Hawaii, USA

Compiled by FatPassport's travel experts

Laid back and less developed than other islands; outdoor activities galore
Hawaii, USA

Likes: Outdoor activities galore; Kilauea volcano
Dislikes: Less to do for non-outdoorsy types; gets old pretty quick
Many Travelers? Some

The island of Hawaii, or “The Big Island” as it’s more commonly known, is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. The Big Island offers an impressive variety of outdoor activities that include hiking, fishing, golfing, horseback riding, and diving, as well as the opportunity to have a look at lava flows from the active volcano of Kilauea. Life on the Big Island is laid back and relaxed, and locals are friendly and accommodating, much more so than their big city counterparts on Oahu.

The Big Island boasts some 266 miles of shoreline and over a hundred beaches including Punalu‘u Black Sand Beach, famous for its many endangered, native species - Green Sea Turtles, Hawaiian monk seals, and the like. With hundreds of miles of hiking trails, the Big Island provides plenty of options for hiking enthusiasts of all skill levels.

The most popular attraction on the island, by far, is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, a sprawling, 377-square mile park home to two volcanoes: Mauna Loa, the world’s largest; and Kilauea, which is still very much active today.

Other notable attractions include: Waimea’s historic Parker Ranch, one of the nation’s largest and oldest working cattle ranches, where you’ll see actual, modern-day Hawaiian cowboys, or “paniolo;” Waipio Valley, a scenic valley on the northern Hamakua Coast sacred to Hawaiians; and Pu‘ukohola Heiau, one of the largest and most impressive of the ancient Hawaiian temples in the state.

There’s no nightlife here, so if you want to party you’ll need to go elsewhere.

Hawaii, specifically around Kona, offers excellent diving. It’s warm, clear waters host dolphins, manta rays, turtles, eels, octopuses, nudibranchs, and even some of the more rare fish such as the frogfish. Of note is the night manta ray dive - not to be missed. The array of colors found in the sea life creates a stunning underwater panorama. Visibility frequently reaches over 100 feet, and because the Big Island doesn’t attract as many tourists as Oahu and Maui, the waters are less crowded with divers.

First-time visitors to the Big Island will find there’s quite a lot of ground to cover, literally. The majority of travelers spend between 3 to 5 days exploring the island, and a rental car is a must.

As is true of all the major Hawaiian Islands, the Big Island is most crowded during the busy summer and winter seasons, although due to the island’s large size and the fact that the Big Island receives about a quarter of the visitors the main island of Oahu sees in a year, crowds are much less of a factor.

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