The Complete Big Island Hawaii Travel Guide
- The Anonymous Hungry Hippopotamus
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Of all the places I return to, Hawai'i — and specifically the Big Island — holds a particularly special place. It is not one island. It is five climate zones, eight distinct landscape types, and more coastline than you can reasonably cover in a single trip. I have been visiting since childhood, and I am still discovering new things. This guide collects everything I have written about the Big Island, in the order I would recommend reading it — though feel free to jump to whatever calls to you first.
Getting to Know the Big Island
Where to begin: the island's volcanic geology, its five climate zones, its extraordinary flora, the monkeypod and banyan trees that line its roads, and the rhythm of life that sets this island apart from every other place in the Hawaiian chain.
Where to Eat: Kona and the West Coast
Three restaurants that span the full range of what the Big Island's food culture offers — from the beachfront fine dining of ULU Ocean Grill at the Four Seasons to the time-capsule comfort of Teshima's, open since 1917 and still following the recipe that Grandma Mary left behind.
Umeke's for the finest poke on the island, Izakaya Shiono for Japanese cuisine that would hold its own in Tokyo, Island Lava Java for breakfast beside the Pacific, and Ululani's for the shave ice that will ruin all other shave ice for you permanently.
Beaches: Green, Black and White Sand
The Big Island has beaches that exist nowhere else on earth. This post covers the pilgrimage to Papakōlea Green Sand Beach (5.5 miles round trip, worth every step), the sea turtles of Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, and the white sand beaches that deserve a return visit.
Big Island Road Trips
The coastal route from Kona to Hilo — through Waimea ranch country, past the cliffs of Waipi'o Valley, along the rainforest road of Pepeekeo, and up to the thundering drop of Akaka Falls. With a stop at Mauna Lani for nostalgia and a fruit stand that produces the best fruit bowl I have ever eaten.
The rainier, quieter, less-touristed side of the island, and all the better for it. Rainbow Falls, the Hilo Farmers Market, and the particular pleasure of a city that hasn't been remade for resort visitors.
The final leg — and in some ways the most dramatic. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, the Kilauea Caldera, the Thurston Lava Tube, the southernmost point in the United States, and the bittersweet feeling of a last day on an island you are already planning to return to.
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