The big island boasts 11 of the worlds 13 different climates. You can experience barren lava fields, lush rain forests and snow capped mountains all within a hundred miles of each other. If you have a few extra days to spend on the islands, stay overnight and take in nature’s wonders at its finest. Visit this link below to see all that the big island has to offer. Know the name of the landmark, but don't know where it's located?? Click this link for an interactive map of the big island: http://www.bluehawaiian.com/photo.php?id=3&typ=0&tid=6 Big island weather info, click here (and scroll down to the bottom): |
If hot molton lava is your thing, the only way to see this is to visit the big island of Hawai'i. Be prepared however, if you want to actually see this hot molton earth forming phenomenon, it might be an hours hike from where the road ends and the hardened lava begins (though this changes daily) as the lava moves wherever it wants to. For the most current update of Kilauea's lava flows, visit: http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/ To see many current photographs of the lava visit: http://www.volcanovillage.com/volcano_eruption.htm |
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Located in the city of Hilo, the Pana'ewa zoo is the only natural tropical rainforest zoo in the US. Their many rare and endangered animal species include Binturongs, Coatimundas, Kinkajous, and they have hundreds of plants and exotic flowering species. The landscaping alone is worth the trip! The zoo is open 363 days a week and admission is free. http://www.hilozoo.com/ |
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For the wine conesour, visit a winery like no other. Open 365 and located between two active volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea, Volcano winery is one of Hawaii's best kept secrets. Just minutes from Volcano Village, a visit to the winery is the perfect side trip before or after an outing to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. In addition to their signature Macadamia Nut Honey wine and Symphony wine, locally grown jaboticaba grapes (used to create Volcano wine) or guava fruit (used to create Guava wine) and French Columbard combine flavors that will make your taste buds want to hula. Click on this link to see more about this unusual winery www.volcanowinery.com From Hilo: Take Highway 11 toward Volcano and turn right onto Pii Mauna Drive at the 30-mile marker. Approximately 30 miles. |
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Punalu'u Black Sand Beach |
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The Ahalanui Pool is the Big Island's spa and infinity pool to the ocean. This ocean pool has only a low man-made seawall separating it from the rest of the Pacific ocean. But there's some other magic happening below the pool's surface. The 1960 Kapoho volcano eruption created a natural phenomenon that warms the soul -- and your toes. The pool is heated naturally to about 90 degrees Farenheit, making the experience more like a heated spa or jacuzzi than the ocean. As if a heated ocean pool is not enough, palm trees surround the pool to complete the effect of bathing in a tropical paradise. Some affectionally refer to Ahalanui Pool, in honor of the Hawaiian volcano goddess Madame Pele, as "Pele's Bath." You can find Ahalanui Pool east of Pahoa on the Big Island's east side on Highway 137 past the 10-mile marker. |
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Remote and virtually unknown, except to the most well-informed like you, this triple crescent beach on the Kona (west) side of the Big Island is among the best beaches you might find anywhere in the islands -- if you can find it! Prepare yourself for a 15-25 minute hike just to get to this beach. The trailhead is in the Kona Coast State Park, off Route 19, the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway. The beach itself lies between mile markers 89 and 90. The pay-off to the off-road access is worth it, however. After you hike-in over a rough, crunchy lava trail, you will be rewarded with teal blue lagoons kissing super fine-grade, very clean, and nearly white sand dunes. What could be missing? Crowds! The only footprints in the sand may be yours. Surrounding the sand dunes are plentiful shade trees to keep you cool when you need it. A little farther inland, just on the other side of the shade trees is a freshwater pool where you can bathe and wash off the salt and sea before trekking back to the real world. As you hike back to wherever you abandoned your car, take solace in knowing that most of the other humans who have ever been to Makalawena Beach have been ancient Hawaiians. |
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Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is a spectacular Garden in a Valley on the Ocean - acclaimed as one of the most beautiful areas in all Hawaii. The Garden is located on the Big Island of Hawaii, 8 1/2 miles north of Hilo on the four-mile Scenic Route at Onomea Bay (click here for map). In this garden valley, nature trails meander through a true tropical rainforest, crossing bubbling streams, passing several beautiful waterfalls and the exciting ocean vistas along the rugged Pacific coast. The Garden displays a vast variety of palms, heliconias, gingers, bromeliads, and hundreds of other rare and exotic plants from all parts of the tropical world - presently more than 2,000 species, and the collection is always growing! This non-profit nature preserve is dedicated to providing a plant sanctuary, a living seed bank, and a study center for trees and plants of the tropical world and to preserving the incredibly beautiful natural environment of |
