www.shakaguide.com - Self guided tours: Big Island Hawaii GPS - Shaka Guide Big Island app (download to your phone for socially distanced GPS audio tours)

www.groupon.com - May be a great resource for discounts on many of the excursions and activities available on the Big Island.

www.lovebigisland.com

www.viator.com

www.gohawaii.com

www.hawaii-guide.com

There is a law in Hawaii that no one can “own” the beach, so, though a beach may be connected to a resort, all are welcome to go there and enjoy.  The only catch is that at the big resorts, you must get a parking pass and they only allow 30 per day; so if you are going to the beach at the Four Seasons or the Hilton, get there early (9:30am should do).  

The two closest beaches with the nicest sand are Magic Sands beach (at about the 3.5 mile mark on Alii Drive) and the beach at the King Kamehameha Hotel on the other side of Kona Pier from where the swimmers take off.  Magic Sands Beach is also known as Tragic Sands Beach because of it’s shorebreak and the people who have gotten injured there; so watch yourself and the waves. 

If you are a swimmer, leaving from the pier in Kailua-Kona (which is where the swim section of the Iron-Man competition starts and finishes) is a convenient choice as there are distance markers to tell how far you’ve gone. 

Our favorite beach is Hapuna Beach, about 35 north.  Hapuna makes a strong case for being Hawaii's finest beach.

Beach 69 is near Hapuna, but has a very different feel with trees that provide shade going down next to the water.

Anaehoomalu Beach (A Bay) is in Waikoloa and is normally pretty flat, so it’s a great place to rent water toys and try out your stand up paddle boarding.

Kua Bay, just north of the airport is my sister's favorite beach.

Green Sand Beach: Papakōlea Beach is located near South Point, in the Kaʻū district. It is one of only four green sand beaches in the world, the others being Talofofo Beach, Guam; Punta Cormorant on Floreana Island in the Galapagos Islands; and Hornindalsvatnet, Norway.  To get to the Green Sand Beach from the parking area you either hike about 2.5 miles or hire an open truck to drive you there on a bouncy, curvy road. 

The Black Sand Beaches, though not as rare as the Green Sand Beach, are also worth the trip.  The latest volcanic eruption and reshaping of the island covered up some of the black sand beaches and revealed new ones.

Snorkeling is one of the activities that Hawaii is known for and that you should not miss. It is possible to snorkel right out in front of our condo with the water entry being from Honl’s beach.  This can be a little bit iffy depending on the height of the tide, the size of the surf and the presence of sea urchins on the ocean floor, so only go in here if you are experienced and I recommend wearing water shoes to protect from the urchins.

A more user friendly spot is Kahalu’u beach, south along Alii Drive just before the mile 5 marker.  This beach is world renowned and very popular.  It is shallow with a wide variety of sea life.

The next two snorkeling spots are a little farther away, but both world-class snorkeling spots.  Two-Step Beach at Honaunau Bay and Kealakekua Bay at the Captain Cook Monument.  It is a strenuous hike to go up and down to the Captain Cook Monument, but this is the destination of many snorkel boat excursions.

Night dive or snorkel with manta rays: this is an amazing experience as you watch these gentle giants feed and come within inches of your body.

Hawaii has 10 of the 14, or 8 of the 13, different climate zones (depending on who you talk to) in the world.  The Big Island is famous for its incredible natural attractions, especially the volcanoes that have shaped and continue to shape the landscape. Originally formed by five volcanoes, the island continues to grow as Kilauea and Mauna Loa are still active volcanoes.  

Volcanos National Park - This is a unique experience where you might be able to see the glow of the lava in the Kilauea crater. Here also is the Thurston Lava Tube which is a tropical forest area featuring a long, subterranean cave formed by ancient flowing lava.

Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station - At certain times of year, it is possible to be in the ocean in the morning and playing in the snow on Mauna Kea in the afternoon.

Mauna Kea - The view of the night sky is stunning from the Mauna Kea visitor center (elevation: 9,200 ft) as you look down on the clouds and up at the stars.  If you have the time and an appropriately equipped vehicle, you can go up to the top of Mauna Kea (elevation: 13,796 ft), but this is considered an extreme environment with an atmospheric pressure 40 percent lower compared to sea level. This is the only place in the US where you can view the southern cross and the north star.

Mauna Loa - Mauna Loa was originally chosen as the site for Hawaii’s observatories. Unfortunately, its lower elevation made it more prone to cloud cover. On a clear night, the slopes of Mauna Loa are virtually empty. You’ll feel like you have the universe to yourself!

There are many wonderful hikes on the Big Island. 

Among those are the hikes:

Green Sands Beach hike - 5 miles round trip, difficulty: medium.  As mentioned in the "beach" section, the Green Sand Beach is a highlight for many.  You can either hike in and out the 2.5 miles each way or bounce around in the back of a pick up that offer transportation for a fee.

Captain Cook monument and Kealakakau Bay trail - 8 miles round trip, difficulty: hard and hot.  The hike is steep and hot, but make sure you bring your mask and snorkel because the swimming with the fish is some of the best in the world.

Kilauea’iki Trail hike - 4 miles round trip, difficulty: medium.  This is the hike some recommend the most if you only have time for one hike during your visit to Hawaii!  This trail will lead you through a lush ohia forest down into the Kilauea’iki crater, straight over the crater floor past warm and steaming fissures in the ground. The crater floor was formed almost 60 years ago (in 1959), and the small ohia shrubs are only now starting to grow in the cracks of the solidified lava.

Waipi’o Valley hike - 6.5 miles round trip, difficulty: medium.  This hike will take you down 800 ft into the ‘Valley of Kings’. Waipi’o valley can be described as a lush, tropical, fairy tale valley with many waterfalls and a black sand surfers beach. Make sure to take plenty of water, some food and a trash bag to pack out everything you take in.

Pololu Valley hike - 2.5 miles round trip, difficulty: easy. Pololu valley is one of the most scenic valleys of the state! Don’t forget to take your camera and comfortable hiking boots (tennis shoes will do on a dry day), and plenty of water.

Hawaii Botanical Gardens - 1.5 miles, difficulty: easy.  The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens are some people's favorite botanical gardens on the Big Island. In the gardens you can see over 2000 different species of plants and trees and a visit here is a must-do for everyone with green fingers!

Mauna Loa Lookout - variable, at least 1.5 miles, difficulty: easy.  The road to this hike is at least half the fun (and is one of our 5 favorite scenic drives on the Big Island)! It leads you up the slopes of Mauna Loa and as you leave the Kilauea Crater behind you, you pass through a bird park, green Koa forests, old lava flows and plenty of places where you can stop your car and take in the surroundings! This hike, however, is at its best when the sun is out. When the sky is overcast, choose the Kilauea’iki trail instead.

'Akaka Falls - The 422 ft tall ‘Akaka falls are part of the ‘Akaka falls state park, located just north of Hilo.

Rainbow Falls - The Rainbow Falls are the easiest waterfalls to see on the Big Island. This broad waterfall in the Wailuku river is conveniently located within Hilo town. The best time to visit the rainbow falls is in the early morning because this is when you have the most chance to see rainbows in the spray of the waterfall.

Pe'epe'e Falls - The Peʻepeʻe Falls are located about 1.5 miles upstream the rainbow falls, at the Wailuku river on the end of Wailuku drive. These falls are smaller than the rainbow falls but also far less crowded.

Umauma Falls - The Umauma falls are three waterfalls in close proximity to the Umauma River, 16 miles north of Hilo on the Hamakua coast.

Hiʻilawe Waterfall (WAIPIʻO VALLEY) - The Hiʻilawe waterfall is one of the tallest waterfalls of Hawaʻi. The total height of the falls is about 1,450 feet (442m), with a highest direct drop of 1,201 feet (366m)! Hiking to the waterfall is not possible as the trail crosses private property, but you can see the Hiʻilawe falls from many places within Waipiʻo valley. Drive down yourself (only with 4WD), or get down to the valley floor as part of a horseback riding tour in the valley. Good to know: the river feeding Hiʻilawe is used for irrigation purposes. This can cause the falls to be (almost) dry even during the wet season.

Tea plantation tours/tasting - The Big Island is known for its coffee and coffee tasting but there are also tea plantations on Hawaii Island. Tea is a labor-intensive crop and the local farmers aim for quality rather than quantity. They are mostly artisans using traditional and natural techniques that produce small batches and who cater to specialty markets. In short, if you really like tea you’ll REALLY like visiting one of our local tea plantations.

Mauna Kea Tea (near Honokaʻa) - Mauna Kea tea website

Big Island Tea (between Hilo and Volcano Village) - website

Tea Hawaii (in Volcano Village) - Tea Hawaii Website

Coffee plantation tours/tastings - Kona coffee is one of our most valuable and well-know export products. Coffee here in Hawaii grows best on a tropical, narrow, and extremely scenic strip on the slopes of the Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanoes in the north and south Kona district. You can find more than 650 coffee farms of all sizes clustered along the ±20 miles of scenic roads covering these slopes, and many of these offer tours to the public. Two coffee farms that organize informative tours and serve delicious coffees are:

Rooster Farms - A permaculture coffee farm 

Greenwell farms, both in South Kona. Ask for Olivia at Greenwell Farms who is a wealth of information.

Chocolate orchard tours/tastings - Chocolate is one of Hawaiʻi’s most delicious but unknown export products. Hawaii is the only state where chocolate can be made with 100% locally produced ingredients thanks to its tropical climate. Chocolate farms include:

Kuaiwi Farm in South Kona (website),

Honokaa Chocolate Co. in Honokaʻa (website),

Hamakua Chocolate in Papaikou (6 miles north of Hilo, website)

Puna Gold Estate in Lelani Estates near the town of Pāhoa (website).

Vanilla farm tours/tastings - Vanilla beans are the fruits of an orchid that blooms for one day only, during which the flower must very carefully be hand pollinated. There are many more fascinating things to learn about growing vanilla. Vanilla farms include:

The Hawaiian Vanilla Co. (close to Honokaʻa on the Hamakua coast, website) and

The Vanillerie, a small vanilla farm just north of Kona (website).

Macadamia nut orchard tours - Macadamia nuts are one of Hawaiʻi’s export crops and they are delicious! You can find some small farm tours whose properties also contain macadamia nut orchards but there are no dedicated macadamia orchard tours on the Big Island. The farming and processing of macadamia nuts mostly is a large-scale operation and there are two companies that sell macadamia nuts with a visitor center you can visit:

The Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company (in Kawaihae, north of Kona, website) and

The Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation (close to Hilo, website).

Taro farm tours in Waipio Valley - Wetland taro (called ‘kalo’ in Hawaiian) is one of Hawaiʻi’s most iconic crops with a deep cultural connection to the Hawaiian way of life. The primary product made from taro and a staple in the Hawaiian diet is poi, which is made from the underground plant stem of that taro plant, while the taro leaves are used to prepare lau lau.

Most taro on the Big Island is grown in Waipiʻo valley and the Hamakua districts, and you can visit a taro farm in Waipiʻo valley yourself as part of a guided tour with Hawea Waipiʻo Valley Adventure.

You’ll notice that there are no ‘pineapple farm tours’ in the list. Pineapples are a disappearing crop and now are mostly grown on the islands of Maui and Oahu. The Big Island agricultural scene was up to a few decades ago dominated by the sugar cane industry, but that has also disappeared. 

Bee Keeping tours - Bees play a large role in Hawaiian agriculture by pollinating local crops such as coffee, macadamia nuts, and many tropical fruits. Many of our bee colonies (1/3 of all colonies in the state) are located in the south Kona district, and Kealakekua bay is especially well-endowed when it comes to bees; it has one of the largest concentrations of honey bees in the pacific basin.

Holoholo Honeybees (on their website) and

Big Island Bees (website) provide tours that include an inspection of a live hive with a beekeeper.

Animal Sanctuaries - There are a few animal sanctuaries on the Big Island that take over the care of (exotic) animals when their owners can’t do so anymore. These sanctuaries organize tours during which you get to learn about, and interact with, the animals.

Three Ring Farm (close to Kona) - Hawaiʻi’s only fully accredited, USDA licensed, exotic animal sanctuary.

Big Island Farm Sanctuary in Naalehu - Offers a home to farm animals who have been orphaned, abandoned, injured, abused, or exploited.

Magical Creatures of Hamakua - A nonprofit Farm Animal Rescue and Sanctuary.

Parrots in Paradise in Kealakekua - A parrot rescue, rehabilitation, education and adoption center. 

Krishna Cow Sanctuary is currently home to over 60 bovines, including bull, steers, calves, and retired mother cows – mostly originating from the closure of Big Island Dairy in 2019. To cover part of their cost the sanctuary organizes “Cow Cuddle Experiences” where you can get up close and personal with the most lovable members of the herd.

Kanaloa Octopus Farm website (In Kona) - Technically it is a “cephalopod aquaculture research facility.” During the tour you will learn about octopuses, see them up close, and interact with them in their tank. All octopi on the farm are brought in by local fishermen, so they are basically rescues.

The Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm (in Kona, ocean rider website) - This facility raises seahorses in captivity to sell them to collectors. This greatly helps the ‘wild’ population of seahorses since it reduces the pressure on their population from hunting/capturing.

Legacy Reef Foundation website - To promote the protection and regeneration of coral in our oceans, this organization organizes tours at their facility where you’ll get to learn all about coral: what it is, where it lives, how it feeds, the problems it’s currently dealing with in our oceans and what you can do to help.

Hulihe'e Palace (Visit their website here) - Hulehe’e palace is the former vacation residence for Hawaiian royalty. The museum displays a collection of artifacts and personal memorabilia of Hawaiian royalty, and you can either join one of the guided tours or explore the museum yourself.

Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Park (official park website) - Pu’uhonua means “place of refuge”: this is the site where Hawaiians that broke a kapu (law) fled to avoid punishment. Warriors that were defeated during battle also sought refuge here. The park contains numerous archaeological sites: from temple platforms and royal fishponds to the “Hale o Keawe”, a reconstructed Hawaiian temple. The park is located in the middle of the tropical and lush Kona coffee belt and is very close to two of the best snorkeling spots on the Big Island.

Parker Ranch in Waimea - The Parker Ranch on the Big Island was, once upon a time, the largest ranch in the united states. Their history is interwoven with that of the American presence in Hawaii, and they remain one of the biggest ranches on the Island. The main reasons why people visit the Parker Ranch are: 1) Parker Ranch 4th of July rodeo, 2) hunting tours, and 3) the free self-guided tour of two on-site historic homes.

Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo (Visit their website here) - The Hawaiian islands are vulnerable to tsunamis, and are regularly struck by these waves. The museum provides education about tsunamis and serves as a living memory to those who lost their lives in past tsunamis.

Holualoa: Ginger and Koi boutique - Fabulous hand made leather purses and Tree House gifts - Unique tropical plants, flowers and gifts

Alii Gardens - Cottages in a garden setting with local artisians gifts; make sure to visit MaryJo at "Charming Kona."

Theresa's two favorite boutiques are the Pueo Boutique and the Quill and Feather Boutique in Kona town.

Kings and Queens Shopping Center - Resort-style malls with shops & restaurants, enhanced by fountains, koi ponds & entertainment.

In Kailua-Kona are Macy’s, Ross, and Target.

Queen’s Shopping Center in Waikoloa

Holualoa - Known for art galleries with a wide selection of local art; say "Hi" to the owner, and our friend Ron, at Glyph Art Gallery.

Hawi - Also known for art galleries featuring local artists.

Maku'aikaua Church - The oldest Christian church in the Hawaiian Islands.

Living Hope Church, Holualoa - A small church that is relational and upholding community; having a pot-luck after service on the hillside overlooking the ocean

Living Stones Church - Outside on the waterfront with strong classes and training

YWAM and University of the Nations - Doesn't have a weekly service