Things to do / Travel Guide
The Big Island is multicultural, with a demographic breakdown of about ¼ native Hawaiian, ¼ Caucasian, ¼ Japanese, and ¼ mixed (non-Hawaiian) and Filipino. Approximately 160,000 people live on the island, about 40,000 of whom reside in Hilo.
As in the entire Hawaiian island chain, English is the spoken language on the Big Island. Hawaiian words are preserved mainly in place names (it is recommended that you practice pronouncing place names slowly) and in local slang. The Hawaiian language uses only seven consonants: H, K, L, M, N, P, and W.
Hawaiian Pidgin is the local slang, based mainly on a combination of English and Hawaiian words. The language is a significant part of the local culture.
The Big Island is the least tourist-driven of the major islands. The local flavor is thus felt in many of the island's towns and villages. The lifestyle here is relatively laid back and “in touch” with nature, living off the land and the ocean.
For some residents, life is geared toward maintaining the traditional lifestyle of their ancestors. For others, the lifestyle is a chosen alternative to that of somewhere else. The feeling of Polynesian heritage is strong on the Big Island, but so is the influence of the Western and Asian immigrants of the past 200 years.
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