Hawaiʻi the Big Island

The main access point to the Big Island presents visitors with multiple destinations possessed of very distinct identities. Kailua-Kona is the urban heart of the west side, although you're free to place air quotes around 'urban.' Here you'll find tour offices, shopping centers and some very fine restaurants. Up the mountain, Holualoa is a breezy artists' enclave. The Kona coast extends north and south of Kailua 'town.' To the north you'll find the edges of the great Hawaiian lava deserts, as well as hidden coves, Hawaiian ruins and resort communities. The South Kona Coast is a fascinating microcosm of Big Island ecosystems and cultural groups. Coffee farms tended by mainland transplants and generations-deep Japanese families stud the jungle hills, which smooth down to a coast studded with superlative snorkeling opportunities. Connecting the South Kona Coast to Kailua is Keauhou, a slice of mainland condo-country carved out of the Big Island.

Kona Coast

The Kohala coast is a land of long deserts bending to bleached white-sand beaches, before giving way to the fuzzy grass hills of cattle country and the thick jungles of the north coast. Out here the wind howls a gale, the sun shines like a broiler, and a land of wild extremes waits to be discovered. South Kohala is the archetypal sun-and-sea resort mecca. From Waikoloa to Kawaihae, Hawaiian history is preserved in ancient trails, heiau (temples), fishponds and petroglyphs – although all you'll see from the highway is stark lava desert and the edges of resort golf courses. In counterpoint to the south's desert climate and man-made attractions, North Kohala is lushly otherworldly, with magnificent pastureland, quaint plantation towns and Pololu Valley's cascading cliffs. It proudly remains rural with nary a high-rise in sight. Waimea, a ranch town in between, is a central stop for cross-island travelers.

Kohala & Waimea

Kailua-Kona may host more visitors, but Hilo is the beating heart of Hawai‘i Island. Hidden beneath its daily drizzle lies deep soil and soul, from which sprouts a genuine community and aloha spirit. Hilo's demographics still mirror its sugar-town roots, with a diverse mix of Native Hawaiians, Japanese, Filipinos, Portuguese, Puerto Ricans, Chinese and Caucasians. People might seem low-key, but they're a resilient lot. Knocked down by two tsunamis, threatened with extinction by Mauna Loa lava flows, deluged with the highest annual rainfall in the USA and always battling for its share of tourist dollars, Hilo knows how to survive and to thrive. Hilo had a life before tourism, and it remains refreshingly untouristy. Yet it offers many attractions: compelling museums, a walkable downtown, two thriving farmers markets and dozens of indie restaurants. Hilo is an ideal base for exploring Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Mauna Kea, Puna and the Hamakua Coast.

Hilo

Stretching from Waipiʻo Valley to Hilo, the Hamakua Coast combines rugged beauty and bursting fertility. Here you'll find rocky shores and pounding surf, tropical rainforests and thunderous waterfalls. The color green takes on new meaning, especially in Waipiʻo Valley, which you can explore on horseback or by a steep, exhilarating hike. On the slopes of Mauna Kea, farmers grow vanilla, tea, mushrooms and other boutique crops, modernizing and diversifying island agriculture. Visit these small-scale farms for a close-up look at island life (and to sample its delicious bounty). Sugarcane once ruled the Hamakua Coast, with acres of plantations and massive trains chugging along the coast and across towering bridges spanning the tremendous gulches. Stop at old-time museums and delve into the rich history here. Pause to imagine the 'old plantation days.' Go slow, explore the back roads and step back in time.

Hamakua Coast

From the often-snowy summit of Mauna Loa, the world's most massive volcano, to the boiling coast where lava pours into the sea, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (car/bicycle or pedestrian 7-day pass $25/12) is a micro-continent of thriving rainforests, volcano-induced deserts, high-mountain meadows, coastal plains and plenty of geological marvels in between. At the heart of it all is Kilauea – the earth’s youngest and most active shield volcano. Since 1983 Kilauea’s East Rift Zone has been erupting almost nonstop, and while an active volcano tends to draw visitors, it can also be a geologic liability. From May to August of 2018, sustained eruptions yielded seismic activity and lava flows that quite literally reshaped Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (and resulted in the destruction of 700 homes). Some attractions have been indefinitely closed, but other activities, including the stunning Chain of Craters Road and most of the park's backcountry, remain open to visitors. In any case, local national park staff excel at managing this chaotic landscape. Their education programs deftly blend modern science with ancient beliefs and customs, and their outreach feels boundless. Ample interpretive signs, unusually informative trail guides, a slew of well-thought-out ranger-led hikes, living history programs and a weekly lecture series all provide visitors with a solid connection to the park and the people of Hawaiʻi. Of all the national parks in the USA, this is the one where you really want to check conditions before visiting; check out www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit for up to date information.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

Hawaiʻi's eastern corner is a challenging place to live. Often drenched by rain, occasionally scorched by lava, and somewhat disconnected from the rest of the island, Puna attracts a unique assortment of free-spirited characters who enjoy living on the edge. This is the home of hippies, funky artists, alternative healers, Hawaiian sovereignty activists, pakalolo (marijuana) growers, organic farmers and off-the-grid survivalists. A nickname for all these folks, which they enthusiastically embrace, is Punatics. Collectively they embody a disconcerting blend of laid-back apathy to the world and intense emotion. But even if you prefer to keep your mana (spiritual essence) more on the down-low, you'll still find plenty of compelling reasons to explore the land where the sun rises: from warm springs and world-class snorkeling to yoga centers and a couple of fine surf breaks. Go now, before Pele decides it's time to hit the reset button.

Puna

Kailua-Kona, also known as ‘Kailua,’ ‘Kona Town’ and sometimes just ‘Town,’ is a love-it-or-leave-it kind of place. On the main drag of Aliʻi Dr, along the shoreline, Kailua works hard to evoke the nonchalance of a sun-drenched tropical getaway, but in an injection-molded, bargain-priced way. But we like it. Spend enough time here and you'll scratch past the souvenirs to an oddball identity built from a collision of two seemingly at-odds forces: mainlanders who want to wind down to Hawaiian time, and ambitious Big Islanders who want to make it in one of the few local towns worthy of the title. Somehow, this marriage works. Kailua-Kona can be tacky, but it's got character. At the end of the day, Kailua is a convenient base from which to enjoy the Kona Coast’s beaches, snorkeling, water sports and ancient Hawaiian sites, so you'll likely spend at least a day here.

Kailua-Kona

You won't find much on the grassy lava-strewn plains between the massive shoulders of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, except for overwhelming scenery and an acute sense of your own insignificance. Hastily built by the army to move troops across the island, the original Saddle Road's tight turns, blind hills and poor surface made it terrifying and downright dangerous, which motivated most rental companies to prohibit driving it. Now officially named Daniel K Inouye Hwy, a major reconstruction is almost complete that has removed Saddle Road's claws and teeth – but it's still an impressive beast with astounding views across the lonely heart of Hawaiʻi Island (when those views aren't obscured by fog – one remaining, real danger). Just before Mile 42, the old road splits north toward Waimea, while the new section begins a zippy 9-mile, 3000ft descent toward Hwy 190.

Saddle Road

South Kona, more than any other district of Hawaiʻi, embodies the many strands that make up the geo-cultural tapestry of Hawai'i, the Big Island. There is both the dry lava desert of the Kohala Coast and the wet, misty jungles of Puna and Hilo; fishing villages inhabited by country-living locals next to hippie art galleries established by counterculture exiles from the US mainland, next to condos plunked down by millionaire land developers. In addition, the dozen or so miles heading south from Kailua-Kona to Kealakekua Bay are among Hawaiʻi's most action-packed, historically speaking. It's here that ancient Hawaiian aliʻi (royalty) secretly buried the bones of their ancestors, kapu (taboo) breakers braved shark-infested waters to reach the puʻuhonua (place of refuge), and British explorer Captain Cook and his crew fatally first stepped ashore in Hawaii.

South Kona Coast

The Queen Kaʻahumanu Hwy (Hwy 19) cuts through stark fields of lava, but as you head toward the ocean, rolling emerald golf course slopes edge onto condo complexes and electric teal pools. This is the Gold Coast of the Big Island, and whatever your feelings are on resorts, this is where you'll find some of the area's best beaches. Oddly enough, South Kohala also contains numerous ancient Hawaiian sights. This coast was more populated at the time of their creation than it is now, and the region is packed with village sites, heiau (temples), fishponds, petroglyphs and historic trails – areas that are often preserved for visitors. The waters off the coast in South Kohala are pristine and teeming with marine life – and they're relatively uncrowded. The reef drops off more gradually here than along the Kona Coast, so you might see sharks, dolphins, turtles and manta rays.

South Kohala

Mauna Kea (White Mountain) is called Mauna O Wakea (Mountain of Wakea) by Hawaiian cultural practitioners. While all of the Big Island is considered the first-born child of Wakea (Sky Father) and Papahānaumoku (Earth Mother), Mauna Kea has always been the sacred piko (navel) connecting the land to the heavens.

For the scientific world, it all began in 1968 when the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) began observing the universe from atop the mountain. The summit is so high, dry, dark and pollution-free that it allows investigation of the furthest reaches of the observable universe.

Many Hawaiians are opposed to the summit 'golf balls' – the white observatories now dotting the skyline. While not antiscience, they believe unchecked growth threatens the mountain's wahi pana (sacred places), including heiau (temples) and burial sites. Litter, vandalism and pollution (including toxic mercury spills) have been a problem. Visit with respect, and pack out your trash.

Maunakea

Where the winds scream out of the Pacific, bending the tall grass into stiff yellow prairies that drop to a frothy ocean held adjacent to a black lava rock coastline – there, friend, you've reached North Kohala, and North Kohala is a world unto itself. This is the birthplace of Kamehameha, 'The Lonely One,' a fitting nickname given the austerity of this landscape, which in some ways is utterly removed from the clichéd lush garden image you may have of the Hawaiian Islands. This applies to the west side of North Kohala, anyway; drive east and the rains lash out with the winds, greening the hills until one reaches the fertile jungle cleft of the Pololu Valley. The distinctive nature of the landscape and the population here give North Kohala an undeniable sense of place, and locals have an enormous well of pride in this windswept corner of the Big Island.