Hamakua Coast
If you love quirky history, pop into this unassuming museum. It's an old station agent's house full of cool stuff, brimming with fascinating artifacts and…
Must-see attractions in Hawaiʻi the Big Island
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
On the edge of an old-grown ohia forest, this campus of the main Volcano Art Center gallery in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park showcases spillover and…
North Kohala
This seaside park offers a covered picnic area with welcome shade, few people and public toilets. It is simple and clean, with nice coastal and Maui views…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Do your Big Island art shopping at this gallery and studio in the fern forest. Walls and tables overflow with paintings, handicrafts and jewelry produced…
South Kona Coast
'The temple on the point of the cove,' located a few hundred yards past the main park entrance, was built around 1650 and contains the bones of 23 chiefs…
North Kohala
All of the funky, organic, crunchy goodness of North Kohala is sold by all of its funky, organic, crunchy characters at this weekly farmers market, held…
Hilo
For boardsports, this is it: Hilo's only surfing and bodyboarding spot. Locals flock here for the consistent wave action, never mind the rocky beach. Don…
South Kona Coast
Above Kealakekua Bay, the 'sacred cliffs of Keoua' were named for a chief and rival of Kamehameha I. Several high, inaccessible caves in these cliffs…
South Kohala
It's a tourist stop, but a darned good one, featuring a spanking-clean factory, gift shop and generous free samples. This eco-conscious company generates…
South Kona Coast
This 150-acre family farm, established in 1850, is run by fourth-generation Greenwells and is one of Kona’s oldest and best-known coffee plantations. It…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Constantly brutalized by unrelenting surf, the coastal section of Chain of Craters Road has sharply eroded lava-rock pali (cliffs). Visible from near the…
Hilo
Tiny Mokuola, commonly called Coconut Island, connects to land (near Liliʻuokalani Park) by a 250ft footbridge. The island is a county park with picnic…
South Kona Coast
Leading up to Hale o Keawe Heiau is the Great Wall, separating the royal grounds from the puʻuhonua (place of sanctuary). Built around 1550, this stone…
Kona Coast
The upland coffee country of the Kona coast has historically been settled and worked by Japanese immigrants and their descendants, and this cemetery,…
Kona Coast
If you're hoping to see hayseeds in overalls teaching cephalopods how to drive tractors (we entertained the fantasy), the world's only octopus farm may…
Kohala & Waimea
Once the nation's largest privately owned ranch, peaking at 250,000 acres, the Parker Ranch occupies a vital space in Waimea's history and development…
ʻImiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaiʻi
Hilo
ʻImiloa, which means 'exploring new knowledge,' is a $28 million museum and planetarium complex with a twist: it juxtaposes modern astronomy on Mauna Kea…
Society for Kona's Education & Art
South Kona Coast
SKEA is a hotbed of activity, with pilates, Polynesian dance, tai chi and Japanese-ink-painting classes, art shows and poetry readings; check the online…
Kona Coast
In the southern section of Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, ʻAimakapa is the largest fishpond on the Kona Coast. It's home to aeʻo (Hawaiian…
Kohala & Waimea
Waimea's first Christian church originated as a grass hut in 1830 and was built entirely of koa in 1857. Here lies the grave of missionary Lorenzo Lyons,…
South Kona Coast
Housed in one of Kona's oldest buildings, this museum is a taste of 19th-century Hawaiʻi. Built in 1875 and meticulously restored, it has educational…
Hilo
Although this beach may look rocky, the swimming area is protected by a reef, creating a safe lagoon. The anchialine ponds, which flow to the ocean, are…
South Kohala
Puako is known for its large, attractive tide pools. There are multiple public shoreline access points along Puako Beach Dr, but the entrance area before…
Puna
Grab an espresso and a snack while you talk beans with the master roaster at this friendly coffee and tea farm. Free short tours give you a taste of what…
South Kohala
These ancient fishponds are among the island's few remaining working fishponds. As in ancient times, they're stocked with awa (Hawaiian milk fish). Water…
Hilo
Hawaii's Japanese immigrant community is sizable and influential, especially in Hilo. Here, learn more about this group through plantation-era artifacts,…
Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory
Kona Coast
A must for chocolate fans, these one-hour farm tours detail how Hawaiian chocolate is grown, harvested, processed and packaged, followed by chocolate…
East Hawai‘i Cultural Center/HMOCA
Hilo
Curious about Hilo's art scene? Go to this downtown center, which displays well-curated works by both professionals and amateurs. Exhibits change monthly,…
Kona Coast
With jaw-dropping ocean views from a breezy lanai, this epicurean tasting room and eco-conscious farm is the place to learn about cupping. Ask about the…
Kohala & Waimea
The lobby of this working office is open to the public. See models of the twin 10m (33ft) Keck telescopes, fascinating photos and a telescope trained on…
Kona Coast
Ocean Rider sustainably raises seahorses for research and aquariums, thus avoiding the ecological perils of catching these creatures in the wild…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
This jaw-dropping, mile-long crater is the largest in the East Rift Zone. Although once accessible by road, it's now 5 miles along the Napau Crater Trail,…
Puna
Known locally as the 'Painted Church,' this historic Catholic chapel is noted for its collection of murals including a simple trompe l'oeil cathedral…
Puna
An easy 0.6-mile paved loop takes you past ancient ‘lava trees,’ created in 1790 when pahoehoe (smooth-flowing lava) from Kilauea’s East Rift Zone…
Kona Coast
Ever popular for weddings, the much-photographed 'Little Blue Church' practically sits in Kahuluʻu Bay. Made of clapboard in the 1880s, with a corrugated…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
Northeast of Naʻalehu, this small park has tide pools, an ancient Hawaiian fishpond frequented by birds, and the photographic ruins of a historic pier…
Kona Coast
On the former grounds of the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort, just south of Kahaluʻu Beach Park, three restored heiau (temples) and ancient Hawaiian…
Saddle Road
The weather measurements made here are so sensitive that when the observatory was built in 1956 scientists asked the national park to ban stoves at the…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
Also referred to as Punaluʻu Nui, 800-year-old Kaneʻeleʻele Heiau was the region's luakani, or place of human sacrifice. A large flat stone below the…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Puʻu ʻOʻo vent saw the longest-lasting and most voluminous of the Kilauea's eruptions, oozing an estimated 80 to 160 million gallons of lava per day, or…
