If you like coffee, you can get your fill—and learn about coffee production in the process—at the Royal Kona Coffee Center. Here, you can see where Kona coffee cherries are processed and beans are separated from the fruit, and you can also learn how the beans are air-dried after they are hulled.
Otherwise known as Pohoiki Beach, Isaac Hale (ha-lay) Beach Park is one of the newest black-sand beaches in the world. Created during the massive Kilauea eruptions in 2018, you shouldn’t expect soft white sand, icy mango drinks, and idyllic cerulean waters lapping the gentle shore. This spot is volcanoes all the way down.
Enjoy a rush of color and fragrance as you enter the Big Island’s Akatsuka Orchid Gardens. The 8,000-square-foot (2,438-square-meter) showroom is brimming with rare flowers and tropical plants, including the famous Volcano Queen orchid valued at US$20,000. The family-run Akatsuka Orchid Gardens are a popular pit stop on the way to Volcanoes National Park.
Kailua Bay Cruise Port is situated on the west side of Hawaii’s Big Island in the Kona district, and travelers shuttle to land via the Kailua Pier, located just a stone’s-throw from Kailua Village. The port serves as the ideal jumping-off point from which to explore the Big Island's major attractions, including volcanoes, waterfalls, and sandy beaches.
At the end of Highway 270 in North Kohala, the Pololū Valley Lookout is where to go if you want to take in spectacular views of the Kohala Coast and the water and sea stacks that lie beyond it. Come to take photos or give yourself a bit of extra time to descend to the valley below.
Kahua Ranch showcases traditional Hawaiian cowboy (paniolo) culture at a working cattle ranch in the Big Island’s West Kohala mountains. You can take part in authentic ranching experiences, from trail rides and roping to line dancing and songs around the campfire, while learning about the role that ranching played in Hawaiian history.
The Crater Rim Drive is an 11-mile (17.7-kilometer) route encircling the active Kilauea volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The road takes you past Kilauea’s summit caldera and large pit crater. Along the way, you’ll find museums, a lodge, lava tubes, numerous overlooks, and trails to explore deeper into the park’s environment.
Practically in the shadow of Hilo International Airport, Richardson Ocean Park—aka Richardson Beach—is the closest black-sand beach to the island’s biggest city. Popular with locals and visitors, this easy-access spot offers excellent snorkeling and swimming for all ages, plenty of amenities, and fabulous ocean views along every inch of soft, dark sand.
Kulaniapia Falls, on the Big Island, is an exclusive experience: It’s on private property, offering a fabulous view for day visitors and overnight guests. The owners have turned this Hawaiian spot into a full-fledged experience, complete with multiple accommodation options, rappelling, walking trails, and cooking classes. With limited crowds, many visitors say the price tag is worth it.
Once a thriving fishing village and residential community, Kalapana was destroyed by lava from the Kilauea Volcano in 1990. Nearly the entire town was buried under molten rock including Kaimu Beach, one of the most popular black-sand beaches on Hawaii’s Big Island. Today, all that remains is a handful of homes and the ruins of the town.
While most visitors make a beeline for Rainbow Falls, something is bubbling nearby: the Boiling Pots of Wailuku River State Park. While not actually boiling, the water is raging so fiercely that the effect is the same, especially after rainfall. An easy-access viewing area makes this a convenient stop when exploring the area.
On the Big Island’s Kohala Coast, Puako Bay is a secluded inlet popular with divers and snorkelers for its lava tubes, impressive coral reef, and myriad colorful fish and other marine life. The rocky tide pools are also vibrant, fun places to explore. It’s lovely to relax on the bay’s long white-sand beach, but swimming can be dangerous.
Hawaii the Big Island’s Hi‘ilawe Falls is a ribbon of white that plunges from lush green cliffs to the Waipio Valley floor. At 1,450 feet (442 meters) high, Hi‘ilawe is one of the tallest and most popular falls in the Hawaiian Islands. The cascade is set at the back of isolated Waipio Valley, so visitors typically view it from a distance.
Only in Hawaii would a 60-foot (18-meter) waterfall be a lesser-known attraction. Not far from the famous Rainbow Falls in Wailuku River State Park, Pe’epe’e Falls forms the backdrop to the Boiling Pots Area, a thundering section of the powerful Wailuku River. While not easily accessible for most visitors, it's another of Hawaii’s magnificent views.
The Big Island’s Pacific Tsunami Museum offers the rare chance to explore three things: history, culture, and disaster. Sparked by two tsunamis—in 1946 and 1960—this tiny-but-mighty museum is dedicated to the understanding of tsunamis, both locally and globally. It also serves as a memorial to Hawaiian lives lost from these natural disasters, preserving aspects of the island’s past.
Perched on the slopes of Hualalai Volcano, Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation produces renowned Kona Coffee and offers free tours of the farm, which is located in a cloud forest overlooking the ocean on Hawaii’s Big Island. Visitors can sample fresh coffee and see the entire process, from where the coffee grows to how it is served.
The largest authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan, Lili‘uokalani Gardens brings green-ified Japanese culture to Hawaii’s pretty Hilo Bay—it’s right on the famous Banyan Drive in downtown Hilo. Arched stone bridges, moats, stone lanterns, pagodas, and a tea house make up the walkable gardens, which were named after Hawaii's last reigning monarch and dedicated to the immigrants who worked in the sugar fields.
The massive Hualalai Volcano looms over the town of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island’s western coast and is lesser-known than its more popular neighbors, the Mauna Kea, and Mauna Loa. Hualalai is still considered active and is expected to erupt again within the next 100 years. Hawaii’s famed Kona coffee grows on its slopes and the area is a popular hiking attraction.
Translating to “the shoreline” in Hawaiian, Kekaha Kai State Park (formerly known as formerly known as Kona Coast State Park) is just that: a 4.5-mile (7.2-kilometer) stretch of beach along the verdant Kona coast. Though this area is largely known for its black lava rocks, Kekaha Kai protects some of the Big Island’s best white-sand beaches. Naturally, swimmers, sunbathers, and snorkelers all flock here for the tropical goodies, and hikers head out on the trails that connect it all.
Saddle Road is the most direct route between Hilo and Kona, but that’s not why most people take it. The drive shows off the Big Island’s diverse ecosystems as it crosses lava flows, pastures, and moonlike landscapes, cresting an elevation of 6,600 feet (2,011 meters). While the road used to be rough and unpaved, it’s now in good driving condition—but you’ll still want to take it slow and savor every minute.
Stretching into the calm waters of Kailua Bay, this expansive pier is a launch point for ocean tours and a scenic place to take in the coast. It also offers some of the best views of Kamakahonu, the former seaside residence of King Kamehameha I, located just a short distance away. Whether you’re heading out on the water or enjoying a sunset stroll, Kailua Pier is a natural gateway to Kona’s history and beauty.
Explore the Big Island’s cowboy heritage at Parker Ranch, one of the oldest and largest ranches in the United States. Set on rolling green pastures near Waimea, the ranch offers a window into Hawaii’s paniolo (cowboy) culture through historic homes, scenic drives, and sweeping views of Mauna Kea. Take in this blend of history, landscape, and local tradition on a self-guided tour or via full-day island excursions that include stops or drives at the ranch.
The childhood home of King Kamehameha I, this is the Big Island of Hawaii’s “Valley of the Kings.” Forming a deep natural amphitheater that’s washed by the sea and waterfalls, the Waipi’o Valley is a natural wonderland marked by rainforests and empty hiking trails. Cliffs thousands of feet high plunge to the valley floor, where a curved black-sand beach meets the sea.
Located within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the Thurston Lava Tube (Nahuku in the Hawaiian language) is the most accessible lava tube on the Big Island. Discovered in 1913, this 500-year-old tube was created by subterranean magma that once flowed through this section of ground. Today, the tube is illuminated to create an eerie glow for visitors.
The Mauna Kea Summit and Observatory is a top destination for stargazing. Located on Hawaii’s tallest mountain at 13,796 feet (4,138 meters), the observatory information center is a highlight of many visitors’ trips to the Big Island of Hawaii. Here, you can see some of the world’s largest telescopes, including equipment from Canada, France, and the University of Hawaii.
