Hey everyone, it's Madalyn, and this video is all about what to expect when traveling to the
big island of Hawaii. Hawaii is an incredible vacation destination, and we think there are a
few things you need to know before heading out on your trip. If you find this video helpful,
be sure to give it a like, and if you want to see more videos like this, hit that subscribe button.
Our subscribers help shape our future adventures. If you stick around until the end of the video,
we'll discuss our favorite things about our trip to the big island. Know before you go.
The big island is the largest of the Hawaiian islands. It's 4038 square miles and twice the size
of all the other islands combined. Kona and Hilo are the two main towns on the big island.
Kona is on the leeward side and tends to be a bit drier while Hilo is on the windward side
and tends to get more rain. Both Kona and Hilo do have their own airports. Kilauea is located
on the big island and it is one of the world's most active volcanoes. The big island is the
youngest of the Hawaiian islands forming new land after significant eruptions from Kilauea. Mauna
Kea is the tallest peak in hawaii and the only place in the state that receives annual snowfall
most of the world's macadamia nuts come from the big island of hawaii
and you can visit the maunaloa macadamia nut factory while on the island
also the big island is home to the iron man world championship which is typically held in early
october so you may want to avoid visiting the island around that time because it can get crowded
things to do hawaii volcanoes national park visiting the national park is an absolute
must do when visiting the big island we spent the whole day exploring different sites including the
kilauea crater the hole sea arch and the thurston lava tube we went back into the park at night for
some stargazing and since kilauea was active at the time of our visit we got to enjoy the
lava glow at night seeing kilauea erupting at night was one of the most incredible things we
saw while visiting the big island we cannot recommend it enough in the description below
we'll link our video about things to do and what to expect when visiting volcanoes national park
mauna kea mauna kea is the highest peak in hawaii and is the most sacred of the hawaiian volcanoes
getting a chance to head up to the summit is an incredible sight we drove up to the visitor center
at 9000 feet to take in the sweeping views below you must have a vehicle with four-wheel drive to
reach the peak at over 13 000 feet in elevation we couldn't make it to the top on this trip but
we know that we must go back and cross this off our list one day it's been more than four thousand
years since mauna kea last erupted but scientists predict that it could become active again someday
hapuna beach hapuna beach is one of the most beautiful beaches we visited on the big island
the sprawling white sand and crystal clear water made it a great stop it's a famous beach so it
can get crowded with visitors you will have to pay a parking fee if you are not a hawaiian resident
waipio valley located on the north side of the island the waipio valley is a beautiful sight
the valley leads down to a black sand beach right on the ocean we only hike to the overlook because
the steep hike down to the bottom is pretty strenuous driving down into the valley is possible
but not recommended without a four-wheel drive vehicle and many rental companies will not allow
you to drive your car off-road there are tours you can book to take you safely down into the valley
puna lu beach this black sand beach is located on the kawoo coast and is one of the most famous
black sand beaches on the big island it's easily accessed and a great stop on your trip sea turtles
love to rest here but keep your distance from these heavily protected animals onamea bay
onomaya bay is located just north of hilo and is a beautiful lush area with stunning ocean views
while here you can stop in and enjoy a walking tour of the botanical gardens and take in the
views of the bay if you want to bypass the gardens a trail can take you down to the bay and is an
excellent place for relaxing and taking pictures akaka falls state park this park takes you on a
half-mile loop to view the 442-foot waterfall the park is located north of hilo and the trail
to the falls isn't very strenuous at all you'll wind through some lush green forest on a paved
path to the viewing area for the falls there is a five dollar entry fee for non-hawaiian residents
and a parking fee a kona coffee tour before we left for hawaii everyone told us that coffee
from hawaii is so much better than what we have on the mainland after visiting and taking a tour of
greenwall farms in kona we completely understand why the process to make 100 kona coffee is a long
one starting with the fact that it takes three years for a coffee plant to reach maturity suppose
you drink two cups of kona coffee a day that is equivalent to eight to 10 plants a year that's
why this coffee is so delicious and tends to be a bit more pricey there are over 800 coffee farms in
the kona belt region so pick one and take a tour we had a great time on our tour of greenwall farms
papakolea beach papakolea beach is a green sand beach located on the big island the green color
is created by the mineral olivine found in lava on the big island the hike to the beach is two and a
half miles to the beach and another two and a half back so that will take up a large chunk of your
day driving to this beach is illegal so hiking will be the only way to get there we unfortunately
did not have time for this on our trip and it is one of our biggest regrets explore kailua kona
kona is one of the most populated areas on the island and is where you'll be able to book
snorkeling boating and whale watching excursions kailua kona is also where you can find great
surfing opportunities or you can book a surfing lesson it's also an excellent area for dining
and nightlife the beaches here are beautiful and many resorts are located in this area
if you're thirsty you can pop in to kona brewing company for a delicious beer and a tasty meal
stop into the hiluh palace which was once a summer vacation home for hawaiian royalty
and is now a museum showcasing victorian artifacts from the era of king kalakaua and queen kapiolani
lava tubes there are several lava tubes located on the island that allow you to walk through where
the lava once flowed the thurston lava tube is inside the national park while the kalmana caves
are located in hilo and are free to explore there are other lava tubes that are only accessible if
you book a guided tour where to stay there are many options of where to stay on the big island
you'll find most of the big island's larger resorts on the west side of the island
in kailua kona and up along the kohala coast the four seasons westin and various other alternatives
to suit all budgets are located on this side of the island hilo on the east side of the island
has some resort options as well vacation rentals and airbnbs are spread out all across the island
and we'll link our video all about where to stay on the big island in the description below
as i mentioned at the start of the video we'll now discuss our own trip to the big island
so what was your favorite part of the big island
my favorite thing that we did on the big island was hands down kilauea now disclaimer when we
were there kilauea was erupting so that's kind of a big advantage but if you've never seen a
volcano erupting boy it's something i hope that you get to do because i think everyone
should see a volcano erupting once in their life seeing that lava spewing out of earth
and seeing it at night that orange glow and then just how bright orange that lava was
it's something i'll never forget and quite frankly it was probably the highlight of my year
all of volcanoes national park delivered it's a beautiful setting you can drive down to the ocean
there's the arch that we went to and if we go back to the big island i can't wait to go back and
visit that park again because i feel like there's more to explore and even if kilauea is not
erupting i'd still be excited to go back there if you're watching this video i hope it is erupting
when you get the opportunity to go to hawaii because it's a absolute no doubt something you
must do when you're on the big island oh volcanoes national park definitely ranks very high on the
list of my favorite things that we did while visiting but i'd have to say i really enjoyed
going on the kona coffee tour i loved seeing how the entire process of how the coffee was made from
start to finish i think it also just felt like it was a unique experience to the big island because
kona coffee only comes from the kona region which is on the big island so it was just a a
really cool experience to have that you can't have anywhere else what would you do if you went back
if we went back to the big island one thing i would like to do is go to the top of mauna kea
one of the reasons we didn't do that this time was because when we were over on maui we went to
the top of haleakala and to get to the top of mauna kea you have to have a four-wheel drive
and a lot of rental car companies won't actually allow you to take your rental car up there and so
it was just kind of one of those things where we chose to go to the top of haleakala over on maui
and as we were building out our schedule on the big island mauna kea was just something that we
decided to pass on this time but we did go up to the point of 10 000 feet and the view is
absolutely beautiful and if i could get up there on a clear day i think i'd absolutely love it
would definitely like to head up mauna kea definitely want to explore
kilauea crater a little bit more you can go and hike down into areas of the crater
i think that would be really cool but my biggest regret is that we didn't make it
to the green sand beach it would have been a long hiking day and we just didn't have the time
on our trip while we were there but next time i would definitely make time
for that because i'm i'm pretty sad we missed it what surprised you about the big island
what surprised me most about the big island was just i think how livable it was i mean it's a
it's a big landmass all the other islands could fit inside of the big island and so when you're
on the big island you kind of get this hey if i were gonna live in hawaii i think this might be
where i'd live i love the cowboy country area it is amazing to me how different parts of the island
felt like you were a completely different world it's very wet around hilo but it's also beautiful
we were there on a sunny day and the coastline there is absolutely gorgeous you go to the very
north part of the island you've got the different valleys and those are beautiful and then the west
side is a little more arid but they have some incredible beaches and you just get a lot of
what hawaii has to offer but it feels like a place that you could live on and i think that's
what surprised me the most about the big island i think what surprised me about the big island
we we went to the big island after we were on maui and it just felt so different from maui
has a lot of the same elements a lot of the great things that you are looking
for when you go to hawaii beaches and beautiful rainforest but it also had the lava element and
the idea that it's the newest island and the fact that it's the newest land created
on earth is just absolutely fascinating to me and i think of all the islands we visited
we definitely want to go back to the big island we we loved maui we loved oahu but i just know
if we're going to plan a trip back big island is going to be a high priority to visit again
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