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Hawaiʻi Island: checked facts and things to do

The Big Island: Kona, Hilo, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and Maunakea.

38 checked entries for Hawaiʻi Island.

Where to stay (hotels)

• Four Seasons Resort Hualālai (Kona Coast)Hawaiʻi Island · Ranked the No. 1 hotel in the USA by U.S. News & World Report for 2026. A low-rise oceanfront resort just north of the Kona airport with a...
• Fairmont Orchid (Kohala Coast)Hawaiʻi Island · The No. 1 resort in Hawaiʻi in Condé Nast Traveler's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards, and No. 10 in Hawaiʻi Magazine's 2026 poll. An oceanfront...
• Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph CollectionHawaiʻi Island · A 1965 midcentury landmark on Kaunaʻoa Bay, one of the island's best swimming beaches, ranked No. 6 in Hawaiʻi Magazine's 2026 readers'...
• Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo, a DoubleTree by HiltonHawaiʻi Island · The best-known hotel on the Hilo side, on Banyan Drive overlooking Hilo Bay, picked by Hawaiʻi Magazine editors as the best stay for Hilo...

Military lodging & campgrounds

• Kīlauea Military Camp (Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park)Hawaiʻi Island · Kīlauea Military Camp is a joint-services resort inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park at about 4,000 feet, with 90 cabins and apartments...

Camping & permits

• Camping on Hawaiʻi Island: county parks, state parks and VolcanoesHawaiʻi Island · Hawaiʻi County beach parks need a county permit, sold online or at county offices, priced per person per night: $21 for non-resident...

Nightlife & live music

• Big Island nightlife and live musicHawaiʻi Island · On the Big Island, nightlife centers on Kailua-Kona: Huggo's on the Rocks (nightly jazz, island and classic rock with dancing in the sand)...

Island day trips

• Hawaiʻi Island day trip: Hilo and the volcanoHawaiʻi Island · Start in Hilo with the free Liliʻuokalani Gardens and a loco moco at Café 100 or Ken's House of Pancakes (Hilo is where the loco moco was...

Tours & activities

• Manta ray night snorkel (Kona, Hawaiʻi Island)Hawaiʻi Island · One of Hawaiʻi's most famous experiences: boats leave Keauhou Bay or Honokōhau Harbor near sunset, and you float holding a lit board that...

Events calendar

• Merrie Monarch Festival (hula, Hilo, the week after Easter)March and April · Hawaiʻi Island · The world's most prestigious hula competition, held in Hilo the week after Easter. The 2027 festival runs March 28 to April 3. Tickets are...

Hawaiian food & lunch wagons

• Hawaiʻi Island food trucks (Kona, Waimea, Hilo)Hawaiʻi Island · On Hawaiʻi Island, Kailua-Kona's Aliʻi Drive has a lively food truck scene, Waimea has several favorites, and Island Style Grindz rotates...
• Hawaiian and local food on Hawaiʻi IslandHawaiʻi Island · On Hawaiʻi Island, Hawaiian Style Cafe in Hilo serves huge local plates with kalua pork, Super J's in Captain Cook is known for laulau, and...
• Ramen in Kailua-KonaHawaiʻi Island · Kona's two go-to ramen shops are Ikkyu Ramen in the Lanihau Center (rated about 4.6 on Google, known for black garlic and curry ramen and...

Places & parks

• Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National ParkHawaiʻi Island · Home of Kīlauea, which has been erupting in episodes of lava fountaining inside Halemaʻumaʻu crater since December 23, 2024 (Episode 55 was...
• ʻAkaka Falls State ParkHawaiʻi Island · An easy 0.4-mile rainforest loop north of Hilo to 442-foot ʻAkaka Falls. Open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; non-residents pay $5 per person and $10...
• Hāpuna Beach State Recreation AreaHawaiʻi Island · One of Hawaiʻi Island's widest white-sand beaches, on the Kohala Coast about 30 minutes north of the Kona airport. It has lifeguards, but...
• Punaluʻu Black Sand BeachHawaiʻi Island · Hawaiʻi Island's best-known black-sand beach, in Kaʻū between Volcano and South Point. Green sea turtles often rest on the sand: stay at...
• Waipiʻo Valley: lookout and access rulesHawaiʻi Island · The road into Waipiʻo Valley has been closed to visitors since February 2022, and an emergency rule signed July 1, 2026 keeps it limited to...
• Mauna Kea summit and Visitor Information StationHawaiʻi Island · Mauna Kea's free Visitor Information Station sits at 9,200 feet, open about 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. You need 4WD to drive past it, the summit...
• Kahaluʻu Beach Park (Kona snorkeling)Hawaiʻi Island · Kona's easiest beginner snorkel spot, on Aliʻi Drive about 5 miles south of Kailua-Kona. A shallow reef keeps the bay calm most days and...
• Two Step (Hōnaunau Bay) snorkelingHawaiʻi Island · One of Hawaiʻi Island's best snorkel spots: a lava-shelf entry at the Hōnaunau Bay boat ramp, next to Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National...
• Richardson Ocean Park (Hilo snorkeling and swimming)Hawaiʻi Island · The Hilo side's most reliable snorkel and swim spot: a black-sand cove sheltered by a lava breakwater, about four miles east of downtown on...

Botanical gardens

• Hawaiʻi Island gardens: Hawaiʻi Tropical Botanical Garden and Liliʻuokalani GardensHawaiʻi Island · Near Hilo, the Hawaiʻi Tropical Botanical Garden at Onomea Bay winds through rainforest to the ocean ($35 adults, daily 10 to 6). In town...

Golf courses

• Mauna Kea and Hāpuna golf (Kohala Coast, Hawaiʻi Island)Hawaiʻi Island · Two famous Kohala Coast courses: Mauna Kea (Robert Trent Jones Sr., 1964), with its ocean-crossing 3rd hole, about $345 mornings and $270...
• Waikoloa, Mauna Lani and Hualālai golf (Hawaiʻi Island)Hawaiʻi Island · Waikoloa Beach Resort Golf has 27 holes (Beach, Lakes and Kings' nines) from about $215 mornings down to $119 after 1 p.m., and $89 for...
• Value golf on Hawaiʻi Island: Hilo Municipal and VolcanoHawaiʻi Island · On the east side, Hilo Municipal Golf Course is the island's only County-owned course and one of its cheapest rounds (about $44, confirm by...

Museums

• ʻImiloa Astronomy Center (Hilo)Hawaiʻi Island · A science and culture center at UH Hilo that pairs Maunakea astronomy with Polynesian voyaging and Hawaiian star knowledge, plus Hawaiʻi...
• Pacific Tsunami Museum (Hilo)Hawaiʻi Island · Downtown Hilo museum telling the story of the 1946 and 1960 tsunamis that devastated the bayfront, with survivor accounts and tsunami...
• Lyman Museum and Mission House (Hilo)Hawaiʻi Island · Hilo's natural and cultural history museum, with a strong volcano and mineral collection, next to the 1839 Lyman Mission House, the...
• Huliheʻe Palace (Kailua-Kona)Hawaiʻi Island · A royal summer home on Aliʻi Drive in Kailua-Kona, built in 1838 and later used by King Kalākaua, now a museum run by the Daughters of...
• Kona Coffee Living History Farm (Captain Cook)Hawaiʻi Island · A restored 1920s Japanese coffee farm in South Kona where costumed interpreters show family life and coffee growing during the plantation...
• Smaller Hawaiʻi Island stops: Mokupāpapa, Paniolo Heritage, Honokaʻa, Laupāhoehoe TrainHawaiʻi Island · Smaller Hawaiʻi Island museums worth a stop, several of them free: Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ocean...

Shopping centers

• Hawaiʻi Island shopping: Waikoloa, Kona and HiloHawaiʻi Island · On the Kohala Coast, Kings' Shops and Queens' MarketPlace at Waikoloa Beach Resort have boutiques, dining and entertainment. In Kona, the...

Hikes

• Papakōlea Green Sand Beach hikeHawaiʻi Island · A rare olivine green-sand beach near Ka Lae (South Point). The walk is about 4.5 miles round trip from the end of South Point Road, 3 to 4...
• Pololū Valley TrailHawaiʻi Island · A short but steep trail at the end of Highway 270 in North Kohala, dropping about 400 feet to a boulder-and-black-sand beach. It was closed...
• Kīlauea Iki Trail (Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park)Hawaiʻi Island · The park's signature day hike: a roughly 3.3-mile loop (allow 2 to 3 hours) that drops about 400 feet through rainforest and crosses the...

Safety

• Lifeguarded beaches on Hawaiʻi Island (Big Island)Hawaiʻi Island · Hawaiʻi Island lifeguards are on duty daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.: in Hilo at Leleiwi, Carlsmith, Richardson Ocean Park, Onekahakaha...

Rules & laws

• Hawaiʻi County (Big Island): mineral-only sunscreen salesHawaiʻi Island · Since December 1, 2022, stores on Hawaiʻi Island may only sell sunscreens whose active ingredients are zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.