Hawaii — The Big Island

Driving Tours
from Hawaii Travel Experts
 

Kona, on Hawaii's leeward side, is the gateway to the Big Island, though visitors may also arrive at Hilo and at Kamuela.

Hilo curves around a graceful bay. Surrounded by fields of orchids an anthurium, it is the floral center of the islands.

On the nearby coastal plains you'll wander through immense orchards of macadamia nut trees and lush groves of succulent papaya.

From Hilo you can drive 30 miles to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and gigantic Kilauea Crater. Kilauea is the legendary home of Madame Pele, Hawaiian goddess of fire. Sulfurous steam billows from deep fissures in the scorched earth, charcoaled trees attest to past volcanic furies, ancient lava flows mark the island's growth. You can stand on the rim of Halamaumau Firepit in the Kilauea Caldera and with luck watch Pele at play as lava fountains spring up from the firepit floor. You can even walk through a long lava tube, created by a molten stream centuries ago. The outside cooled first while the inner stream flowed on, leaving an eerie cave.

After exploring these awesome wonders of nature primeval, swing south along the coast to the famous beaches of black sand, then around to Hawaii's leeward side and the Kona Coast. It was down these sandy stretches that defeated warriors once raced for their lives toward the Pu'uhonua O Honaunau (Place of Refuge), now a National Historic Park.

The calm Pacific Ocean is perfect for swimming and boating, but the big lure of Kona is deep-sea fishing for the mighty Pacific Blue Marlin. The colorful Kailua-Kona fishing fleet awaits you. Each summer the world's best sport fishermen converge on Kailua for the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament.

Challenging golf is played on several public courses scattered around the island. The distinctive Kona coffee bean, sought by connoisseurs, grows on the lower slopes of the mountains. Kona coffee is the only coffee produced commercially in the United States. In this balmy country you'll likely meet your first Hawaiian cowboy, down for a holiday from Parker Ranch.

The State of Hawaii's finest hunting is found on the slopes of Mauna Kean and Hualalai, which teem with pheasant, chukkar partridge, wild boar, goat, and sheep. Almost any sort of vacation you want is here for the asking on the Big Island.