Hawai'i (Big Island)

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GUIDES

Best Hawaiian Island for Surfing: From Beginner Waves to World-Famous Pro Breaks

Hawaii’s surf breaks split into two distinct halves — the North and West shores pump from November to March, while the South shores glass off from May to September. That seasonal divide means your “best island” depends entirely on when you’re coming and what kind of wave you’re after. Hawaii’s surf breaks split into two distinct seasons — North and West shores deliver big waves from November to March, while South shores offer gentler conditions from May to September. I get asked this constantly by readers planning their first Hawaii surf trip: which island should I pick? The honest

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Exploring Waimea, Big Island: The Upcountry Cowboy Town Hawaii Visitors Always Skip

Paia Fish Market has sat on Hana Highway since 1989, which makes it older than most of the surf boutiques surrounding it and a good marker for how this town actually operates — durable, local, and not particularly concerned with what resort Maui is doing 45 minutes west. Paia sits at mile marker 6 on Highway 36, roughly 15 minutes east of Kahului Airport, and it carries two distinct identities simultaneously: it’s a genuine North Shore community with a Buddhist stupa and a hemp store on the main drag, and it’s also the last practical stop before the 64-mile

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Hawaii Bachelor Party Guide: Epic Adventures and Nightlife Spots by Island

Oahu scores 9/10 for bachelor party suitability in one comparison of the islands, and the nightlife data backs that up — Waikiki and Chinatown bars and clubs stay open until around 2:00am, while the other islands wind down hours earlier. That gap matters more than most planning guides admit: picking the wrong island for a bachelor trip means either a group bored by 10pm or one stuck driving to find a bar that’s still pouring. This guide breaks down which island actually matches your crew’s energy, and what each one costs and closes around. Oahu scores 9/10 for bachelor

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Best Hawaiian Island for Couples: A Romance Ranking Across All Six Islands

At Molokini Crater, roughly three miles off Maui’s southern coast, the water is clear enough that you can watch sea turtles move below the boat before you’ve even pulled on your fins. That single detail — a partially submerged volcanic crater teeming with coral and fish, accessible only by guided boat tour — tells you something important about how Hawaii works for couples: the best experiences here aren’t the ones on the hotel brochure. They’re the ones that require a little planning and a willingness to go past the resort pool. Hawaii sends the majority of its domestic and

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What to Do in Hawaii When It Rains: Rainy Day Adventures by Island

McGregor Point on Maui’s western highway is one of those spots where you pull off the road and almost immediately see a spout on the horizon. No tour boat, no ticket — just a headland with a clear sightline across the Auʻau Channel, the stretch of water between Maui, Lānaʻi, and Molokaʻi that holds the highest concentration of breeding humpback whales in the Pacific. Around 10,000 to 12,000 humpback whales migrate here each winter from Alaska — a journey of roughly 3,000 miles — and for a few months, they’re everywhere. This guide covers whale watching across all four

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Best Hawaiian Island for Snorkeling: A Reef-by-Reef and Visibility Breakdown

Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island is widely regarded as the strongest individual snorkeling site in the Hawaiian Islands — a marine sanctuary where spinner dolphins, dense coral gardens, and tropical fish populations share water so clear that visibility regularly rivals offshore boat-access sites. Getting there requires either kayaking roughly 2.5 miles from Napoopoo Ramp or joining a permitted boat tour, which immediately tells you something about the tradeoff at the heart of Hawaii snorkeling: the sites with the most marine life are rarely the most convenient to reach. This breakdown covers all four major snorkeling islands — Maui,

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Exploring Waimea, Big Island: The Upcountry Cowboy Town Hawaii Visitors Always Skip

Parker Ranch covers approximately 130,000 acres of working pastureland on the slopes of Mauna Kea — a fact that reorients most visitors who arrive expecting another version of coastal Hawaiʻi and instead find cattle grazing against a backdrop of volcanic peaks. Waimea, also officially designated Kamuela by the post office to avoid confusion with two other Waimeas on Kauaʻi and Oʻahu, sits at around 2,700 feet above sea level on the northern part of Hawaiʻi Island. That elevation is the first thing you notice: mornings are often misty, evenings can drop into the 50s even in summer, and the

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First-Timer’s Complete Guide to the Big Island of Hawaii: What to Do, Where to Stay

Pull into the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station as the sky shifts from cobalt to violet, and you’ll notice something odd — people standing in the dark, faces tilted up, not saying much. The free stargazing program here draws crowds every night, and for good reason: at 9,200 feet you’re already above 90 percent of Earth’s atmosphere. That’s the kind of scale the Big Island operates on. At 4,028 square miles, it’s larger than all the other Hawaiian islands put together, yet young enough — less than a million years old — that it’s still growing from volcanic activity.

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Complete Visitor’s Guide to Hilo: The Best Things to Do on Big Island’s Rainy East Side

Rainbow Falls sits roughly two minutes from downtown Hilo — close enough to visit before breakfast, which matters more than it sounds once you understand how Hilo’s weather actually works. The east side of the Big Island receives approximately 130 inches of rain annually, but that rain tends to arrive in the afternoon. Mornings are frequently clear, which is the single most useful scheduling insight for anyone planning a trip here. This guide covers the waterfalls, parks, cultural sites, and practical logistics that define a Hilo visit — from the free walks within town limits to the 45-minute drive

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Trail Running in Hawaii: Best Routes and Races on Each Island

Hawaii’s trail running scene comes with 151,000 AllTrails reviews averaging 4.3 stars — a solid sign that the islands deliver on dirt, coast, and volcano. I’ve pulled together the best routes and races across O’ahu, Maui, the Big Island, and Kaua’i, with honest notes on what each one takes and where I’d swap for something else if time is tight. More than 151,000 trail running reviews across Hawaii on AllTrails average 4.3 stars, making it one of the most-reviewed running destinations on the platform. Emily’s Take You can find a great trail run on any island, but the best

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