Big Island, also known as the land of frozen fire, is one among the least visited Hawaiian islands. This newest Hawaiian island is the land of active volcanoes which are still erupting. The lava from this active volcanoes is creating more land in the island and as a result the island is still growing. Since the island is rightly named Big Island as it is the biggest of the Hawaiian islands, it could be hard to make a plan to visit so many places that the island has to offer This blog will share our experience of exploring the Big Island.
Suggested Itineraries
- Day 1 – Punaluu black sand beach, Papakōlea Green Sand Beach, Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park
- Day 2 – Kona, Kukio beach, Kiholo Bay, Mauna Kea Summit
- Day 3 – Volcanoes National Park
- Day 4 – Polulu valley, Waipio valley, Lone Palm tree, Hapuna beach
- Day 5 – Akaka Falls, Peepee Falls, Hilo, Hawai‘i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden
Day 1 – Punaluu black sand beach, Papakōlea Green Sand Beach, Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park
We headed in the morning to see something we don’t usually get to see and that is a black sand beach. Big Island is famous for black sand beaches are there a number of such black sand beaches here. Of those Punalu’u beach is the most famous black sand beach of Hawaii. Although Punaluu Beach is isolated, it is easily accessible unlike some of the other black sand beaches in Hawaii. Coconut palms fringe the edge of black sandy beach provides a perfect contrast. You can often see endangered Green Sea Turtles soaking in the sun but you are only allowed to see them from a distance. Swimming isn’t ideal at this spectacular location but a good place to hang out with kids.
We were thrilled to know that there are only 4 green sand beaches in the world. One of them is located here on the Big Island of Hawaii so we can not take miss it. It is a good and unique place to visit in the Big island. The Big Island Green Sand beach is near the southern tip of the Island. In addition to being surrounded by beautiful landscape, you will find warm, turquoise water where you can catch waves and enjoy swimming in this spectacular beach. However, getting into that beach is not quite easy. You can wither hike out to the Green Sand Beach from the parking lot. It’s about 3 miles, which is about 1 hour to walk from the parking lot to the beach. It could be very muddy in days when it rains, so prepare to wear proper mud shoes for this hike. You could get one of the 4WD truck services where they take you to the green sand beach from the parking lot. As soon as you pull into the parking lot, someone will approach you to ask if you want to head to the Green Sand Beach. They do charge about $10-20 for a round trip. But please remember that the ride is not going to be an easy one as the road is quite bumpy, jagged and slippery. So is it worth taking this trouble to visit Green sand Beach? Absolutely!
Later in the afternoon we headed towards Hawaii’s Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park. This place formerly protected defeated warriors and civilians during battle. The park includes a complex of archaeological sites and also considered a sacred place, so be respectful when you visit this place.. The park is open 8.15-Sunset, daily and costs $20 per car, $15 per motorcycle or $10 per person on foot or with a bike. It is good place place to visit irrespective of whether you are a history buff or not. Right next door to Pu’uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park lies the beautiful Hōnaunau Bay. It is also known as Two Step, Hōnaunau bay is frequented by an array of marine life. This is one of the best places for snorkeling in Hawai’i. We spent the evening here watching the sun going down the horizon.
Day 2 – Kona, Kukio beach, Kiholo Bay, Mauna Kea Summit
Kailua-Kona is the tourist hub of the Big Island and is the largest city in the west side of Big Island. You may have flew to Big Island and landed in Kona airport. The Kona coast has some of the most beautiful beaches on the Big Island! It has vast lava fields and snorkeling spots. Kona is also famous for it’s coffee production. We’ll spend today in Kona and surrounding areas.
We visited the Kuki’o Beach near to Kona. It is a long sand beach surrounded by the Four Seasons Hualalai Resort. Access to Kuki’o Beach is usually through the Hualalai Resort entrance gate off of Kaupulehu Drive. The resort has nice pathways alongside the golf course and it is open to people who are not staying in the resort. The pathway is nice to walk, it is built on lava rocks. We walked for quite some time here taking in the beauty of the place. Also spent good time int he sandy beach.
Kiholo Bay is an beautiful hidden bay further north of Big Island. There is a trail that you need walk in order to access the bay. The vast lava filed along the way is astonishing. The hike is about 2.8 mile round trip. You will witness a beautiful aquamarine lagoon once you reach the bay. This is lovely place for swimming and snorkeling.
We also visited another nearby trail Makalawena Trail. This is lesser known place but the walk to the beach will blow your mind. We witnessed how land are still getting created from the lava which covered this place long time back. This place will tell you why Big Island is called land of frozen fire.
Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii that last erupted approximately 4000 years ago. At about 14,000 feet above sea level from the bottom of the ocean floor, Mauna Kea is the tallest sea mountain in the world. I could not miss the opportunity to visit the tallest mountain in the world. One can drive all the way to summit in 4X4 drive but I preferred to proceed with a tour. I booked a tour with Taikob Hawaii which I recommend highly. The tour started in the afternoon which takes to the visitor center first. We spent 45 minutes their to get accustomed to the high altitude condition. Then, we proceeded to the summit. The incredible view of Mauna Kea standing tall above the cloud is unbelievable. It was cloudy but we could get some glimpse of sun and that was amazing.
Later, in the evening the tour took us to a place where we spent a good one hour gazing the stars. I have never seen stars so bright elsewhere. No wonder this place has so many telescopes set up by NASA and other organizations for astronomical research. More than 300 days of clear sky and thin air here makes it one of the sought after destinations for telescope setup.
This place is also mythological significant in Hawaiian culture. In Hawaiian mythology, Mauna Kea is home to the snow goddess Poli‘ahu. In ancient times, the summit was considered the realm of the gods and was kapu (forbidden) to all except the highest chiefs and priests.
Day 3 – Volcanoes National Park
The reason for most of the visitor’s visiting Big Island is to visit Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park. It has world’s most active volcano and a good chance to see volcanic lava flow. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park encompasses 335,259 acres or about 523 square miles. The park has two volcanoes – Kīlauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes and Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano. One can spend an entire day exploring the park as the park a lot many things to offer.
There are many trail to visit the crater and most popular of them is Kilauea Iki trail. The Kilauea Iki Crater is a great spot for hikers to explore a crater at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. What was once a boiling lava lake is now a hardened surface and you’ll see vast frozen lava field. Hikers can opt for the loop route that combines the Kilauea Iki with the Crater Rim Trail but we just did an out and back at the Kilauea Iki Trail.
The Thurston Lava Tube is another spot to explore near Kilauea trail. This 500 year old lava tube located near the incredible Kilauea Crater and one of the most popular things to do at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. The total hike is about 1.5miles roundtrip from the Kilauea Iki Overlook and takes you through the lava tube and connects to the lush greenery on the other side.
The other popular thing in Volcanoes national park is to drive The Chain of Craters Road. It is a 19 mile scenic drive with spectacular overlooks and otherworldly vistas. The road starts at Crater Rim Drive and winds it way down past the Holei Sea Arch on the coast. The drive offer stunning views of frozen lava landscapes. This is where you’ll witness how new land is getting created from lava.
At the end of Chain of Craters Road is The Holei Sea Arch which is a 90ft high arch created by a lava flow. This is definitely a remarkable side to visit where you’ll get to see the sea cliff formed from frozen lava.
Day 4 – Polulu valley, Waipio valley, Lone Palm tree, Hapuna beach
Today, we head to North of Big Island with the first stop at Polulu Valley. It is a scenic spot with black sand beach. You can get some great scenic views from the Pololu Valley lookout right near the parking area. One can hike all the way to the beach from the parking area which is about 30 minutes in a steep terrain but not very difficult. The beach is not black but rather stony and you’ll be able to see pebbles of different colors. We spent a lazy morning here for some time before heading to the next destination.
About an hour drive from Polulu Valley lies another popular place of Waipio Valley. It is located in north Hamakua, is Big Island’s “Valley of the Kings” and remains one Hawaii’s most unique and sacred native preservation sites. The lookout provides nice view of the valley. Driving down to the beach has been stopped to visitors in recent times and even visitors are not allowed hike down to the beach. So, only way to visit this beautiful treasure is from the lookout.
Fascinated by some of the posts in blogs, we decided to make a visit to Lone Palm tree. If go by google, it’ll show several locations and you may not be able to reach the right place. The one near Keawaiki Bay is what probably you’d like to visit. The place is North of Kona coast; Kailua-Kona and it takes about 30 minutes hike on lava boulders from parking. To set the expectation right, the palm tree is almost dead and it how it looks now as you see in the picture. The black sand beach and no crowds, however, makes it worth a try.
In the evening we made our way to Hapuna Beach, the largest and most classic white sand beach on the Big Island. Beaches like Hapuna are rare on the Big Island, where most beaches are made up of lava rock, pebbles, black sand and sea cliffs, instead of soft white sand. It stretches over half of a mile with gorgeous, soft white sand against turquoise water. Sharing the same stretch of beach sand with Hapuna Beach Park is the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. There is a huge store nearby for shopping souvenirs and food. The beautiful sunset t Hapuna beach made a perfect ending of the day.
Day 5 – Akaka Falls, Peepee Falls, Hilo, Hawai‘i Tropical Bio-reserve & Garden
Eastern side of Big Island is lush and green as it receives more rainfall. Today we head to the second largest city in Big Island named Hilo. It is an ideal place to experience tropical beauty like stunning waterfalls, verdant forests and gardens.
Very close to Hilo lies the stunning Akaka Falls State Park. Among couple of waterfalls in the park, the namesake Akaka Faslls is mist beautiful. At twice the height of Niagara Falls, the impressive Akaka Falls is also one of the easiest to reach. It is short trail from the visitor parking lot. The vibrant green rainforest surrounding Akaka Falls provides a nice break from the barren volcanic landscape that characterizes most of the Bug Island. This places greenery reminds the greenery of Kauai island.
Pe‘epe‘e Falls and Boiling Pots is another water scene near Hilo. Pe‘epe‘e Falls peaks from behind a large rock formation and cascades down an 80-foot drop into a series of pools below, creating an intriguing visual effect known as “boiling pots”. Once open to swimmers, it is now closed from swimming and the beauty can only be taken from the boundary of the trail.
Another nice place not to be missed near Hilo is the Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden. Spreading over a stunning 17 acres, the Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden boasts more than 2,500 species of plants and flowers, both native and from around the world. If you want to take your kids somewhere fun and educational, then this is the perfect spot for you. My kid thoroughly enjoyed learning about different types of plant from around the world.
Escape Explore Experience 