One disclaimer before I go in to detail about the Big Island – First off, you should be aware, before you go to the Big Island, that while the western coast is gorgeous, the rest of the entire it’s actually fairly ugly. Outside of the western coast of the island, much of the topography is an alien burnt landscape covered in lava flows and pocked with sulfur spewing craters. It’s other worldly and unbelievably cool to see. I just don’t want you to have false impressions before you go.
That being said, The Big Island of Hawaii is without a doubt, the most unique of the islands in the chain. It is the only island with an active volcano and the only island where you can, thus, see flowing lava. It has really cool black sand and even green sand beaches. However, from the stand point of purely astounding beauty, it is no where near as beautiful as Maui or Kauai, but it is every bit as stunning in it’s own unique way, if that makes sense.
In addition to the active volcano and the black and green sand beaches, one of the most life changing things you can ever do is star gaze from the top of Mauna Kea Observatory. Set a top the nearly 14,000 foot elevation of Hawaii’s great Mauna Kea mountain sits the greatest celestial observatory on Earth. The Big Island, being such an isolated landmass in it’s own right is perfectly located to observe the stars without surrounding light pollution, but the Big Island takes it a step further by mandating that all outdoor lightbulbs on the island use diffuse light. You can drive to the top or take a guided tour, but either way you will see the Milky Way in ways you never imagined. You can see every star in our galaxy and it truly looks like you are sitting atop a giant planet rocketing through the galaxy. Whether you just spend an evening at the observatory or spend a night camping out in Volcanos National Park, this is an experience that you will never forget.
I don’t have a good photo that does it justice but check out this photo by photographer Joe Marquez posted on his Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/25916089@N04/27515734893
The Big Island has two main cities, both of which have airports. If your goal is to see Volcanoes, lava, black sand beaches, ect you should fly into Hilo not to Kona. Kona is the tropical, resort side of the island. It’s beautiful, but pales in comparison to some of the other islands. If you’re going for tropical beauty alone, skip the Big Island all together. Hilo is a small, piece ‘o crap town that looks like an industrial park. I’m not exaggerating. It’s ugly, flat, shitty and there’s nothing there, but it will put you close to the Volcanoes and all the other cool stuff on the island.
If you rent a car, spring for a jeep. A lot of the driving is slightly off road, so having a wrangler is helpful. Plus you get a convertible top which enhances the sight seeing.
One of the things you should do is see one of Hawaii’s largest waterfalls. Akaka Falls is 440 feet tall and very easily accessible. Akaka falls park has a well-developed loop trail as well as a fair-sized parking lot. The road to get here is also smooth and easy to drive with a possible view on clear sunny days of the peak of Mauna Kea (one of the twin shield volcanoes comprising the Big Island) and the Keck Observatory at its summit.
Directions: From Hilo, take Hwy 19 north for about 20 minutes to the well-signed, mauka-side turnoff for Hwy 220 (west). The Hwy 220 turnoff is between the 13-mile and 14-mile posts. Follow the Hwy 220 signs through Honomu Town, after which the last three miles are wide open spaces. These are old sugarcane plantations. Keep going and look for signs to Akaka Falls Park.
As far as seeing actively flowing lava: this is, in many cases, a full day adventure, unless you take a boat or Helicopter. I’ve done the helicopter twice. It’s a great experience and great view of the volcanic crater, the lava flows and the beautiful area where the lava hits the ocean where you can literally see the island slowly growing.
I’ve never done the boat trips but people I know have raved about them as they get you a close look primarily at the lava hitting the ocean which is really fantastic, particularly at night when the flows hitting the ocean creates a firework effect. If you choose to do a hike, the safest way to do the hike is with a guided tour as you don’t want to accidentally fall into a lava tube. Most of the guided hikes are full day (10-12 hours). There’s bus tours, which also involve hiking, but they also take you to other sites along the way and give you full tours of Volcano National Park. Click HERE to visit a website with good descriptions of some of the most popular tours.
If you decide to take the helicopter tour, do the open door one, the experience is ten times better, your photos come out so much better and there’s something about having the wind in your face that takes away any motion sickness from the chopper.
– It is possible to see lava flows from a coastline viewing area at the end of Highway 130 in Puna. The Kalapana site is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily. To allow time to hike to the viewing site, no visitors are admitted after 8 p.m. Admission is free. You can see the lava flows during daylight hours, but honestly they are more spectacular after dark. The site has a phone number if you have more questions (808) 961-8093.
– A 15-mile bike ride will also get you to the show. BikeVolcano.com has designed a tour that provides sunset views of lava hitting thesea and includes a stop in Kalapana, a village ravaged by earlier lava flows.
– Lava Ocean Adventures has a pretty cool boat tour (http://www.lavaocean.com/). and their website has a pretty cool video to show you what you’d see. Definitely check them out. Make reservations for this early as they book fairly quickly.
KapohoTide Pools are a series of interconnected thermal tide pools. Nearby Isaac Hale Beach Park also is the site of a series of hot springs. This site is found on Poho‘iki Bay at the juncture of Poho‘iki Road and Kamu-Kapoho Road.
‘Ahanalui Pool, in the beach park of the same name, is a spring-fed thermal pool where the temperature tends to hover around 90 degrees. The pond is a mixture of hot water from thermal springs and ocean water. It is crystal clear. The park has restrooms, showers and a picnic area. Basically, a natural hot tub.
The only thing you need the guided tours for is any hike to flowing lava…simply because it can be dangerous. Turns out lava is really Hot! As far as tours that include the Park, ect. These are things you and your travel partner(s) will probably be more than happy to do on your own driving around. You can drive through the park using the map they give you at the entrance. You’ll see some volcanic craters and smoking holes in a moon like landscape, but you won’t be able to get all that close as most craters are roped off. The Jagger Museum at the center of the park is cool and open late, but certainly doesn’t require more than 30min of your time. You’ll definitely want to do the Thurston Lava Tube.
Here is a great website that has pictures and directions to all the main sites in the Park, including the lava tube. http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/craterrimtour_tube.htm. Bring a small flashlight for your walk through the tube. It’s pitch black inside. Going all the way through to the center of the tube, where no light gets in and turning the light off is a really surreal experience and a great way to scare the piss out of whoever is with you.
If you’re driving around make sure to stop at Rainbow Falls. This is a semi-circular falls that often produce a rainbow. Take Wai‘anuenue Drive through Hilo and bear right on Rainbow Drive. A parking lot will beon your right. Make the short walk to a lookout and hope for a rainbow.
Black Sand Beach
Punalu’u Black Sand Beach is the most popular black sand beach on the Island and a breeding ground for giant sea turtles. You’ll see multiple sea turtles sunning on the beach there year round. Don’t touch them, they are endangered and the penalties for messing with them are incredibly stiff.
This beach is located on the Big Island’s southeast shore, between Na’alehu and Pahala (between mile markers 55 and 56). Off Highway 11 you’ll take Punalu’u Road which becomes Ninole Loop Road. This will come up to Punalu’u Beach Park which has a large blue and yellow sign. If you continue on the road past the park it will return you to Rt 11. Easy to find on any map. Beware – black sand is hot as F%&K
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Green Sand Beach – Papakolea
The sand isn’t a real spectacular green and can often appear kind of yellow or olive colored which is disappointing to a lot of people because, unlike the black sand beach above, this beach is kind of a bitch to get to so it can be a bit of a let down. The green sand beach is located at the southern tip just west of South Point. The sand is actually caused by eruptions from what was once a volcano. In fact, the green sand beach itself is within what was once a cinder cone. Three sides of the cone are still present, with the ocean coming in from what would have been the eastern edge. Essentially you are swimming in an ancient volcano’s cinder cone with green sand, which is pretty cool.
Directions: You’ll continue down Rt 11 which will take you pretty much straight down to the southern most tip of the island. While the drive south down the Big Island’s major highway is fairly straight forward, once reaching the Islands southern tip known as South Point or Ka Lae there are a few key directions you’ll want to follow. You will reach a sign pointing to a right hand turn towards South Point, the southernmost point in the United States. Stay on the road as you pass the wind farms on South Point Rd and eventually you will come to an area where you can continue right or split off to the left. Take the left as that will lead to a closer dirt parking lot allowing for a shorter, all be it 2 1/4 mile hike, to Green Sand Beach. The road is fairly narrow so be careful not to drive too quickly and heed oncoming traffic as sometimes one of the vehicles might have to pull to the side.
The hike to the beach, referred to on maps as Papalokea Beach within Mahana Bay, is about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 miles. If you made the right hand turn instead of following South Point Road left, it will be much longer. The hike itself is long and can be hot and windy. I’ve seen tourists set out with only flip flops and no water resulting in a miserable time. Hiking shoes are definitely recommended as the route consists of jeep trails, some areas having large ruts and uneven rocks. Remember, round trip, the hike to the beach is approximately 5 miles. Please do yourself a favor and bring plenty of water, gatorade, passion orange guava juice, or whatever your preference is for the journey, you’ll be happy you did. There are no refreshment stands, tour buses, or other services anywhere around this beach.
While on the hike to Papalokea I’ve seen jeep wranglers and other 4×4′s successfully navigate the trail, but it does require some off roading skills as many parts of the road have deep ruts, rocks, some drop offs etc that may not be entirely comfortable or safe. I also saw a jeep bottom out leaving a trail of dripping oil. Be aware: There are no services down by South Point. None at all! Most times you won’t be able to make or receive cell phone calls either. The last thing you want to do is get injured or damage a rental car, so prepare for a hike.
There is some dude named Rodney who offers rides for about $20 per person to take you down to the green sand beach if your short on time or just don’t feel like doing that much hiking. Note that this is not a really pretty hike/drive. There’s no tropical rainforest, waterfalls, ect to see. Like most of the east side of the big island it is a desert. So you’re not missing much by hopping in the back of Rodney’s truck.
While you’re driving there, there’s a great little mac nut place on the way, soon after you turn onto South Point Road from the main highway (http://www.paradisemeadows.com/). Worth a stop for sure. South point also has a relatively safe 40 foot cliff jump with a handy ladder to help you get back out of the water if you’re into that sorta thing. My advice would be to save this hike for sunset if you’re not doing some sort of sunset lava tour. Plan on getting to the green sand beaches for sunset which provide a great view. You can then drive back to Hilo through the Volcano National Park and catch some amazing views of the stars before getting back to the airport.
For a more secluded Black Sand Beach check out Waipi‘o Valley’s Black Sand Beach
