E Komo Mai, welcome to Hawaii Island - also known as the Volcano Island, the Orchid Isle, and the BIG ISLAND! Vacation on the Big Island of Hawaii and – "you will either love it or hate it." I read this in a popular travel book, and while I don't agree with it, I can see where the philosophy may stem from the island's extremes that include the Kilauea Volcano, the most active volcano in the world and miles of moonscape-like, lava rock landscapes.
Hawaii Island, nicknamed the Big Island because its land mass is greater than the sum of all Hawaii's eight major islands, and to avoid confusion with the state's name, is quite diverse.though, the most of all the Hawaiian islands. In one day, you can drive through just about every climate region you'll find on Earth. The Arctic and Saharan are the only two missing out of the 13. You can experience everything on the Big Island from rainforest to alpine climes!
The island's most popular activities include diving, dolphin, whale and turtle viewing, deep sea fishing, hiking, kayaking, sailing, snorkeling, sight seeing, horseback riding, boogie boarding and camping.
The island's Waimea Community Hospital where Eastern medicine meets Western medicine is world renowned, and the Big Island with its many alternative healing practioners and spas is becoming an increasingly popular WellnessVacation destination
Fast Facts About the Big Island
Island Flower: Red Lehua Blossom
Island Color: Red
Size: 4,028 square miles. 92 miles long, 72 miles wide. Hawaii is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands with more land than all of the islands put together.
Big Island Population: 117,644,
Average Temperature at Sea Level: 75 to 85° F.
Popular Destinations include Kohala's resorts, but we also have here lesser known about popular and perhaps more interesting places to hang your hat, such as the Volcano House Hotel , and in Hilo, the Shipman House Bed and Breakfast (its historical guest list includes Hawaii's Queen Liliokalani and writer Jack London). In Kona, there is King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel located adjacent to what was once King Kamehameha the Great's royal residence and the Ahu'ena Heiau he resurrected, a temple dedicated to Lono, the Hawaiian God of peace, agriculture and prosperity.
Alternative, budget lodging options abound including vacation houses, hostels and camping to be featured in my upcoming ebook:
Airports: Kona and Hilo, the Big Island's main airports service direct flights to and from the United States and Canada.
Shopping: Hilo and Kaiula-Kona, the largest cities on the island, are not the shopper's paradise that Honolulu is, but if you're looking for Aloha wear, Hawaii made items, Hawaiian jewelry, art, orchids, Kona coffee, macadamia nuts, antheriums, Hawaii grown foods, fine restaurants, Grower's Markets (as well as big as a few big discount stores), you'll be in shopping heaven.
Big Island's Most Popular Attraction
Big Island Beaches
The Big Island offers a Hawaii vacation paradise with stunningly beautiful beaches (80 in all), far less crowded on the more visited islands of Oahu and Maui. Most beaches on the Windward side
(Hilo, Puna and Kau districts) are black sand. The beaches in Kailua-Kona are white sand, but rather small. Hapuna and some of the other Kohala Coast beaches feature longs stretches of soft sand.
Surfing isn't the greatest on this island, but surfers who live here know where to catch waves. Pine Trees on Kona is one spot, and when you're driving north out of Hilo at the first bridge outside of town, we always see surfers below. You can easily find great beaches for boogie boarding (body boarding), body surfing, snorkeling, etc. Hapuna State Park Beach rents boogie boards.
Kona
On the sunny leeward side, and south of Kohala, Kailua - Kona is a popular destination for windward side locals as well as visitors to Hawaii. Dining, dancing, snorkeling cruises, lots of shops and art galleries, a submarine ride, kayaking, and Kealakekua Bay where you can kayak out in the morning and see dolphins, are just a few of Kona's attractions. Pu`uhonua o Honaunau, or the Place of Refuge is a beautiful lagoon with a recreated Hawaiian village. Kona was favored by King Kamehameha. In Kona, you can visit Hawaii's first ordained Christian church as well as the summer palace of Hawaii's overthrown monarchy.
Whether you seek fun in the sun, history, culture, and/or nightlight, you can find it in Kona.
One word of warning. The island's volcano does send vog into Kona. If you're sensitive to this, consider booking accommodations elsewhere on the island, and then visiting Kona in the afternoon and evenings when the trades are blowing.
Kohala
You'll find mesquite (keawe) and cactus, world class resorts and spectacular beaches here on the Big Island's Gold Coast. Known as the most sunny region in all of Hawaii, you can almost always count on a great day at the beach here.
When we lived on Hilo side, we made the trek over early in the day though because late afternoon scattered showers are not unusual. Kohala is where the most luxurious (and fun!) resorts are found. Locals and tourists enjoy the boat rides, lagoon and dolphins and large Chinese art collection at the Waikoloa Hilton. Kohala is also home to one of the best beaches in the U.S., Hapuna.
Many visitors focus on Kona and complain of small beaches, but that's because they didn't make the drive up to this spectacular mile long beach where you can snorkle, boogie board (little ones and us older ones too!) or just bask in the sun and the beauty.
Hilo
The Hilo side or Windward (east) side is lush and tropical. Orchid lovers love the Big Island. Hilo is the orchid capital of the world, and botanical garden tours are a major attraction in and around Hilo side. The largest hula festival in the world, the Merry Monarch Festival takes place every spring in Hilo.
One of the most scenic sights in Hilo (there are many) is in the winter when you look up across Hilo Bay and see the snow capped peak of sacred Mauna Kea, home to world class observatories.
In Wailuku River State Park, the morning mists at Rainbow Falls account for its name. Just outside Hilo town, is Richardson's Ocean Park, one of the best beach snorkeling spots on the island.
Hilo is more old Hawaii, more local. I lived here for several years. I love Hilo! And Hilo is the rainiest city in the United States (recording around 130 inches a year near the shore to as much as 200 inches upslope); however daytime termperatures average in the 70's and low 80's, making the rain welcome.
Most of this rain falls at night and in the morning. Sometimes it will rain day in an day out for several days. That's when we'd hop in the car and go to Hapuna on the Kohala Coast to soak up some sun for the day before returning to Hilo, and its fragrant paradise of flowers.
Hamakua
Up the Hamakua Coast, just north of Hilo, you'll find Akaka Falls (the state's longest sheer drop waterfall), which plunges over 400 feet into a pool at the Alaska Falls State Park.
Puna
The Puna District includes the small town of Pahoa. This is an interesting town with its Old West wooden storefronts and its predominantly alternative culture residents. If you're on your way to Volcano, and you enjoy natural foods, stop by Pahoa.
Many of the island's residents live in Puna where land and housing is almost always more affordable than anywhere else in Hawaii. Puna also is home to the one of the nation's largest subdivisions, Hawaiian Paradise Park, which offers one acre lots located between the ocean cliffs and their ancient trails (one leading to Shipman's Beach, a secluded lagoon) and the main highway leading Kea'au town to Pahoa, Kapoho and Kalapana.
And, from Puna's ocean cliffs, beaches, you can be among the first to greet the sunrise of a new day in Hawaii. You'll also find warm ponds along Puna coast in (Kapoho and at Isaac Hale Park) that are heated by underground springs heated by the volcano and freshened by the ocean's waves.
Puna is also the gateway to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Kau District.
Ka`u
The main interest of visitors in Kau is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which features the world's most active volcano, and is the most popular attraction on the Big Island.
Volcano Update: March 25, 2008: After the two decade lava flow to the sea stopped last summer, the new lava flow has made it's way to the ocean, and as of last update, viewing is possible! Separately, at the summit, the Halema`uma`u vent (the one you can see from Volcano House's restaurant and from the Jaggar Musuem) is erupting ash and some lava for the first time since 1982 and is glowing red at night. An explosive eruption that took off a chunk of the crater's rim and blew debris over a 75-acre area last week was the first explosion at the crater since 1924. Pele is extremely active this month (March, 2008) and lots of exciting things are happening at Volcano.
The National Park offers a science museum, lodge, walk-through lava tubes, and trails that lead through lush green forest, homes to native songbirds, and across old lava flows and past steam vents.
Punalu'u, one of Dr. Beach's top 10 beaches is a beautiful, black sand beach.Here the honu (Hawaii's endangered green sea turtle) lay their eggs. Take pictures, look on in awe, but please don't touch. Our human oils cause life threatening ulcers on these gentle creatures.
South Point is the southernmost point of the United States. It is also home to Hawaii's only native fishing village that has survived since pre-contact days. If you don't mind the hike, you can visit famous Green Sands Beach. Its sparkling, green sands come from volcanic olivine. This vast and often desolate southern region of Volcanoes National Park has attracted many writers (including Mark Twain), photographers and artists.
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Eco Budget Guide to the Big Island
(Written by a Big Island based journalist)
