Hilo is very industrial port - but a quaint nearby town where you can still feel the mid-20th century. Near the airport, but nothing walkable from the ship. ...
We got a Hoppin On and Hoppin Off bus that geve us a great tour of many of the sites for $40.00 each. We compared with our friends that paid for the more espensive excursions and it was just as good for very little cost. ...
Hilo is mostly an industrial looking looking port. If one does not book an expensive shore excursion then recommend taking a taxi, Uber, or bus to town as it is a long walk. Not much to see around town. Shopping isn't that great either. I would recommend deleting this port for another. Shore excursions to volcano and the interior interior of the island are also available from Kona. ...
There were only a few stores worth going into. Clothing store on front row to the right of the crosswalk, that had the best prices on dresses. Lots of homeless drug addicts, so be carful and shop with someone, I was by myself and very uncomfortable. ...
We rented a car. Picked up a shuttle outside the port and got a rental car. Went to Volcanoes and Punalua beach. Blackest sand you will ever see! Good stop! ...
Visited volcanoes from here. Self arranged with Mauka Makai adventures who picked and dropped us directly at the cruise ship. Port is a way out of town but not a problem for us ...