The Big Island
Live volcano, Kona coffee, black sand. Two coasts that feel like two different trips.
This week on The Big Island
Thursday, October 15
- UHH Women's Soccer vs Westmont Warriors · 12:30 PM · UH Hilo Vulcans Athletics · Hilo
- UHH Men's Soccer vs Westmont Warriors · 3 PM · UH Hilo Vulcans Athletics · Hilo
Saturday, October 17
- Run for the Dry Forest · Run for the Dry Forest · Kailua Kona
Kona
Coffee country running down to a lava coast. Snorkel mornings, farm tours, sunset on the pier.
Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park
The clearest water on the Kona side, in a bay heavy with history.
Puʻuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park
The place of refuge, where broken kapu could be forgiven.
Kahaluʻu Beach Park
The easiest turtle-and-reef-fish snorkel on Aliʻi Drive.
Kekaha Kai State Park
White sand coves hidden behind the lava fields north of the airport.
Greenwell Farms
A working Kona coffee farm that actually walks you through the rows.
Kona Coffee Living History Farm
A 1920s coffee farm kept running the way the pioneers ran it.
Kona Brewing Co.
The pub where Hawaiʻi's biggest beer name actually lives.
Ola Brew
The taproom where Kona actually drinks.
Umekes Fish Market Bar & Grill
Poke bowls from people who take the fish personally.
Da Poke Shack
A tiny Aliʻi Drive counter with outsized poke.
Broke Da Mouth Grindz
The Kona plate lunch the regulars line up for.
Jack's Diving Locker
Night swimming with manta rays.
Huliheʻe Palace
A royal vacation home right on the Kailua-Kona seawall.
Maniniʻowali Beach (Kua Bay)
Kona's white-sand swimming bowl, paved road all the way in.
Laʻaloa Beach Park (Magic Sands)
The beach that loses its sand every winter and takes it back.
Keauhou Farmers Market
The Saturday market with a 100% Hawaiʻi rule.
Kona Stories Book Store
An indie bookstore with shop cats and a wine night.
Quilt Passions
Kona's quilt shop, stocked for Hawaiian applique.
Hula Daddy Kona Coffee
The polished Kona farm where the coffee wins competitions.
Heavenly Hawaiian Farms
A working Holualoa farm that lets you go deep on coffee.
Kona Joe Coffee
Coffee grown on trellises, like grapes.
The Coffee Shack
Breakfast on a lanai hanging high over Kealakekua Bay.
Standard Bakery
Baking for the coffee belt, weekday mornings only.
Big Island Bees
Single-varietal honey from a farm that opens the hive for you.
The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory
Cacao to bar on one Kona farm, two tour days a week.
Fair Wind Cruises
The easy way into Kealakekua Bay's snorkel water.
Huggo's
Kona's water's-edge dinner table.
Mokuʻaikaua Church
Hawaiʻi's first Christian church, still holding Sunday service.
St. Benedict's Painted Church
A tiny 1899 church painted wall to ceiling by its own priest.
Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary
Kona's other climate, twenty minutes up the hill.
Donkey Mill Art Center
Holualoa's art center in a former coffee mill.
Kohala Coast & Waimea
The resort beaches, then upcountry to ranch-town Waimea for dinner.
Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area
Half a mile of white sand, the island's headline beach.
Puʻukohola Heiau National Historic Site
The temple Kamehameha built on his way to uniting the islands.
Lapakahi State Historical Park
Walk the lanes of an ancient Hawaiian fishing village.
Pololu Trail & Lookout
Where the road ends in North Kohala, the cliffs begin.
Merriman's Waimea
The special-occasion table in paniolo country.
Big Island Brewhaus
Mountain-town beers brewed up in Waimea.
Village Burger
Waimea is cattle country, and this little counter acts like it.
Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company
A mac nut factory store above Kawaihae Harbor.
Kaunaʻoa Beach (Mauna Kea Beach)
The crescent on all the postcards, with a gatehouse between you and it.
Spencer Park at ʻOhaiʻula Beach
The calm one, where Kohala families swim.
Mahukona Beach Park
No sand, one ladder, absurdly clear water.
Kahilu Theatre
Touring classical, jazz, and dance in a ranch town.
Waimea Coffee Company
Waimea's morning meeting point for 25 years and counting.
Bamboo Restaurant & Gallery
Pacific Rim lunch in a Hawi plantation building.
Kohala Grown Market
The provisioning stop Hawi deserves.
Gill's Lanai
Fish tacos near the end of the road, worth the drive alone.
Kohala Zipline
North Kohala's canopy course, sky bridges included.
Pueo's Osteria
The Kohala coast's late plate, and it happens to be excellent Italian.
Lava Lava Beach Club
Dinner with your feet in the sand at ʻAnaehoʻomalu.
Hilo & the East Side
The rainy, real-town side: farmers market mornings, waterfalls ten minutes out.
Hilo Farmers Market
Rambutan, apple bananas, and flowers under the tents downtown.
Suisan Fish Market
Poke bowls from Hilo's own fish company.
Cafe 100
Home of the loco moco, more than thirty varieties deep.
Kula Shave Ice
Shave ice with syrups made from scratch in house.
Big Island Candies
Chocolate dipped shortbread from the Hilo flagship where it's made.
Sig Zane Designs
Aloha wear rooted in native plants and hula, made in Hilo.
Basically Books
An independent bookstore stacked with Hawaiʻi titles and maps.
Palace Theater
Downtown Hilo's grand old stage, still packing the calendar.
ʻImiloa Astronomy Center
Polynesian wayfinding and Maunakea astronomy under one dome.
Mokupapapa Discovery Center
The remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, explained in downtown Hilo.
Liliʻuokalani Gardens
Stone lanterns, footbridges, and Hilo Bay all around you.
Rainbow Falls & Boiling Pots
Two Wailuku River viewpoints minutes from downtown Hilo.
Richardson Ocean Park
Hilo's black sand swimming beach, calm pockets and turtles included.
Panaʻewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens
A county zoo set inside an actual rainforest.
Ken's House of Pancakes
Hilo's diner institution, open 6am to 9pm every single day.
Cafe Pesto Hilo Bay
Wood-fired pizza on Hilo's bayfront.
Hawaiian Style Cafe Hilo
Big portions, and haupia pancakes.
Hilo Bay Cafe
Contemporary cooking with a Hilo Bay view.
Miyo's
Japanese home cooking, Hilo style.
Sweet Cane Cafe
Cane juice pressed from cane the family grew itself.
Short N Sweet Bakery
Chef Maria Short's bakery, and Hilo's cake counter.
Two Ladies Kitchen
The strawberry mochi that sells out by mid-morning.
Big Island Coffee Roasters
Hilo's specialty coffee bar, pouring only Hawaiʻi-grown beans.
Hilo Coffee Mill
A working coffee mill halfway up the Volcano road.
Carlsmith Beach Park
Lagoon swimming on Hilo's east side, turtles included.
Onekahakaha Beach Park
The shallow ocean pool where Hilo kids learn to swim.
Honoliʻi Beach Park
Hilo's surf break, and the best surf-watching perch on this side.
Kaumana Caves Park
A staircase into a lava tube on the edge of Hilo.
Pacific Tsunami Museum
Hilo's tsunami story, told by the people who lived it.
Dragon Mama
Custom futons and Japanese textiles, sewn on the Hilo bayfront.
Volcano & Puna
The national park and the village at its gate. Check the crater after dark.
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Two of the world's most active volcanoes in one park.
Kilauea Iki Trail
Walk across a crater floor that was a lava lake in 1959.
Volcano Art Center
The gallery inside the national park, stocked by island artists.
Volcano Winery
Wine grown on the slopes of an active volcano.
Kaleo's Bar & Grill
Pahoa's dinner table, and worth the drive down.
Uncle Robert's Awa Bar & Farmers Market
A family-run market and awa bar at the end of the road in Kalapana.
Isaac Hale Beach Park (Pohoiki)
Puna's surf bay, remade by the 2018 lava flow.
Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park
Jet black sand, coconut palms, and honu hauled out on the shore.
Kilauea Lodge Restaurant
Dinner by the fireplace after a day in the park.
The Rim at Volcano House
Dinner on the caldera rim, reservation required.
Cafe Ono at Volcano Garden Arts
Lunch in an artist's garden, four days a week.
Kilauea Kreations
The Volcano village quilt shop for the rainy afternoon you'll get.
Akatsuka Orchid Gardens
An orchid showhouse on the highway to the volcano.
Hamakua Coast
The old sugar coast: cliff drives, Akaka Falls, and the Waipiʻo lookout.
ʻAkaka Falls State Park
A 442 foot waterfall for less than half a mile of walking.
Waipiʻo Valley Lookout
The valley of the kings from the best seat on the island.
Tex Drive In
Hot malasadas through a viewing window, made this way since 1969.
Honokaʻa People's Theatre
A 1930 plantation-town movie palace, still running films.
Hawaiʻi Tropical Botanical Garden
A rainforest garden that walks you down to Onomea Bay.
Maunakea Visitor Information Station
Stargazing from 9,200 feet, no summit required.
Honokaʻa Chocolate Co.
Bean-to-bar chocolate from cacao grown half a mile up the street.
Waipiʻo Good Eats
The cash-only lunch truck on the road to the Waipiʻo lookout.
The Umauma Experience
Nine ziplines, fourteen waterfalls, one river gorge.
Laupahoehoe Point Beach Park
Drive the switchbacks down and the Hamakua coast turns to spray.
Kalopa State Recreation Area
A native ʻohiʻa forest you can walk in twenty minutes.
Hawaiian Vanilla Company
A family vanilla farm doing lunch, and the lunch tastes like it.