Hawaiʻi Island · Where to stay
Where to stay on the Big Island
The island is so big that your base decides your trip. Pick the side first, then the hotel — and if you can, split your nights between the two coasts.
Step 1
Choose your base
Every area involves a trade-off. Here’s the honest version.
Kona
The sunny, busy base for manta rays and boats
- Stay here if it is your first trip, you want reliable sunshine, and the trip revolves around ocean tours — manta rays, snorkel sails, and whale watching all leave from here.
- Trade-off: In-town beaches are small and rocky; the long white-sand beaches are 30–45 minutes north on the Kohala Coast, and the volcano is a full-day round trip.
Kohala Coast
Resort coast with the island’s best white sand
- Stay here if beach time is the priority and you want a full-service resort, calm morning swimming, and the sunniest weather on the island.
- Trade-off: It is the most expensive area to stay, restaurants are mostly inside resorts, and the volcano is a long day’s drive away.
South Kona
Coffee farms above the island’s best snorkeling
- Stay here if you want a quieter, local-feeling stay near Kealakekua Bay and the coffee farms, and prefer a B&B or vacation rental to a resort.
- Trade-off: There are very few hotels, the roads down to the bays are steep and winding, and nightlife is essentially nonexistent.
Hilo
Rainy, green, local — and closest to the volcano
- Stay here if you want to spend serious time at the volcano and the waterfalls, prefer a real town to a resort, and like better-value hotels.
- Trade-off: It is one of the rainiest cities in the United States, swimming beaches are few, and the manta and snorkel boats leave from the other side of the island.
Volcano
Sleep at the edge of Kīlauea
- Stay here if you want more than a day trip to the volcano — sunrise on the crater rim, a night visit when the summit is glowing, and hikes before the tour buses arrive.
- Trade-off: At roughly 4,000 feet it is cool and often rainy, and dinner options are few; it is far from the swimming beaches.
Step 2 · Pick a hotel
Luxury resorts
Luxury resort Kohala Coast areaMauna Kea Beach Hotel
Beach purists who want the island's best resort beach
The hotel was built around the beach, and Kaunaʻoa is the best resort beach on the island. With more than 500 restored works from the Rockefeller art collection on the walls and a Manta Ray Moonlight Swim on the activity list, no other Kohala resort has this much history or soul.
Luxury resort Kona areaFour Seasons Hualālai
Families who want top-tier luxury with built-in snorkeling
This is the safest bet at the top of the market. It has eight pools, a Jack Nicklaus course and the Kaʻūpūlehu Cultural Center, where Hawaiian cultural specialists run real programs. Kids remember snorkeling King's Pond next to an eagle ray for years.
Luxury resort Kona areaKona Village
Couples who want barefoot luxury without a hotel tower
It's the rare luxury resort with no tower in sight. You get freestanding hale, free bikes, an on-site farm that supplies the restaurants, and the founder's old schooner reborn as the Shipwreck Bar. It's the splurge we'd pick for a honeymoon.
Luxury resort Kohala Coast areaMauna Lani
Multigenerational trips that want luxury with a sense of place
Of the Kohala resorts, this one feels most rooted in its place. Staff lead tours of the fishponds and petroglyphs, and full-moon evenings bring Hawaiian music and storytelling. A Great Lawn running down to the beach makes it easy for multigenerational groups to spread out.
Luxury resort Kohala Coast areaFairmont Orchid
Families who want a full-service resort with a calm snorkel lagoon
It's big enough to have something for everyone and calm enough that it rarely feels like 540 rooms. The protected lagoon is a gentle place for first-time snorkelers, and sunrise outrigger canoe trips leave from Pauoa Bay.
Step 2 · Pick a hotel
Resorts
Resort Kohala Coast areaHilton Waikoloa Village
Families with kids who want the resort itself to be the entertainment
For kids, this is a theme park in the best sense: a 175-foot waterslide, a protected lagoon and dolphins. It's huge and dated in places, so come for the fun, not the polish.
Resort Kohala Coast areaWestin Hāpuna Beach
Beach-first travelers who want a big sandy swimming beach at the door
Hāpuna, one of the island's great swimming beaches, is right below your lanai, and Mauna Kea Resort's two golf courses are on hand. The adults-only infinity pool is a smart escape from the family crowd.
Resort Kona areaOutrigger Kona
Manta ray fans who want the show from their hotel
This is the island's best hotel for seeing manta rays without getting wet. Keauhou Bay is where the original manta night dive began, select oceanfront rooms look out over the viewing area, and the Manta Center hosts free talks on manta biology.
Resort Hilo areaGrand Naniloa Hotel
Travelers who want full service on the Hilo side
It's the most full-service stay on the Hilo side, with Hilo Bay views and three towers named for the island's volcanoes. It shows its age in spots, so book it for the location and the amenities, not for luxury.
Step 2 · Pick a hotel
Boutique & lodges
Boutique & lodge Kona areaPacific 19 Kona
Independent travelers who want style and walkability in Kona town
It's a smart, modern base in walkable Kona town, across the street from the Courtyard King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel and its Kamakahonu beach. The hotel is built for people who'll be out snorkeling by 8 a.m., not lounging by the pool all day.
Boutique & lodge Volcano areaVolcano House
Volcano devotees who want to sleep on the caldera rim
No other bed puts you on the caldera rim. When Kīlauea's summit is in one of its eruptive episodes, the show is right out the dining-room window. The rooms are basic for the price; you're paying for the rim, and it's worth it.
Boutique & lodge Volcano areaKīlauea Lodge
Couples who want a cozy, cool-weather base for the park
After a cold, wet day on the crater trails, the best reward is dinner beside the Fireplace of Friendship. Volcanologist Thomas Jaggar lit its first fire in 1938, and it's set with stones and coins sent from around the world. It's the warmest base in Volcano, in every sense.
Step 2 · Pick a hotel
Good values
Good value Kona areaRoyal Kona Resort
Value hunters who still want to sleep on the ocean
It's unpretentious, central and right on the ocean, so it's the Kona hotel we'd book when the budget is going to boat tours.
Good value Waimea areaWaimea Country Lodge
Road-trippers who want a cool, central upcountry base
Waimea is the smart overnight for Maunakea stargazing and the Hāmākua Coast, and this lodge is the practical way to do it. Expect cool upland nights, kitchenettes and a central spot in town.
Good value Hilo areaHilo Hawaiian Hotel
Budget-minded travelers who want a Hilo Bay view
This is Hilo's classic, old-school bayfront hotel. It isn't fancy, but the Maunakea-over-the-bay view from an ocean-view room is hard to beat in town.
Good value Hilo areaSCP Hilo
Active, eco-minded travelers on a budget
It's the freshest-feeling budget pick in Hilo, and its sustainability goes beyond towel cards: EarthCheck benchmarking and a beach-cleanup program tied to every stay. The rooms are small, so spend your time out on the bay.
Getting around
You’ll want a rental car.
Public transit is limited and the best sights are hours apart. Pick up at Kona (KOA) or Hilo (ITO) and compare every major company in one search.
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