There are countless things to do on the big island of Hawai’i, you truly can’t go wrong! We had five days on the island to explore, and so my partner Colin and I made sure they were jam packed with adventures to make the most of our time. Here are some of our top recommendations!
1) Go night snorkeling with manta rays
First and foremost, our absolute FAVORITE excursion on the big island was hands down Manta Ray Night Snorkeling! We are (mild) adrenaline junkies and this activity absolutely took our breath away. Found almost only on the coast of Kailua-Kona, you can take a very short boat ride out to a little bay and jump in with these beautiful “angels of the sea.” Although I get incredibly motion sick and am terrified of the open ocean, I felt exceedingly safe on this excursion, and you completely forget your fear once you see these beautiful creatures!
We got very lucky on our excursion, we were one of the first boats out to the bay (yes there will be many other tours in the water) and I was the second tourist to hop in the water after Colin and so we got the best spots to see the manta rays. Additionally, there were eight manta rays near our lightboards! Our guide told us that while they basically guarantee you will see at least one manta ray, to have eight was just incredible.
I truly could not recommend this excursion more. A few important things to consider are: 1) My friends with longer hair - make sure you put it up with a hair tie! I cannot tell you how many times I had to take a break to push the hair out of my face -- not so fun! 2) Do your absolute best NOT to touch the manta rays. While you will get this lecture from your tour guides, it is so important that we are guests in the manta rays' home. With that said -- don't kick them! We did (involuntarily) get bumped into a few times by them (they get SO close!) but do your best to give them the space they deserve. 3) Come in with an open mind and have an incredible time! This is truly such a unique tour, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with a passion for adventure and nature.
2) Enjoy all the beaches the beautiful island has to offer
Our next recommendation would be to enjoy all of the different beaches that the big island has to offer! Uniquely, they have a green sand beach that you can visit (one of the only four in the world!). There are certainly things to consider when visiting the green sand beach, though. First, understand that this is quite a huff of a walk! We thought you drove straight to the beach with a very short walk, but it ended up being about an hour each way (OOF). Not only was it a longer walk, but it was an incredibly sandy and windy walk-through rural areas – I was not a happy camper about it! I would recommend packing accordingly – bring water, sunhats, sunscreen, good walking shoes, and sunglasses for eye protection. You can also pay to have one of the locals drive you down to the beach, but we stubbornly decided not to. The green sand beach itself was beautiful and worth the chaos! The notorious Punaluʻu black sand beach was much easier to visit, and you can easily park and walk along this highly visited site. As always, when you visit any natural site on the island, be sure to engage in ethical tourist practices and give the turtles (pele) the space they deserve and PLEASE do not take the sand. There is lore that if you take the black sand back home with you off the island, it is incredibly bad luck, and you will be cursed! My family and friends have had personal experiences of this, my grandfather had a heart attack after receiving a gift of black sand from the island, a family friend’s father fell ill after taking some home, and they all sent it back. Be a good tourist and leave the sand where it belongs, on the island!
3) Chase waterfalls in Hilo
In addition to the manta ray night diving and the beaches in Hawai’i, I would also highly recommend visiting Akaka Falls and Rainbow Falls in the Hilo area. There is so much natural beauty in Hawai’i, but these two waterfalls were exceptionally beautiful. For Akaka Falls, it is a brief hike, about a 0.5-mile loop according to AllTrails. This hike had several staircases but is otherwise a very accessible hike! Even though it is a very short hike, please keep in mind that it is incredibly humid and hot in Hawai’i, and it is still important to pack water and bring sun protection with you. You would be surprised at how easy it is to fall victim to dehydration and sun sickness on the island! Additionally, I would recommend visiting as early as possible, as Akaka Falls is a highly visited attraction and fills up very quickly. It was $20 for Colin and I to visit, which included parking and the entry fee. Unlike Akaka Falls, Rainbow Falls was free to visit and was much less populated! There was no hike to see this waterfall and it was visible right from the parking lot! There are several overlook areas where you can get different vantage points of the falls. Both of these waterfalls are exceptional and a must-visit if you are on the big island of Hawai’i!
4) Visit the infamous Volcano National Park
Finally, my last absolute suggestion for visiting the big island of Hawai’i is to of course visit Volcano National Park. This excursion is at the top of most tourists’ lists, and for good reason! This national park is like none other. With various hikes and overlook points, you could easily spend a full day here. Unfortunately, since we visited the green and black sand beach before heading over to this national park, we only had a few hours to explore. Our top recommendations for tourists on a timer at this site are to drive around to the various overlook points, including the steam vents! This stop was so fun and a great place to warm up from the chilly weather found on the south part of the island. If you have time, we also really enjoyed hiking and exploring the lava tunnels.
As I stated earlier, you truly can’t go wrong exploring the big island! I hope you find these recommendations helpful and happy adventures!
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