Hawaii Island Destination Guide

An Island Still Being Built

Hawaii Island is larger than every other island in the chain combined, and it is still growing, which is the single most useful thing to know before planning a trip here. Kilauea has erupted repeatedly in recent decades and the lava fields along the Kohala Coast are young enough that the great resorts are built on black rock rather than sand. Because the island is so large and so tall, it carries an extraordinary range of climate within a couple of hours of driving: lava desert on the west, rainforest and waterfalls on the east, cattle country at altitude in Waimea, and near arctic conditions on the summit of Mauna Kea at almost fourteen thousand feet. Nowhere else in the state is anything like it.

The planning decision: Kona side, Hilo side, or both

Most visitors stay on the dry Kohala Coast in the northwest and day trip from there, which is comfortable and means a long drive to the volcano and back. The alternative, and often the better one, is to split: two or three nights near Volcano village at the eastern end, then the rest on the Kohala Coast. The park sits roughly two and a half hours from the Waikoloa resorts, and doing it as a single day means seeing it in the least interesting light. There are two airports, Kona in the west with most of the flights and Hilo in the east, and an open jaw itinerary between them is worth pricing.

The climate zones, and the activity you cannot count on

Temperature barely changes here, but rainfall changes enormously across a short distance. The Kohala Coast is dry almost year round. Hilo, on the other side, is one of the wettest cities in the United States and green because of it. Winter from December into March is the busiest and the wettest on the east side, and it is also whale season through to April. April, May, September and October are the value months with the same weather. The important caveat is volcanic: eruption activity varies, park closures and viewing conditions change without much notice, and vog can affect air quality, so nothing about seeing lava should be promised or assumed. Check it close to travel.

Where to base, and how far everything really is

The Kohala Coast holds the resort concentration around Waikoloa, Mauna Lani and the Mauna Kea area, roughly thirty to forty minutes north of Kona airport. Kailua Kona town, to the south, is the working small town with the dive and snorkel operators. Waimea sits inland at altitude, cool and green, and is the best base for the ranch country and the northern valleys. Volcano village, at the park gate, is small, misty and the right place to sleep for the national park. Hilo anchors the east with the waterfalls and the botanical coast. The driving distances here are real and should be built into the itinerary honestly.

Stay strategy on the Kohala Coast and beyond

Four Seasons Resort Hualalai is the flagship and the most complete resort in the state. Kona Village, reopened as a Rosewood on its original site, is the low rise, no television alternative for travelers who want quiet. Mauna Kea Beach Hotel has the best natural beach on the coast and a Robert Trent Jones course beside it. Mauna Lani, part of the Auberge collection, and the Fairmont Orchid fill out the stretch. At the other end of the island, Volcano House sits inside the national park on the crater rim, which is a modest room in an extraordinary position.

When to begin

Six to nine months for most of the year and nine to twelve for the winter holidays and the weeks around Easter, when the Hualalai and Kona Village inventory disappears first. The manta ray night snorkel operators, the small boat trips out of Kona and the Mauna Kea summit tours should be booked ahead in the busy months. Summit road conditions and access restrictions change, and park status varies with volcanic activity, so both should be confirmed for your dates rather than planned around a photograph.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• Hawaii Volcanoes National Park given a full day and an evening, with current activity, closures and air quality checked before you set out.
• The manta ray night snorkel off the Kona coast, which is one of the genuinely singular wildlife encounters in the Pacific.
• Stargazing from the Mauna Kea visitor station at around nine thousand feet, with any summit attempt handled by an operator and only when conditions allow.
• A crossing to the Hilo side for the Hamakua coast, Akaka Falls and the Waipio valley lookout, which feels like an entirely different island.

Who this trip suits

This island suits travelers on a second or third trip to Hawaii who found the others too finished. It suits landscape and science travelers, astronomers and geology readers. It suits divers and snorkelers, who get the clearest water in the state. It suits couples looking for quiet, and families with older children who will actually walk. And it suits golfers, with several courses laid across lava that exist nowhere else.

When another plan may fit better

First time visitors with only a week are usually better served by Maui or Oahu, which ask less of them. If soft sand and easy swimming from the beach is the main event, this coast is largely lava and the beaches are fewer, so say so before booking. And anyone coming specifically to see flowing lava should understand that it may not be flowing when they arrive.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

Tell us how much driving you are willing to do and whether the volcano, the water or the resort is the anchor, and we will split the nights and the airports so the island works with you rather than against you. Our luxury leisure travel planning covers the routing and the operators, and our group travel planning handles families and celebrations traveling together.