People travel thousands of miles to reach Hawaiʻi—one of the most isolated landmasses on Earth. Its eight main islands help form a 1,500-mile archipelago, the longest island chain in the world. Aptly nicknamed, the Big Island is the largest of Hawaiʻi’s islands and home to one of the most varied climate ranges anywhere. The island itself […]
*This story was originally published on Dec. 11, 2019, and updated on Sept. 1, 2025. It’s pretty hard to have a proper road trip in Hawaiʻi. Driving from Oʻahu’s central city of Honolulu to the North Shore, for example, takes less than an hour (without traffic). This is not the case on Hawaiʻi Island, which
*This story was originally published on March 6, 2019 and updated on Aug. 20. On a Sunday at sunrise, the South Kona sky painted in pastels, I drive bleary-eyed on Māmalahoa Highway heading south past monstera and banana plants toward the hulking mass of Mauna Loa, rising nearly 1,500 feet into the sky. Two
This story was originally published on Feb. 24, 2014. “You didn’t pre-order?” As she says this, the woman behind the counter at Two Ladies Kitchen stares at me in disbelief. A line of customers winds behind me and out of the small downtown Hilo mochi shop and onto the sidewalk alongside bustling Kīlauea Avenue.
Outside my car window, all I see are lava fields—an archetypal characteristic of the landscape in Kailua-Kona on Hawai‘i Island. Ancient Hawaiians classified the distinct types of lava here as ‘ā‘ā, denoting rough and jagged rocks, and pāhoehoe for lava that’s smooth and billowy. The expanses of lava rock are a sign of the Big
In 1980 Han Sung “Has” Barry quit her job as a schoolteacher and started a cookie business. All because of a horoscope. She grabs her wallet and pulls out the astrological forecast, cut from the newspaper decades ago, and hands it to me. “You are ready for changes in business matters,” it reads. “Don’t let
From historic bungalows to a family-friendly resort with the longest waterslide, here are our writers’ picks for Kailua-Kona’s best stays.
I’m sitting around a campfire, gazing out at a breathtaking sunset and feeling on top of the world. My family and I have traded our luxe beachfront resort setting for a rustic evening at Hawai‘i Island’s Kahuā Ranch, 3,200 feet above sea level in the lush rolling hills of Waimea. A working cattle ranch, Kahuā
Kīlauea volcano erupts once more on the Big Island, this time being contained primarily to Halemaʻumaʻu Crater. The Hawaiʻi Island shield volcano, which last erupted in January of 2023 before showing heightened signs of unrest in May, is once again filling Halemaʻumaʻu Crater with pools of lava and it is quite the spectacle. The eruption
