5 Best Things to do on Hawaii’s Big Island
Hawaii, also known as The Big Island, is the largest and youngest of all Hawaiian islands. In fact, it is bigger than all the other ones combined! It’s home to rainforests, black sand beaches, and some of the most active volcanoes in the world. The island also contains 11 of the 13 different climate zones. Big Island is the ideal destination for nature lovers, thrill seekers, and those looking for a less touristy experience. Two to three days is a decent amount of time to explore the highlights, but be ready for a lot of driving. Here’s our top 5 favorite experiences on Hawaii!
5. Kona Coffee Farm Tour
Kailua Kona is one of the largest towns on Big Island where you can find much of Hawaii’s history & culture. It is also synonymous with Hawaii’s premier beverage, Kona Coffee. This world renowned bean water is rich in flavor, low in acidity, and delectably smooth. If you’re super into coffee we recommend signing up for a Kona Coffee Farm tour to taste it for yourself.
4. Papakolea Green Sand Beach
Hawaii has every type of colored beach imaginable. But there are only 4 places in the entire world where you can find a green sand beach and Papakolea is one of them. It is located on the Big Island’s most southern tip, about an hour and a half from Kailua Kona Town. There are two options to reach this secluded beach: either walk the 2.7 miles in an hour or pay locals to drive you there. Keep in mind the locals are just taking their own cars down and usually charge a high price for a ride.
3. Akaka Falls State Park
Akaka Falls embodies the vision of a Hawaiian Waterfall. It is the most iconic and tallest water fall on Hawaii Big Island, standing at 422 ft (135 meters). It is easily accessible by a short 0.4 loop trail and is even 2.5 times taller than Niagara Falls! Less than 30mins drive away next to the town of Hilo you can find Rainbow Falls, another scenic cascade of water. You can’t swim in these but they are nice to look at.
2. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park houses both the most active and largest volcanoes in the world. If luck permits, you may be able to catch a glimpse of the active volcano Kilauea erupting. We missed it by just a few days. The park is open 24/7 so you can hike around the volcano’s caldera, hike through lush jungle trails, and even walk inside a lava tube. At night the sky is lit up perfectly for star gazing and even has an astronomy observatory.
1. Night Snorkeling with Manta Rays
Although it might seem terrifying to jump into the ocean with huge creatures in the dark of night, this is 100% the best activity to experience on Hawaii. Sign up for a Manta Ray Night Snorkel tour to get up close and personal with these gentle giants on their home turf. Seeing the marvelous marine life circle extremely close by is a magical sight to behold. They also offer wet suits to rent but surprisingly the water was not that cold so we didn’t need it. If there’s one crazy new thing you try in Hawaii Big Island, this needs to be it.
Hawaii’s Big Island is an enchanted land of adventure and excitement with some of the most unique landscapes you’ll encounter throughout the archipelago. What it lacks in busy cities and nightlife it makes up for in natural beauty. The vibes are very similar to Iceland. For more details on planning an epic trip to Hawaii, check out this travel guide. Stay tuned for more travel stories from the other Hawaiian islands. Thanks for reading and keep leveling up.
Here’s our travel vlog for the top 5 most unique experiences to have on the Big Island!
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