Hi Reader,

I couldn’t sleep, so at some unholy hour I pulled up the Kīlauea eruption updates. The volcano was just starting to put on a show.

We threw on shoes and made it to the lookout right as the lava fountain hit its stride, a column of fire roaring up against a black sky. I’ll be honest, catching a fountaining episode was my not-so-secret second goal for this whole research trip, and I’d half talked myself out of it ever happening. Then it did.

Watching that glow climb into the night is one of those things that reminds you how alive this planet actually is, and it will stay with me forever.

The Big Island Is Really Four Trips in One

Here’s what most people miss. They fly into Kona, stay on the Kona side, and call it Hawaiʻi. But the Big Island is really four distinct trips stacked on one island, and the magic is in how different they are from each other. It’s why some of our clients spend ten days here and never run out of island.

I’d give it two or three nights in Kona, two or three up in Volcano with a day down in Hilo, and the rest out on the Kohala Coast. That pace lets you live a little more like a local: farm mornings, an easy hike, a waterfall before lunch.

If you want the full lay of the land, here’s our complete Big Island guide.​

Here’s How I’d Spend Those Days

Kona is where I’d start, and not just for the beaches. Go to Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, the Place of Refuge. It’s one of the most incredible places in all of Hawaiʻi to actually feel Hawaiian history: a real village of the aliʻi and a place of refuge, still standing in remarkably complete shape. Start your mornings with a cup at Island Lava Java, made with real Kona coffee.

Volcano and Hilo are the living, dramatic side, and the part many people skip. Beyond the lava, we wandered the old-growth forest around the Volcano Art Center and walked among ancient petroglyphs, and we got one of those perfect Hawaiʻi gifts: a full moon rising over the uplands so bright we hiked at night with no headlamp. (One bit of magic: I was telling a friend she had to read Red Sky Over Hawaiʻi when the book’s author, Sara Ackerman, walked right in.) Down in Hilo, grab a poke bowl at Suisan Fish Market.

Waimea and the Hāmākua Coast are the country: B&Bs, farms, and waterfalls. Akaka Falls is an easy, gorgeous walk, and our clients always work in a farm visit or two, chocolate farms and the like. Pull over at Tex Drive In for a hot malasada. You’ll thank me.

Kohala is where you exhale. This stretch of coast is for hanging at the beach straight through sunset, with horseback riding or a round of golf or a fishing charter if you want to move a little. Book one dinner at Canoe House at the Mauna Lani. It’s some of the best food on the island.

So if you’ve only ever done resort time on the Kona side, do yourself a favor and go beyond it. There’s another island waiting for you!

P.S. Planning a Big Island trip and need some inspiration? Send us a message, I have thoughts.