Jeanne Cooper

Frommer’s EasyGuide to the Big Island of Hawaii


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Your Trip to Hawaii

       Getting There

       Internet or Apps for Hawaii Hotel Discounts

       Getting Around Hawaii

       Special-Interest Trips & Tours

       Fast Facts: Hawaii

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      Akaka Falls in Hilo

      Larger than all the other Hawaiian Islands combined, the Big Island truly deserves its nickname. Its 4,029 square miles—a figure that has grown recently, thanks to one of its three active volcanoes—contain 10 of the world’s 13 climate zones. In less than a day, a visitor can easily traverse tropical rainforest, lava desert, verdant pastures, misty uplands, and chilly tundra, the last near the summit of Mauna Kea, almost 14,000 feet above sea level. The shoreline also boasts diversity, from golden beaches to enchanting coves with black, salt-and-pepper, even olivine sand. Above all, the island home of Kamehameha the Great and Pele, the volcano goddess, is big in mana: power and spirituality.

      Arriving

      The Big Island has two major airports for interisland and trans-Pacific jet traffic: Kona and Hilo.

      Most people arrive at Kona International Airport (KOA; hawaii.gov/koa) in Keahole, the island’s westernmost point, and can be forgiven for wondering if there’s really a runway among all the crinkly black lava and golden fountain grass. Leaving the airport, the ritzy Kohala Coast is to the left (north) and the town of Kailua-Kona—often just called “Kona,” as is the airport—is to the right (south).

      U.S. carriers offering nonstop service to Kona, in alphabetical order, are Alaska Airlines (www.alaskaair.com; telephone_black.eps 800/252-7522), with flights from the Pacific Northwest hubs of Seattle, Portland, and Anchorage (plus Nov–Apr from Bellingham, Washington) and from Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland, California; American Airlines (www.aa.com; telephone_black.eps 800/433-7300), departing from Dallas–Fort Worth, Los Angeles, and Phoenix; Delta Air Lines (www.delta.com; telephone_black.eps 800/221-1212), flying from Los Angeles and Seattle; Hawaiian Airlines (www.hawaiianairlines.com; telephone_black.eps 800/367-5320), departing from Los Angeles; and United Airlines (www.united.com; telephone_black.eps 800/241-6522), with flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Denver. At press time, Southwest Airlines (www.southwest.com; telephone_black.eps 800/435-9792) was planning nonstop service to Kona from California and had already begun connecting service through Honolulu from Oakland and San Jose.

      Air Canada (www.aircanada.com; telephone_black.eps 888/247-2267) and WestJet (www.westjet.com; telephone_black.eps 888/937-8358) also offer nonstop service to Kona, with frequency changing seasonally, from Vancouver. Japan Airlines also offers weekly nonstop service from the mainland to Hilo International Airport (ITO; hawaii.gov/ito), via Los Angeles.

      For connecting flights or island-hopping, Hawaiian and Southwest (see above) are the only carriers offering inter-island jet service. Hawaiian flies several times a day from Honolulu and Kahului, Maui, to both Kona and Hilo airports; it also flies daily nonstop between Kauai and Kona Hawaiian’s Ohana by Hawaiian subsidiary flies from Kona and Hilo to Kahului on 48-passenger, twin-engine turboprops. Mokulele Airlines (www.mokuleleairlines.com; telephone_black.eps 866/260-4040) flies nine-passenger, single-engine turboprops to Kona from Maui’s Kahului and Kapalua airports, and to Waimea (Kamuela) from Kahului. Note: Mokulele weighs passengers and their carry-ons to determine seats; those totaling 350 lb. or more are not allowed to board.

      Visitor Information

      The Big Island Visitors Bureau (www.gohawaii.com/big-island; telephone_black.eps 800/648-2441) has an office on the Kohala Coast in the Shops at Mauna Lani, 68-1330 Mauna Lani Dr., Suite 109B, Mauna Lani Resort (telephone_black.eps 808/885-1655).

      This Week (www.thisweekhawaii.com/big-island) and 101 Things to Do: Big Island (www.101thingstodo.com/big-island) are free publications that offer good, useful information amid the advertisements, as well as discount coupons for a variety of island adventures. Copies are easy to find all around the island.

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      Kona Coast

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      Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park

      Konaweb.com has an extensive event calendar and handy links to sites and services around the island, not just the Kona side. Those fascinated by the island’s active volcanoes—including Kilauea, which saw dramatic eruptions at its summit and in lower Puna between May and September 2018—should check out the updates, maps, photos, videos, and webcams on the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website (hvo.wr.usgs.gov), which also tracks the island’s frequent but usually minor earthquake activity.

      The Island in Brief

      The Kona Coast

      Kona means “leeward side” in Hawaiian—and that means hot, dry weather virtually every day of the year on the 70-mile stretch of black lava shoreline encompassing the North and South Kona districts.

      North Kona With the exception of the sumptuous but serenely low-key Four Seasons Resort Hualalai 3_starBlackText.eps north of the airport, most of what everyone just calls “Kona” is an affordable vacation spot. An ample selection of midpriced condo units, timeshares, and several recently upgraded hotels lies between the bustling commercial district of Kailua-Kona 3_starBlackText.eps, a one-time fishing village and royal compound now renowned as the start and finish of the Ironman World Championship, and Keauhou, an equally historic area about 6 miles south that boasts upscale condominiums, a shopping center, and golf-course homes.