Big Island Hawaii is one of Hawaii’s lesser-visited islands but it’s one filled with adventure and things to do. I chose it as my first destination in Hawaii, which was a bit strange, but absolutely loved the array of unique things to do from driving above the clouds to walking along a petroglyph trail. After a week on Big Island, there was a lot I got to do. Here’s my list of my favorite and recommended activities!

Is it really called “Big Island”? Is Honolulu there?

This confuses a lot of people. “Big Island” (in red) is the nickname of Island of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii. Like the name implies, it is the biggest of the Hawaiian islands but the third most visited behind Oahu and Maui. The state of Hawaii is named after this island.

Hawaii in Hawaiian language is “Hawai’i” and is pronounced with a “v” sound like “huh-vy-ee.”

Honolulu is on Oahu island, not Big Island. The biggest “city” on Big Island Hawaii is Hilo and the second most populated area is Kona.

Things to Do on Big Island Hawaii

Snorkelling on Big Island

My personal favorite thing to do on Big Island was actually off of the island – snorkelling! It’s no secret that Hawaii has some of the best snorkel spots and marine life in the country, if not the world. There are lots of places along the coast to see some good coral and marine life, but these are the places I visited:

Kealakekua Bay (Captain Cook)

Captain Cook is a name that often comes up for snorkelling on Big Island and I have to agree – it’s pretty great. Not only is it in a historic location where many kings are buried, but the coral here is quite large, so you have the opportunity to see a bunch of different species. We saw spinner dolphins when we were there!

A bunch of people take a boat out to Captain Cook since it’s about an hour hike down from the main road. And on returning, you need to walk an hour up a hill.

Kahaluu Beach Park

This beach is right off the main street near Kona. It’s one of the smaller beaches but it’s great for seeing a lot of marine life in a more compact area. We got to see some sea turtles when we were here, so for me, it was the most memorable spot. My friend snorkels here more frequently and says there are typically octopi and eels.

Honaunau Bay (Two Step Beach)

Honaunau Bay is also a large area to cover and it’s right by Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park, so you can easily combine the two. We did only one round of the bay and it took about an hour to leisurely explore the beautiful coral reefs.

Kamakahonu Bay

This bay is right near Kona. Of course snorkelling is always a toss-up, but this area was the least memorable of all the ones we visited. That being said, any snorkel spot on Big Island is not “bad.” It’s all amazing.

Some Notes on Snorkelling in Big Island Hawaii

Many places you can snorkel on your own, but sometimes it’s nice taking a tour. If you’re a solo traveller like I usually am, I never recommend water sports without a companion. There are lots of snorkel companies but of the ones we used, I liked Fair Wind the best. Their boats were comfortable, they’re eco-friendly and have only vegan food, and also provide cultural and historical insights on their tours. I highly recommend booking with them.

Also, note that since Big Island Hawaii is pretty much all volcanic rock, there are lots of hard rocks along the coast you need to be aware of. My friend and I cut ourselves many times on the rock (nothing serious), so bring a first aid kit to disinfect any scrapes you might get.

You should always use reef-safe sunscreen in the water, but on Hawaii island, it is a legal requirement. There are many sunscreens advertised as “reef safe” but really aren’t. All Good was recommended by a local tour company so it’s an easy choice.

Otherwise, make sure your sunscreen is free of: oxybenzone; avobenzone; homosalate; octinoxate; octisalate; octocrylene; and nanoparticles.

Never ever step on the coral or touch any marine life.

The Night Manta Ray Snorkel (A Big Island Exclusive!)

Big Island Hawaii is the only place in the world where you can dive with manta rays at night. The manta rays are harmless to humans and this snorkel involves holding a lighted board above the surface of the water. The light attracts plankton which attracts the mantas. It’s honestly quite intimidating since the mantas get very close to you and often seem to be charging towards you, but a unique and fun experience.

You will need to book this trip with a tour company. Again, I recommend Fair Wind.

Go Looking for Petroglyphs

One thing I was looking forward to most was the petroglyphs that are scattered throughout the island. One of the best places to see them is the Puako Petroglyph Park towards the north end of the island. These are not ancient like I typically tend to think of petroglyphs, but a few hundred years old. Their origins and meaning are unclear.

We got to see a few but the trail goes into a forrest with uneven terrain and unfortunately my friend did not want to do the trail, so we ended up missing a lot of it. If you do go, be prepared to walk through some low woods.

We also got to see the petroglyphs at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park but honestly, they were disappointing. A 10-minute walk to see maybe 5 petroglyphs at most. The park is beautiful, though (more on that below).

We did not get to see the Pu’uloa Petroglyphs at the south of the island, near the Holei Sea Arch.

Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park

Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park is one of the most important places on Big Island Hawaii spiritually because it’s the best preserved City of Refuge. Women and children would be safe here during violent conflicts, and convicts could even seek sanctuary here. It is also a burial ground.

The buildings are reconstructions and it’s a beautiful park to show you what pre-colonial Hawaii was like several hundred years ago. There aren’t any plaques or descriptions, though, so it was difficult to tell what each structure was and what we were looking at. There is a film at the start of the tour we didn’t watch, and you can also grab a pamphlet that will tell you some history.

It’s very much worth visiting to get a sense of Hawaii’s history and culture.

A similar park that we did not get to visit was Lapakahi State Historical Park in the north of the island.

Volcano National Park

Big Island Hawaii is pretty much all volcano, so it makes sense to head to Volcano National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There’s a lot to see here, whether you want to drive right up to the caldera and take a photo or take a short hike. You can also go inside a lava tube. Head to the visitor’s center first where they will direct you to everything you can see and do inside the park.

Punalu’u Black Sand Beach

As Big Island Hawaii is pretty much all volcano, it does have a black sand beach made from lava called Punalu’u Black Sand Beach. Black sand beaches are beautiful in their own right, but this one is particularly lovely because a lot of sea turtles live in this area. We saw several in the water on our visit and there was also one on the beach that had just laid several eggs. (One day, I would love to see baby sea turtles hatch and make their first journey to the ocean!)

Mauna Kea Sunset and Stargazing

Astronomy fans rejoice! Mauna Kea is a mountain almost 14,000 feet above sea level and from the underwater base, it is actually the tallest in the world! To get to the top, you can drive but it is tricky. You need to have 4-wheel drive and much of the road is unpaved. Honestly, it’s a very scary drive. On the way down, your vehicle needs to be set to a certain gear so you do not wear out your brakes. It’s not a drive I would’ve been able to do.

The top of the mountain closes at sunset but you can go down to the visitor’s center (accessible by normal cars) to see the sky lit up with millions of stars. I’ve never seen so many stars in my life. For stargazers and average people alike, it’s a real spectacle.

It is freezing!! At 80 degrees on the ground of Kona, it was a crisp 30 degrees at the top of Mauna Kea and many people – myself included – were NOT dressed for that type of weather! You probably won’t be packing a winter coat for Hawaii but at least bring a blanket or something.

Across the street from Mauna Kea (literally) is Mauna Loa which is a volcano that’s almost as tall. It is the largest active volcano in the world and you can also drive up it. Big Island Hawaii has no shortage of peaks, that’s for sure.

Marine Animal Watching Tour (Whales, Dolphins, and More!)

There’s no shortage of marine life off the coast of Big Island Hawaii and a great way to see that is with a boat tour. In the winter, humpback whales make their way to Hawaii to give birth in the warm waters. There are also dolphins and the endangered monk seal. Wildlife is always a toss-up but we got to see some friendly bottle nose dolphins on our trip – one of the most memorable moments.

Go on a Chocolate Tour & Tasting

Buy a print of this image from my store!

Chocolate isn’t native to Hawaii but it’s grown there (the cacao is, anyway). There are many options to choose from but we went with Puna Chocolate Company and it was quite informative. You get to taste actual cacao straight from the bean (it tastes nothing like chocolate!) and it was fascinating to taste how different single-origin chocolates are from one another.

The chocolate tour we went on included a stop at the coffee orchard and the company does sell its own coffee, but there are other more exclusive coffee tours to choose from…

And/or a Coffee Tour & Tasting

Big Island Hawaii’s most famous export is probably Kona Coffee, which is grown on the western part of the island. There are many different types of coffee grown on the island with different flavor profiles. My friend and I don’t drink coffee so we didn’t go on a coffee tour, but there are so many around Kona and the entirety of Big Island.

My tip: Buy coffee at the grocery store rather than a tourist shop to save some money. Make sure the coffee says it’s “100%” Kona, Ka’u, etc. because otherwise, the beans can be sourced from anywhere in the world and it’s not a pure Big Island coffee.

Do you like tea? Apparently Mamaki Tea, a type of green tea, is grown only in Hawaii. It’s a bit swept under the rug compared to Kona Coffee but as a tea lover, I had to try some. Definitely keep your eyes out for it.

Visit A Honey Farm

I’m not a big bee person so visiting a honey farm was not high on my list. But Big Island Hawaii is also known for its honey and many of the farms there offer tours and even workshops. Or you can just be like me and buy honey and call it a day.

Visit the Volcano Winery

Another fun place we got to visit for local specialties is the Volcano Winery where you can go in for a tasting. We had the most unfortunate timing and came in right behind a full tour van, so we didn’t stick around to do a full tasting like I had wanted to. I did buy some of their specialty wine, though, and am saving it for a special occasion.

Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park

I mentioned this park above with the petroglyphs that were a bit disappointing, but many areas of the park are quite beautiful.

Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park is near Kona and and an easy place to get to. It has some recreated buildings and fish ponds from the pre-colonial days of Hawaii, and of course the scenery along the coast is stunning (as is all of Big Island). It’s much bigger than Pu’uhonua O Honaunau and you can spend several hours exploring the grounds.

Hulihe’e Palace Museum

The Hulihe’e Palace was a home of Hawaiian royalty and it’s located right in the town of Kona. Despite my interest in history, I didn’t get a chance to visit since we were always on different parts of the island or the water.

Papalokea Green Sand Beach

You can’t swim at Papalokea Green Sand Beach but you can marvel at its unique green sand. You do have to take a short hike to the beach, which is why we ended up scrapping it from our itinerary. But it’s definitely something to keep in mind!

Some Tips for Visiting Big Island Hawaii

There are two sides to Big Island Hawaii: Kona in the west and Hilo in the east. Hilo is generally cheaper because it’s very rainy. Snorkelling conditions on this side of the island are also not as good. Kona is more expensive but the weather is almost always perfect. The two towns are about a 2 hour drive from one another.

After spending 5 full days on Big Island Hawaii, I got to see and do a lot. And that’s a long time to stay on one small island! But we spent one day going to the south part of the island and combined it with our visit to Mauna Kea at sunset. That was such a bad idea because we had the time constraint of getting up a mountain at by sunset. We made it, but at the expense of missing some fun stuff to see and do in the south part of the island. It would’ve been better to get an earlier start and spend the day seeing what we wanted to in the south part of the island. Then go up to Mauna Kea on another evening.

Also be sure to pack some food for your road trips because there are very limited food options in certain parts of the island.

We also didn’t make it to Hilo and I was curious to see this less touristy, more authentic part of the island.

Driving is the best way to get around Big Island Hawaii but if you don’t drive, there are a few buses available to get you to some fun parts of the island.

I really enjoyed my time on Big Island Hawaii. We got to do so much from just enjoying the phenomenal snorkelling to learning more about Hawaiian culture. Big Island isn’t typically a place people think of when they think of Hawaii but it should definitely be on your radar.

Book an Organised Tour

About the Author

Leave a Reply