Things to do / Travel Guide
If you want an active, outdoor-style vacation, Hawaii's Big Island is just the place for you. Beaches, hiking, biking, camping, golf, water sports, even skiing - you name it, you've got it on Hawaii's Big Island - with views of lava fields, mountains, and deep blue water to match.
Land-based Activities on Hawaii's Big Island
Hawaii's Big Island offers a wide variety of top-notch hiking opportunities. The trails around Hawaii Volcanoes National Park are very popular, and walks into the lava fields are an unforgettable experience. Reaching the edge of the active lava flows is well worth the effort as is a night hike to see red lava pouring into the sea.
There are excellent trails in the Waipio Valley passing through scenic plantations, remote river valleys, waterfalls, and right into a lush tropical rainforest. Hiking through the Mauna Loa Forest Reserve or to the top of the 13,000-foot-high Mauna Kea is a nice challenge as well.
Golf is also a major outdoor activity on the Big Island. There are a number of excellent courses on which to tee off. At Mauna Kea Beach Hotel Golf Club, you have to hit the ball over the ocean, literally, on the third hole. This gorgeous, honey of a course also offers panoramic views of the snow-capped Mauna Kea, rugged lava beds, and the sparkling, blue Pacific. At the King's Course (at Hilton Waikaloa) you get an honest-to-goodness Scottish links-style course without sacrificing the tremendous beauty of Hawaii. You'll play with views of towering volcanoes, and amid ancient lava flows. The Big Island Country Club is both a golf course and a nature sanctuary! Botanists will have a field-day whether they're on their knees looking for a ball or examining a rare species of plant.
With a wide variety of terrain, lots of open space, light road traffic, and plenty of interesting places to explore, biking on the Big Island is a well-developed sport for people of all abilities. Explore tropical landscape on the advance-level Old Puna Trail or take an easier ride near the beach on the Pine Trees Trail. Mana Road is a serious 45-mile trail curving around Mauna Kea.
Bikes are perfectly suited for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and all paved park roads in the park are open to bikes. There are plenty of challenging trails as well featuring rougher terrain and larger elevation changes.
One thrilling outdoor activity that you might be surprised to find in tropical Hawaii is skiing - on real snow! On black lava! Mauna Kea, at 13,796 feet, offers downhill skiing, but for experienced skiers only. It's free, assuming you have a four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle to get to the top.
Water Activities on Hawaii's Big Island
Other great places to enjoy are the splendid beaches all along Hawaii's Big Island. Choose between black, green, or white sand, and between remote or accessible.
Punaluu Black Sand Beach, a bit isolated on the Kau coast, is one of the most beautiful beaches on the island, with jet black sand and tall coconut trees. There is also a pond that is home to several exotic ducks, and a freshwater wading pool at the far end of the beach that's perfect for rinsing off after a day of snorkeling with the local sea turtles.
Green Sand Beach is a unique place, with sand containing the mineral olivine. It is far from the major attractions, near the south point of the island and requires a two-mile hike to reach, but it is most likely the only beach of this type you will ever see.
White Sands Beach near Kailua-Kona is quite accessible but it is also known as "Disappearing Sands" because the beach loses its sand during the high surf months of November-April. This is the site of the Annual Magic Sands Bodysurfing Championship and it offers excellent diving opportunities as well.
Hapuna Beach State Park on the Kohala Coast is a very well maintained, accessible beach on Hawaii's Big Island. A black and white sand beach, Anaehoomalu Bay Beach (also known as "A-Bay") is close to the south Kona resorts and is an excellent spot for taking in the sunset. There are ancient Hawaiian fishponds nearby, as well as very modern resorts.
Most surfing on Hawaii's Big Island is left to professionals because of the degree of difficulty. So, if you do take the plunge, you'll want to try Waipio Valley, Honolii in Hilo, Hapuna, Kona Village, Makalawena, Pine Trees, Hilton Reef, Banyans, Lymans, or Kahaluu.
If you'd rather get under the water's surface than ride the waves, know that the Big Island contains some of the world's premier diving sites, mostly found on the island's Leeward Coast. Dive operators are mainly concentrated in the Kailua-Kona area. Expect close encounters with coral, sea turtles, colorful fish, game fish, and rays. The diving experience at many of the Big Island's top sites is enhanced greatly as lava tubes, cliffs, craters, lava cones, skylights, and caves provide exotic and exciting backgrounds. Another unique experience is night diving with Manta Rays near Kailua Bay and Honokahau Bay.
In North Kohala's Ulua Cave, divers can swim through caves with excellent visibility of the exotic surroundings. North Kona offers divers Kaiwi Point, which is located south of Honokohau Harbor. Three popular sites in South Kona are Long Lava Tube (north of Kealakekua Bay), the easily accessible Two Step at Honaunau Bay (north of Puuhonua O Honaunau), and Red Hill, where divers can check out lava tubes and cinder cones.
For the anglers visiting The Big Island, you will find some of the world's best big-game and deep-sea fishing. Big fish off of the Kona Coast are blue marlin (which can weigh in excess of 1,000 pounds apiece), tuna, swordfish, sailfish, spearfish, mahi-mahi, and others. Though you may do the catching, the charter's captain usually gets to keep the fish.
As you can see, finding an active, outdoor adventure on Hawaii's Big Island is not a problem. The only problem is trying to fit it all in during your vacation. To that end, we wish you the best of luck, and aloha!
Outdoor Recreation in Hilo, Kona, Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii
Outdoor-Sports-Recreation
Green Sand Beach Puu Mahana - Big Island, Hawaii
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