the fear of losing the accommodation that I like and still have the flexibility to change my plans as I go through my holiday research and planning.

On the other hand, Airbnb has a different calibre of accommodation offered by Booking.com. Airbnb listings often have a good mix of budget accommodation and designer houses style homes; whereas Booking.com listings are more hotel/hostel oriented. What I like about Airbnb is the idea of “living like a local” because you get to have a taste of what the city is like at locals’ spare room or vacant house.

That’s how I found Nature’s Cottage on Airbnb. A unique self-contained wood cabin in the nature with outdoor shower in the rainforest of Big Island.

Mike and I arrived late at night because I miscalculated the driving time from Kona to here. A word of advice: do not plan to arrive after dark. First of all, check-in time is 4pm-6pm. Second, the location is very off-grid which means it is pitch dark in the area at night. It wasn’t easy finding the cottage in the dark and there was almost no one in the area where we could ask for directions.

When I got off the car to meet the owner, Janelle, at the main house, I heard this loud systematic noise coming from all directions and I honestly thought their fire alarm went off! Turned out, it was the nature’s symphony of frogs and critters (I felt silly after realising how wrong I was…clearly, I need to get out to the nature more).

The were no blinds, you could see right through the insect screens from the outside. I wouldn’t recommend staying here if you are particularly paranoid about security because…there is simply none here. It is cabin style living, and a unique “glamping” (glamorous camping) experience.

Janelle prepared a fruit basket for us. It was a lifesaver because we hadn’t had dinner but was too tired to head out again. The fruits that we got were really exotic which I loved. However, I have to say that they were not very sweet. But hey, they were organic.

The outdoor shower was a cool feature. I had never showered in the wild before! It was a strangely liberating “back to the nature” feeling.

The only problem that I had about the shower was the hot water – it was too hot! For some reason the water just wouldn’t stay at a comfortable temperature, it was either cold or hot. I would suggest that you check with Janelle on how to use it properly on the day of your arrival.

Also, no soap or toiletries were provided. No hairdryer either (it is now stated on the airbnb listing – I didn’t know so I was a bit caught by surprise because my long hair gets yucky if I don’t blow dry my hair at night).

There was a gas cooktop and a sink in the cabin, which was pretty handy. We didn’t have much luck seeing any wild animals in the area except for some lizards and spiders.

The best thing about here was its proximity with the natural tide pools in the area and the Volcano National Park. If you like the nature and camping, you would like it here. Forget about it if you prefer clean ironed sheets and civilisation (Mike felt his pillow smelt damp).

Also, it’s a 45-minute drive to Hilo so you do have to take that into account when you plan your trip so that you don’t waste too much time on the road.

{Big Island Airbnb - Nature Cottage}
Airbnb:https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/13901

 

Our Hawaiian adventure, to be continued!

Big Island

• 【Kona】.::You, me, palm tree and sunset::.
• 【Kahaluu Bay】.::Snorkelling in the nature’s aquarium::.
• 【South Point】.::The southernmost point of the United States of America::.
• 【Punaluu Beach】 (aka Black Beach Hawaii) .::Bah bah black beach have you any turtles::.
• 【Mauna Kea】.::Sunset able the sea of clouds::.
• 【Hawaii Volcano – Lava tour】.::WE POKED RED HOT LIVE FLOWING LAVA::.
• 【Nature’s Cottage】.::a very unique Airbnb experience::.
• 【Tide Pools】.::Crystal clear champagne tide pools::.
• 【Big Island Food】.::Bubba Gump, Splasher’s Grill, Pele’s, L&L, LuQuin’s, Cafe 100::.

Oahu

• 【Hanauma Bay】.::Snorkelling before the sun comes out::.
• 【Chinaman’s Hat & Kualoa Ranch】.::The ocean’s hat and Jurassic Park::.
• 【Polynesian Centre Luau】.::Hula without coconut bikini?::.
• 【Dole Plantation】.::Sweet pineapple and delicious Dole Whip ice cream::.
• 【Oahu Food】.::Teddy’s, Helena’s Hawaiian Food, Duke’s at Waikiki, Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, Macky’s Shrimp Truck, Ted’s Bakery, Popeye, Ramen Nakamura::.
• 【Airbnb】.::A very chic retreat::.