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Big Island in Hawai’i has so many things to offer that it might just be too hard to squeeze in everything in your plan. Hence, we decided to come up with the top 10 things to do on Big Island, Hawai’i. Also, Big Island has not yet fully cooled down. It is still very young and is made up of 5 volcanoes. Meaning, you can get up close and personal with nature in its rawest, purest form. Isn’t that exciting?!
We are the kind of people who HAVE to do all possible adventures and HAVE to see all the top spots, FOMO you call it? In that case, I have it more than Sharath I guess!
If you are like us, then the below list will definitely help you! The list is sorted in the descending order of must see places/must do activities. Hope you enjoy reading it 🙂
1) Volcanoes National Park
How often do you actually get to see a Volcano up close? Not much I am guessing.
Volcanoes National Park topped our list without any question. In 2020, Kilauea burst again leading to a spectacular show of red hot lava flowing down the rocks, but not visible from publicly accessible areas. We checked them out on their website webcams. This was a smaller eruption than the one that happened in 2018. When we travelled, fortunately/unfortunately, we could only see the smoke rising out of the ground on which we were walking and huge craters all around filled with smoke. There are a couple of day hikes which you can take to get close to the crater. Some of the famous things to do include – Chain of craters road, and Crater Rim Drive. It is worth the visit.
Also, the park can get chilly and unpredictable! So a jacket is always helpful. We experienced hot and cold at the same time with rain and smoking ground below, so surreal! The park is open 24 hours currently with phased openings. Make sure to check out Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park (US National Park Service) for more information.
2) Snorkelling/Scuba Diving with Manta Rays
Even though this was 2nd on our list, it was definitely the main highlight of our trip to the Big island, Hawai’i. Snorkelling in the ocean at night with these creatures was absolutely worth it.
Both of us are adventure geeks and love water sports. It fascinates the hell outta me to get up close to a creature (other than humans) and connect with it. Snorkelling with these 10-14 feet giants just inches away from my face was my dream come true. We wanted to dive with them as well but that needed diving certification (on our list to do!) since these snorkel/dive trips happen after sun down. I know snorkelling in the dark ocean can be intimidating, but we found it completely safe with lots of people around. There are a number of snorkel/dive companies that offer similar prices. We usually go for a package deal, which is usually better than a single trip.
We took the package of sunset snorkel with Manta Rays and Snorkelling at Kealakekua Bay (Captain Cook Monument) from Kona Snorkel Trips. We loved the sunset snorkel so much that we purchased another night snorkel trip for the next night! Some important tips:
-> Make sure you have your GoPro with you to capture this experience! If you want a cheaper one, we use this one.
-> Snorkelling more than once? Buy a Snorkel than rent to save $.
3) Snorkelling in Big Island, Hawai’i and swimming with the Dolphins.
Big Island in Hawai’i also has great reefs with rich marine life. Sharath and I just couldn’t miss the chance to snorkel above them even though we knew we were going to again in Maui. The most famous/best spots are along the west coast of Big Island. Do check out our map in Big Island Travel Guide.
We chose Kealakekua Bay, famously known as Captain Cook Monument. It is deeper and away from a beach. To get to this spot, you need to take a boat ride (tour) or hike or kayak by yourself. We went through Kona Snorkel Trips company. It is one of the best spots to snorkel in Big Island. We even saw lava caves, and the famous lava rock formation of Pele, the goddess of hawaii on the way back. There are other well known spots – Honaunau Bay and Kahalu’u beach park. However, both are beaches and not quite deeper as the other one.
Carrying our underwater camera was well worth it here!
There is also an option to swim with the Dolphins in this area. Unfortunately, there were not many people for a tour when we went and they had to cancel. But we did see them all around our boat, enjoying the boat waves, so not bad at all!
4) Waipio Valley
I am sure if you have googled Big Island, you would have come across a photo of this beautiful valley. Waipio Valley is famous for its towering evergreen cliffs and black sand beach.
We loved the Waipio Valley lookout from where we could see both the cliffs and the black sand beach. I could just stand all day and watch this serene scene. The road from the lookout to the black sand beach is one of the steepest roads, so be sure to be prepared if you are planning to hike. Hiking down and back up can get strenuous. There are a couple of options like driving down with a 4WD or taking a tour or hitchhiking. Hike or drive, the black sand beach with towering cliffs is a sight to behold. This valley is situated in the east side of Big Island, checkout our map with places to visit here.
5) Green Sea Turtles
You are on the Big Island, of course you have to see the big beautiful green sea turtles!
I had never seen such big wild ones swimming, feeding and chilling on the beach, oblivious to all the human attention they were getting as I saw on this secluded beach.
Kaloko-HonoKōhau National historical park is known for its two unique fishponds and the green sea turtle beach, which is a nice little hidden beach with less crowd. There are lava rocks all around you, a common sight on big Island.
You can go to the visitor centre or directly head to the harbor where there is a short hike to the beach. Once you get to the beach, you don’t need to walk much to find the turtles, most of them are in shallow waters and some on the sand.
Photo Tip: Carry an underwater camera with you always, because the green sea turtles may be near you but underwater.
We were there during October, an off season with really less crowd (thankfully), and the stroll along the beach was nothing short of being peaceful with the only sound of the calm waves hitting the rocks.
Here are some other beaches where you can get to see the green sea turtles
- Waialea Bay or Beach 69
- Kahalu’u Beach park
- Kiholo Bay
- Punalu’u Black sand beach
6) Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea is a Dormant Volcano among the five famous volcanoes of Big Island. It is a million years old and is considered sacred by the Hawai’ian people.
It is known for its summit at a high altitude of 14,000 feet, which you can drive in 2 hours from sea level! Our main interest in visiting this volcano was at night. At the summit there are huge telescopes installed which makes for a perfect stargazing spot above the clouds. We booked a tour since driving can be treacherous due to the road and also you will need to acclimate yourself to the high altitude. Unfortunately, the entrance was closed due to a protest by the local people. Hence, it is always best to check for more information about its opening before adding it to your itinerary. But if it’s open, we definitely recommend it, even more if you are a night sky enthusiast like us!
7) Drive along the Hawaii Belt Road.
This was one thing that happened by chance in our itinerary. We decided to visit Waipio Valley from Kailua-Kona and these two are on the opposite ends of the Island. Check out our map with interest points . The highway we drove was called Highway 19 from west to North east. The same road is named as Highway 11 from North east back in a circle down south to the west. This is the Hawaii Belt Road which takes you along the border of Big Island with the Pacific Ocean on your side. We just drove the road from Kailua-Kona to Waimea to Waipio, it was amazing! The terrain included long green carpets, black lava rock and blue pacific ocean. It wasn’t busy at most spots and in the night, it opened up to a starry sky. We enjoyed this drive a lot and wish we could have done the whole island. It also takes you through some tourist spots along the east, so if you do get a chance don’t miss this long drive!
8) Farmers Market
This is hands down the best thing to visit in the Big Island if you want to taste authentic tropical fruits and vegetables, buy some hawaiian souvenirs and mingle with the local people.
Farmers Market can be found on both the Kona side as well as the Hilo side of the island. We visited the one in Kailua called Kona Farmers Market. This market is run purely by local hawaiian people. There are a lot of fresh fruit vendors, coconuts available in various sizes, fresh vegetables from local farms and small shops which sell hawaiian souvenirs. We thoroughly enjoyed this market and gorged on as many fresh tropical fruits as we could!
9) Pololu Valley
Pololu Valley is another beautiful valley, probably less known than the Waipio Valley. It is the northernmost valley on the Island formed as a part of Kohala volcano.
We wanted to visit at least 2 majestic valleys and this was one in our list. From Pololu lookout, it is impressive to watch the tall lush green cliffs and huge waves crashing against it. This is a good photo spot! There is also a steep hike down the hill to a black sand beach. Just make sure you have good gear in case it rains, the trail might get rough. The parking is limited here and we advise that you get here early if you plan to hike down the beach. We were pretty late and decided against the hike since it was almost dusk. The ocean seemed to have a lot of high tides and it is always good to be careful down there.
10) Water Falls
Big Island in Hawai’i has a lot of pretty waterfalls! Most of the waterfalls are situated on the East side of Big Island, near Hilo. Since we spent most of the time in Kona (on the west) where all the water activities are, we couldn’t visit these beautiful waterfalls. Listing 4 famous waterfalls in Big Island:
- Rainbow Falls – As the name suggests, you can see a rainbow on a perfect day early in the morning at the base of the falls. It is located within the city of Hilo and easiest to get to.
- Akaka Falls – This falls is famous for its height- 422 foot long waterfall. There is a half a mile hike towards the waterfall after which it is lush greenery everywhere with a tall waterfall in between.
- Pe’epe’e Falls – Another waterfall near the Rainbow Falls, beautiful with gushing water from a small height.
- Onomea Falls – This waterfall is located within a Botanical Garden, a private property. So you would need to pay an entrance fee. However, you can get to experience the Hwai’ian flora and fauna along with this gorgeous waterfall.
Well, that’s a pretty long list I think. Hope you can cover the above top 10 things to do on Big Island, Hawai’i! Thanks for reading 🙂
