Your Trip to Hawaiʻi starts here

1: the Hawaii volcanoes National Park

The most visited spot in the state, and the one sight to build a trip around. Active craters, walkable lava fields, and a road that drops from rainforest to coast in under an hour.

2: Pololu Valley

The cliffs drop straight into the ocean here, and the lookout alone is worth the drive. The real reason to come is the steep hike down to the black-sand beach on the valley floor.

3: Visit Maunakea

At nearly 14,000 feet, this is one of the darkest skies on Earth and home to some of the world’s best telescopes. See it your way: a free roadside picnic, the visitor station at dusk, or a guided trip toward the summit.

4: Waipiʻo Valley

Once home to Hawaiian kings, now taro fields and wilderness walled in by 2,000-foot cliffs and fronted by black sand. Access is limited, so check what is open before you go.

5: Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach

The most famous black-sand beach in the state, and your best odds of seeing green sea turtles haul out on the sand. Easy to reach off the Volcano-to-Kona drive.

6: Kealakekua Bay

Some of the clearest water and best snorkeling in the state, in a bay that also carries deep historical weight. Reaching the best reef takes a boat, a kayak permit, or a long hike, so plan ahead.

Activity Overview: 31 Things to Do on the Big Island

Thirty-one activities, sorted by what each one actually costs you in time, money, and effort. Skim it first so you book the right things and skip the rest.

Manta Ray Night Snorkel / Dive

You float on the surface with a light, and the mantas come up to feed right below you. It is the one Kona night activity almost no one regrets booking.

How to See Lava (DIY and Best Tours)

When a vent is active, this jumps to the top of every list. Here is how to tell if it is flowing right now, and how to see it on your own versus with a guide.

Beach time!

Black sand, green sand, white sand, and beaches still being built out of fresh lava. We sort them by which are safe to swim and which are just for looking.

All 8 Big Island Luau shows

Eight luau, very different price points and very different shows. We compare food, seating, and which ones are worth the drive so you book once and book right.

The BEST snorkeling spots

Warm water and reef you can reach straight from shore. We map our favorite entries by skill level, so you know which are easy wades and which need calm-day timing.

ATV Tours

The fastest way onto private Hamakua and Kohala land you cannot otherwise reach: gulches, ranch trails, and waterfalls. Expect to get muddy.

Big Island Biking

Most visitors skip it, which is the point. Cruise the Kona coast, ride the rainforest, or take an e-bike through Volcanoes National Park without the crowds.

Botanical Gardens

A couple of slow hours among rainforest, waterfalls, and flowers you will not see anywhere else. The easiest way to fit the Hamakua coast into a packed day.

Big Island Camping

Sleeping outside here puts you somewhere most visitors never see, from coastal sites to the cool slopes near the volcano. We cover where it is allowed and what to expect.

Farm Tours

Taste Big Island coffee, vanilla, honey, chocolate, and macadamia nuts at the source. Animal lovers can add a seahorse farm, a petting zoo, or a sanctuary.

Big Island Golfing

The Big Island is the state’s golf capital, and Kona is its center. Championship courses from the biggest names in design, carved straight into old lava.

Helicopter Tours

Most of the island’s interior has no road: hidden waterfalls, fresh flows, and 1,000-foot sea cliffs you can only reach from the air. We cover doors-on versus doors-off and where to sit.

Big Island Hiking

Walk across barren lava fields, through rainforest, or down to a hidden beach. You can even hike across a crater floor that was a lava lake within living memory.

Horseback Riding

Ride working ranch land most visitors never set foot on, with the coast and peaks in view. Some tours push past the pasture all the way to Waipiʻo valley.

Lava Tubes

Walk through tunnels left behind by rivers of lava, with no eruption required. Some are an easy family stop, others a multi-hour guided crawl.

Scenic Drives

Five routes that get you closest to the real Hawaiʻi. Drive slow, stop at a fruit stand, bring a camera, and let the day take its time.

Scuba Diving

Get away from the crowds and into sea caves, submerged lava tubes, and coral belts that ring the island. You could spend a whole trip working through them.

Stargazing at Maunakea

One of the darkest skies on Earth, with options for every comfort level: a free roadside picnic, a midnight photo session, or a guided visit toward the summit.

Stand Up Paddle (SUP)

A Hawaiian sport you can actually learn here in a morning. Kona and Hilo both rent boards and run lessons along calm, scenic water.

See dolphins in a safe and respectful way

Spinner dolphins rest in these bays by day, which is exactly when tours want to put you in with them. It is now federally restricted, and the welfare question is worth weighing before you book.

Big Island Surfing

Hawaiʻi is where surfing began, and the island has breaks for every level. Never ridden a wave? Book a lesson at a local surf school and start in the white water.

Volunteering

Spend part of a day giving back, and it takes you into terrain most visitors and plenty of locals never see. Fun and useful at the same time.

Waterfalls

The wet, steep north and east sides are stacked with them. Easy to reach, dramatic up close, and the rainforest setting is half the reason to go.

Whale Watching

Humpbacks arrive November through April, and the Big Island is our favorite island to see them. We cover the best months and how close you can really get.

Ziplining

Strung high over gulches, jungle, and forest, and the Big Island has no shortage of those. A straightforward adrenaline hit with no experience required.

Kona Coffee Farm Tours

The Kona coffee belt is a thin strip of hillside that grows some of the most expensive coffee on earth. Tour a working farm, watch how it goes from cherry to roast, and taste it at the source before you pay gift-shop prices.

Waterfall Rappelling