Keawaiki is as isolated as Big Island beaches get, mainly because the quickest way here is via a 15 to 20 minute walk over an ʻaʻa lava trail that looks like it was plucked from Dante Alighieri's darkest dreams. Your reward for getting here: a rocky, black-sand beach overlooked by a lone palm tree, and the blue ocean – which can be quite rough, so be careful if you swim. The path begins at a parking pull-off near Mile 79.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
28.45 MILES
At 13,796ft in the air, you are above 40% of the atmosphere and 90% of its water vapor – apparently perfect conditions for growing the giant mushroom-like…
10.23 MILES
If what you're after is an almost deserted, postcard-perfect scoop of soft, white-sand beach cupping brilliant blue-green waters, head to 'Maks.' Although…
Puʻukohola Heiau National Historic Site
11.07 MILES
By 1790 Kamehameha the Great had conquered Maui, Lanaʻi and Molokaʻi. But power over his home island of Hawaiʻi was a challenge. When told by a prophet…
28.41 MILES
On an island with a conspicuous dearth of surface water, tiny Lake Waiʻau's existence on a porous lava mountain is something of an enigma. Hawaiian…
16.85 MILES
The water is usually too cloudy for snorkeling at this beautiful hook-shaped beach with a mix of black lava, white coral and wave-tossed shells, but just…
20.69 MILES
About 4 miles south of central Kailua-Kona, this small beach (also called White Sands and, officially, Laʻaloa Beach) has turquoise water, great sunsets,…
8.45 MILES
This sublime crescent-shaped white-sand beach is fronted by sparkling waters in alternating bands of pale cyan, deeper turquoise, and rich blue. Kua Bay…
Kona Coffee Living History Farm
27.34 MILES
Many coffee-farm tours are perfunctory 15-minute affairs. This tour, run by the Kona Historical Society, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute, is…
Nearby Kona Coast attractions
2.28 MILES
Don't worry about that tongue twister of an official name; everyone on the island calls this beach 'A Bay.' 'A-plus' is another way of putting it: this…
2. Kuʻualiʻi and Kahapapa Fishponds
2.29 MILES
Physical evidence of the ancient aquaculture system that once formed a crucial component of Native Hawaiian foodways is located smack-dab behind…
2.34 MILES
A portion of Ala Kahakai – the King's Trail – winds through Waikoloa, offering a somewhat incongruous dose of ancient Hawaiian history and heritage within…
4. Waikoloa Anchialine Pond Preservation Area
2.49 MILES
Here's your daily dose of science: anchialine ponds are coastal ponds that have no surface connection to the ocean, but that nonetheless rise and fall…
2.51 MILES
With its pristine turquoise waters and shoreline fringed with coconut trees, Kiholo Bay is an off-the-beaten-track Big Island beauty. It’s more of a…
6. Waikoloa Petroglyph Preserve
2.63 MILES
This collection of petroglyphs carved in lava rock is so easy to access that it merits a stop, although the Puako Petroglyph Preserve further north is…
4.39 MILES
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…
8. Kalahuipuaʻa Historic Trail
4.62 MILES
The first segment of this easy trail meanders through a 16th-century Hawaiian settlement, passing lava tubes once used as cave shelters and a few other…