Hawai’i is a 4,000-square-mile (10,360-square-kilometer) island among a chain of islands in the Pacific. There is plenty to see and do in addition to visiting Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, and here are a few suggestions for some worthwhile side trips for you to consider.
* Spend the day just driving around the Big Island, from the humid Hilo side to the drier Kona side. There are smaller units of the National Park Service to explore all around the island: Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, and Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site.
* Visit the Hilo Farmers Market. It’s open every day 7 a.m. – 3 p.m., and Wednesdays and Saturdays are their Big Market Days. You can purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, food on the go, a tote bag, a locally-created craft, or local goodies such as honey and jams.
* On your way to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, stop and spend some time at Volcano Village, an artists’ community filled with shops, galleries, a farmers market, eateries and lodging – all just about 5 minutes from the park.
Even on a slightly overcast morning, sunrise is still a sight to behold at Luapahoehoe Point Beach Park / Rebecca Latson
* View sunrise from the coast of Luapāhoehoe Point Beach Park, a 36-minute drive north of Hilo. After enjoying the view and exploring the area (check out the large Banyan tree), drive south back toward Hilo but turn right onto Honomu Road and drive 30 minutes to Akaka Falls State Park for a view of the 442-foot-tall (135 m) Akaka Falls. From there, continue your drive back toward Hilo, stopping to spend time at the Hawai’i Tropical Botanical Garden, home to 2,500 species of plants. Take a leisurely walk along the paved footpaths of this 17-acre (6.9-hectare) botanical garden and nature preserve to marvel at the many colorful orchids, hibiscus, and other tropical flowers and plants growing there.
Feast your eyes on the colorful hibiscus and orchid blooms you'll see during a tour of the Hawai’i Tropical Botanical Garden / Rebecca Latson
* Drive to Mauna Kea, the highest peak on the island at 13,803 ft (4,207.3 m) above sea level. You can drive to this volcano’s summit or hire a guide to drive you. Watching sunset from this lofty elevation is a bucket list item, but you’ll need to be off the summit by a half hour after sunset, since the summit road is closed to the public 30 minutes after sunset and 30 minutes prior to sunrise for safety reasons. If you choose to navigate the road to the summit yourself, you will absolutely need a high-clearance 4x4 to navigate the 6-mile (9.7-km) road (5 miles / 8 km of which are extremely rough dirt and gravel). Due to the high altitude at the Mauna Kea summit, the oxygen level is 40 percent less than at sea level and the air pressure is much lower as well. People with breathing or other health issues, pregnant women, and people who have scuba dived within the last 24 hours might not be allowed to accompany a guided tour and should reconsider if they are not acclimated to the altitude.
* Visit one of the island’s multitudes of coffee plantations. In addition to shopping for fine Kona and K’au coffees and even teas, some of these plantations - located all around the island – offer tours. Listed here are but a few closest to the national park: Ka’u Coffee Mill, Hilo Coffee Mill, Greenwell Farms, and Buddha’s Cup Kona Coffee and Tea Farm. A Google search will pull up many more coffee farms open to the public.
* On the Kona side of the island, you can bask on a sandy beach and snorkel the Pacific, visit the small vanilla farm known as Vanillerie, tour Big Island Abalone to learn about the sustainable methods used for farming this tasty bivalve, and visit the Kona Sea Salt Farm to learn about the only salt in the world made from “Deep Ocean Waters 2,200 feet below the surface.”
Even just the sight of a whale's tale can leave you in awe of their size when watching for them on a boat tour / Rebecca Latson
