Bree Kessler - Moon Big Island of Hawaii: Including Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

hibiscus flower.

Everyone knows the Big Island of Hawaii has beaches and sunshine. But the island is so much more than its unbelievably good weather. Its not hard to get off the beaten path here: the majority of the Big Island offers seclusion and adventure with easy access.

The Big Island of Hawaii is the newest island, geologically speaking, in the chain of islands that make up the state of Hawaii. While lava formed the islands physical structure, it is the sugar plantation industry, established in the mid-1800s, that is credited for creating the Big Islands culture, through bringing numerous immigrants to work the islands land. Much of the islands modern-day customs, from language (Hawaiian pidgin, or dakine) to food (like the loco moco or Spam musubi) to clothing (the classic aloha shirt), reflect this merging of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Polynesian, Portuguese, and Mainland American cultures.

Its sometimes hard to tell locals from visitorsthe only real way to confirm a true local is by checking for the Locals brand slippahs (flip-flops) on someones feet. These preferred shoes, which anyone can pick up for $3.99 at nearly every grocery or drugstore, embody the Hawaiian notion of aloha, the laid-back way of life in Hawaii that attracts new residents and visitors every year. (Your first order of business when arriving to the island should be picking up a pair yourself.)

Rainbow Falls

large green sea turtle

wooden statues of idols

Many visitors are beckoned by the Big Islands warm weather and well-known spectacular landscapeincluding pristine Hapuna Beach, picture-perfect Waipio Valley, and the lava flow jumping out of the crater at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Of course the island provides an array of activities for outdoor lovers, from horseback riding through paniolo (cowboy) country to surfing the popular Honolii Beach Park; from night snorkeling with the manta rays in Keauhou Bay to stargazing at the Mauna Kea Observatory. And youre never more than 10-20 minutes from a gorgeous beach.

The Big Island offers more than just one kind of experience: When the weather gets too hot seaside, drive upcountry to Waimea, the cool interior part of the island, where a fireside meal will be waiting for you. Or spend an early Sunday morning at one of the islands numerous farmers markets adorned with tropical fruits, malasadas (Portuguese doughnuts), and food carts with mouthwatering huli huli chicken and kalua pork.

When your visit is over, say a hui hou (until we meet again). Youll want to come back.

view from inside a lava tube in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Punaluu Black Sand Beach.

swimming with dolphins

What makes the Big Island so great is also what makes it so difficult for trip planning. Every nook and cranny of the island is unique, and its hard to not want to experience it all. The Big Island isnt the kind of place where you can say, Well, the beaches on the east side are probably the same as here. They arent. And the interior part of the island is worlds away from the coast, while actually only being 15 minutes away. Dont worry, though. Just take a deep breathyou can see it all.

Where to Go

Kona

Kona is dry, sunny, and brilliantmost visitors introduction to the island. When watered, the rich soil blossoms, as in the small artists enclave of Holualoa and South Kona, renowned for its diminutive coffee plantations. As the center of this region, Kailua-Kona boasts an array of art and designer shops, economical accommodations, great restaurants, and plenty of historical and cultural sites like Mokuaikaua Church, a legacy of the very first packet of missionaries to arrive in the islands, and Hulihee Palace, vacation home of the Hawaiian royalty. Kealakekua Bay, one of the first points of contact with foreigners, is also one of the best snorkel sites that Hawaii has to offer. Nearby is Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, the location of a traditional Hawaiian safe refuge.

The sun sets along Alii Drive in the beach town of Kailua-Kona.

Kohala

North of Kailua-Kona, otherworldly black lava bleeds north into Kohala. Up the coast is Hapuna Beach, one of the best on the island. In 1965, Laurance Rockefeller opened the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel near there. Since then, other expansive resorts have been added, making this the islands luxury resort area, barren lava turned into oases of green. Peppered among these resorts are petroglyph fields left by ancient Hawaiians. As you travel north on Highway 19 it becomes Highway 270 and youll find yourself in the hilly peninsular thumb at the northern extremity of the island. The Kohala Mountains sweep down to the west to a warm and largely uninhabited coast, and to the east tumble into deep valleys cut by wind and rain. Several isolated beach parks dot the coast, and here and there are cultural sites, including a modern-day ruin at Mahukona Beach Park. The main town up this way is sleepy Hawi,