What to Do on the Big Island of Hawaii for an Active Holiday

If your New Years’ resolutions include, perchance, traveling more and being more active, we may have just the holiday for you. Hawaii’s Big Island, just a short 5-hour direct flight from San Francisco, is, as the name implies, very big, offering tons of active holiday options. ArtTrav’s Alexandra Korey spent two weeks scoping out some of the best of them and shares what to do on the Big Island of Hawaii.

With eight of the world’s thirteen microclimates present on the Big Island, this volcanic paradise offers an impressive range of landscapes and activities. For our second vacation on the Big Island, my husband and I chose to stay for two full weeks in two different Airbnb accommodations outside of the resort areas so that we’d have contact with – and advice from – locals.

We started with 3 nights in an off-grid rainforest hut called Eco Hale, and then moved to the residential area of Pu’u Lani Ranch to OP Hale. Both apartments were clean and well equipped, and we enjoyed the contact with our hosts. 

Having already done some major exploring on an earlier trip, this time our main goal was to play tennis every day, after which we did a fair amount of Big Island hiking and beach-going.

What to Know Before You Go to the Big Island

With all the different climates here, each hike is unique, so you don’t need much more than your feet, a hat and a big bottle of water to take in the beauty of this place!

You’ll need a rental car while visiting the island. Pack half of what you think you’ll need, but go heavy on active wear, and bring a number of layers including a fleece and a windbreaker.

If you’re staying in an apartment rental, check what the owners have provided – we were lucky to find snorkel equipment, coolers, boogie boards, beach towels, fleece jackets, and big bottles of toiletries in both places, meaning we could have brought a lot less with us!

What to Do on the Big Island of Hawaii:

Walk on a crater

Big Island hiking! Perhaps top of the list of what to do on the Big Island of Hawaii because what’s a holiday on a volcano without getting close to it?

Volcano National Park is located on the east side of the island, about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive from Kona. The 10 dollar parking fee is good for a week, so if you have the opportunity, you might return to do more than one walk or activity here.

The daily ranger-led walk lasts 45 minutes and is interesting and different every time. The drive down Crater Road to see where lava meets ocean is also popular and easy.

For a bit more of a challenge we opted for the three-mile Kilauea Iki trail that rings the crater left behind by a 1959 eruption. You descend 400 feet through lush rainforest, ringing the crater to enter on the far side, and walk across the crater, then hike back up for the last 15-20 minutes. It’s about a 3-hour hike if you take it easy.

It tends to rain a bit here – being rainforest and all – so we were well equipped with waterproof hiking shoes, a thin rain jacket, water, snacks, hats, sunscreen and a few layers. This was a highlight of our trip for the diversity of wildlife encountered, the sounds of the birds, and the nascent lichens and trees on the crater floor.

Play tennis with Roberta Russo

As mentioned, our goal was to improve our tennis games by playing daily with an instructor. While the major resorts offer group tennis clinics for 25-30$ per person each day, when they’re fully booked, they don’t accept outside guests.

Through word of mouth we were lucky to find a new private tennis school that just opened in the Pu’u Lani Ranch residential area between Kona and Waimea, where the temperature is almost always a pleasant 71 degrees (rather cooler than at the beachside courts).

Run by Italian tennis instructor Roberta Russo, lessons are held on the only clay court in all of the Hawaiian islands! Roberta, originally from Naples, started teaching at the young age of 15 in order to fund her own competitive play. Particularly dedicated to helping others through tennis, she has worked in juvenile detention centres, US Army bases, and is head of the Italian Association for Wheelchair Tennis.

She developed a personalized path to improvement for us and we highly recommend her for both adults and children, either casual players or future stars. To get in touch, email rbrtrusso@gmail.com at Roberta’s Clay Tennis Hideaway.

Go find a Humuhumu Nukunuku Apua’a

The very long word is the name of the Hawaii state fish, more easily called a Reef Triggerfish. This yellow, white and black striped darling’s name refers to its “snout like a pig” and it’s worth trying to find while snorkeling just so that you can emerge and triumphantly exclaim “I saw a Humuhumu Nukunuku Apua’a!”

Other than this guy, you can easily find all the common reef fish an easy snorkel’s distance from the coast in a few places on the island.

Two of the easiest places to enter the water are at Puako Bay at the very end of the road, and at Kahaluu (basically a city beach). Harder to reach is Kealakekua Bay and the Captain Cook Monument, apparently amazing both for snorkeling and dolphin spotting, but requiring a long hike or a day-trip in a kayak to get there.

Hike down Pololu Valley: Big Island Hiking

One of the most beautiful places on the list of what to do on the Big Island of Hawaii!

The opening scene of Jurassic Park 2 takes place at the bottom of the Pololu Valley, located at the island’s northernmost tip. This rocky beach with a dangerous surf can be reached by a 15 minute walk down a steep path that was easier than described. In fact, we were surprised to find quite a few other visitors and locals here, some wearing flip-flops!

The view from the top, middle and bottom are all worth seeing (and photographing). Personally, I marveled at the very green-ness of it all, and the contrast of the blue of the sea and the white surf, which really did seem like something from another time.

Our hosts told us that on this beach, the boundary between this and the “other world” is said to be thin, so people set up ahu, pyramidal piles of rocks that are altars to lost loved ones.

Watch the sun set from Mauna Kea

Highly recommended for what to do on the Big Island of Hawaii by our hosts was driving up to Mauna Kea to watch the sun set. Mauna Kea is the highest volcanic peak in the state of Hawaii – its summit is at 14,000 feet (4200 meters).

It is host to an important Astronomy Observatory with some of the world’s most powerful telescopes that take advantage of the height and lack of light pollution.

The volcano is also considered sacred to the Hawaiian people, creating conflict between those preserving culture and scientists researching the universe.

At the visitor center located at 9000 feet, we enjoyed an informative video about this and the history of astronomy on Mauna Kea. But before this, we walked up a very windy path to watch the sun drop below the clouds that we’d passed through.

It’s always cold and windy here, though it was particularly so when we visited in December, and the summit road that goes from the visitor center to the top was closed due to 90 miles per hour winds and sub-zero temperatures.

In warmer weather, it is possible to drive up with a 4×4, or if you’re really extreme, do the 10 hour loop hike (leaving before 8:30am) to the summit.

Read more: Hawaii Travel Tips

Walk up a Pu’u

Typical of the volcanic landscape are series of small softly shaped mounds called pu’u. At Pu’u Wa’awa’a Ahupua’a forest reserve you can walk a pleasant – if a bit long – trail that will take you at a constant incline alongside and up the aforementioned pu’u that looks like a jello mold upside-down.

The 8.1 mile Cinder Cone trail has a 1900 foot elevation, so you’ll want to pack 1.5 litres of water per person, and start early in the morning since there is not much shade.

The dryland forest landscape changes with the elevation, and about halfway – which might also be a good turning around point – there’s a fantastic view towards the coast, as well as various skittish sheep along the way and cows higher up, since this land is still used as a ranch.

Finding Francolin

Franklin is not a man, but a bird! These large brown birds – the Erckel’s Francolin – hang out with the wild turkeys and other local “pests” in the ranch area of the island in which we stayed.

I highly recommend seeking out some of these funny partridges because their call is like a crazed laugh! Hearing these all day, I constantly giggle and am convinced I would never tire of them. I wish I could bring one to work with me.

Read more: 30 Amazing Things to Do on Kauai

Buy food in Hilo

One final idea for what to do on the Big Island of Hawaii, especially if you’re planning to visit the east side of the island (Hilo and surroundings), is this tip. The supermarkets in Hilo are well stocked and cheaper than those in the more touristy Kona.

We had a blast at KTA, which had a huge produce section with a lot of Asian items, delicious fish, and two big rows of Asian products of all types.

The Island Naturals in Hilo is also excellent, this more for prepared foods. They have a Japanese sushi chef on site who prepares great take-out rolls, soba noodles and more. There are tables that give on to the parking lot where you can people-watch in this very local locale.

Have you been to Hawaii? What are your suggestions for what to do on the Big Island of Hawaii?

For more travel tips and inspiration, check out Alexandra’s Instagram feed.