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Molten lava from Kīlauea pouring into the ocean and sending up steam on Hawaiʻi Island

Hawaiʻi Island · Regions

The Big Island, region by region

Dry, sunny Kona and the Kohala resorts in the west; rain-forest Hilo, Puna, and the volcano in the east; ranch country and waterfalls in between.

Where to base yourself

Good places to stay

Surfers carrying boards along the seawall in Kailua-Kona

Kona

The sunny, busy base for manta rays and boats

Good base
Aerial view of the South Kohala coast, golf greens and lava fields looking north toward Waimea

Kohala Coast

Resort coast with the island’s best white sand

Good base
Kealakekua Bay’s blue water below its steep green cliffs

South Kona

Coffee farms above the island’s best snorkeling

Good base
Rainbow Falls (Waiānuenue) dropping into a green pool framed by tropical foliage in Hilo

Hilo

Rainy, green, local — and closest to the volcano

Good base
Looking across the hardened lava floor of Kīlauea Iki crater from the trail

Volcano

Sleep at the edge of Kīlauea

Good base

Day trips

Worth the drive

Pololū Valley’s green walls seen from the lookout at the end of the road in North Kohala

North Kohala

Old plantation towns at the end of the road

Cattle grazing on green ranch pastures outside Waimea

Waimea

Cool upcountry ranch country

View from above Waipiʻo Valley of steep green cliffs and the black-sand shoreline

Hamakua Coast

Waterfalls, gulches, and the Waipiʻo lookout

Waves washing over lava rock at Kehena Black Sand Beach in Puna at sunrise

Puna

Raw lava land and rain forest

A wind-sculpted tree on the grassy plain at Ka Lae (South Point) in Kaʻū

Kau

The wild, quiet south on the road to the volcano

Cinder cones on the Maunakea summit standing above a sea of clouds at sunset

Mauna Kea

Summit sunsets and world-class stargazing