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This 7 day Big Island Itinerary includes my top tips for the best beaches, coastal drives, volcanos, snorkeling, mountain summits, and of course, food!
I have personally researched, curated, tested, and tweaked this one week Big Island, Hawaii itinerary. I hope that you find it useful in your planning! Remember, an itinerary should be a guide, not a rule. No one will do everything on this list exactly as it is written, nor should you. You can use this itinerary as a guideline, but allow yourself to be spontaneous as well. Often the spontaneous experiences we wander into are the most rewarding.
Click on the links within the itinerary to see more about each place. Items marked with a ★ are highly recommended by yours truly. Don’t miss the Big Island Quick Tips at the end!
One Week Itinerary
West Coast
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Get Started in Kona
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Kua Bay Beach: The best beach on the Big Island. Photo credit: Andrea Belgrade
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Hamakua Coast and Lava Viewing (if active)
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Hamakua Coast. Clockwise from top left: Onomea Falls in Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, Akaka Falls, Waipi’o Valley Lookout, Stream into Onomea Bay
Hilo to Kona
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Clockwise from top left: Thurston Lava Tube, Kilauea Iki Trail, Avocado trees at What’s Shakin’, Hotel grounds at Sheraton Kona
Kealakekua Bay and South Kona
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Clockwise from top left: Kealakekua Bay, by Marcus Winter; Spinner Dolphins, by Kyle Greenberg; Pencil Urchin at Kealakekua Bay, by Troy Mckaskle; Blue Boxfish, by Dan Pupius
Puuhonua-O-Honaunau
Mauna Kea Summit
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Mauna Kea Summit
North KonaDepending on when your flight leaves, you may have time to do just one or, hopefully, two of these three options:
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Kiholo Bay Coastline
All info provided in the itinerary is accurate at time of research, but things such as opening hours and prices may change.
Big Island Quick Tips
If you are looking for a place to stay: We used Starwood Preffered Guest Starpoints to stay at the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa. It’s a great hotel in a great location, and I highly recommend it. On the other side of the island, we stayed in Volcano Village in the Haunani House which was perfect for the five of us, but can easily house 6 people. It felt like our own little cabin in the woods, aside from the tropical flora and the active volcano a few minutes away. The same owner has two other cottages for different size groups: The Maid’s Quarters, for up to 2 people and Oma’s Hapu’u Hideaway for up to 4 adults + 2 children.
If you’re jet-lagged: Good! Hawaii is all about sunrises, sunny days, and sunsets, and there isn’t a lot of nightlife on the island. Sticking with your mainland internal clock will help you wake up early and get the most out of each day in Hawaii.
If it’s raining: It pretty much mists on and off every day in Hilo and on the Hamakua Coast. That is how everything gets so lush and green and why they have so many beautiful waterfalls! Plan for rain and embrace it, realizing it is what makes this part of the island so beautiful. The Kona coast, on the west side of the island, gets very little rain. If it does rain on you in Kona, go kayaking and snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay. It never rains there.
If you want to stargaze: Go stargazing on Mauna Kea on a night when the moonrise is after 10pm. If the moon is out, you won’t see many stars. Check moonrise times here.
If you want to see a sunset and moonrise: Go summit Mauna Kea on a night when the moon rises at about the same time as the sunset. Keep in mind, you are required to leave the summit within 30 minutes of the sun setting. Check moonrise times here.
If you want to see turtles: You can easily find sea turtles on almost every patch of reef around the Big Island, but there are a few places that practically guarantee you’ll see them. I’d recommend Kiholo Bay for snorkeling with them and Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park for seeing them from land.
If you want the best snorkeling: Kayak to Kealakekua Bay to see this incredible underwater sanctuary teeming with life. You’re likely to see dolphins, turtles, sea stars, eels, octopus, butterfly fish, big schools of yellow tang, parrotfish, and more.
If you want to see waterfalls and tropical rainforest: Take a road trip from Hilo up the Hamakua Coast.
If you want to play in the waves at a sandy beach: It doesn’t get any better than Kua Bay.
All expenses were paid on our own dime (or starpoints!), and as always, you receive my honest opinions regardless of who is footing the bill. Feel free to book your stay at Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa in Kailua-Kona or Haunani House, The Maid’s Quarters, or Oma’s Hapu’u Hideaway in Volcano using these links. At no extra cost to you, a small percentage of the booking will go toward keeping this site up and running. Thanks for your support!
Did you find the itinerary and tips helpful? Please share with your friends and subscribe to receive more travel advice. I’d love to help you plan your own Big Island itineraries, so ask me questions in the comments!
Great tips, should be helpful on our next Big Island trip. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Garren! Indeed 😉
Great itinerary for the Big Island. Certainly need to hire a car and its so easy to drive around. What’s up with the rain in Hilo! Once we got to Kona, we never looked back, amazing sunsets and beaches. Loved our helicopter ride over the Volcano!
Thanks Marcello! I know, the Hilo rain can dampen the fun at times (ha!) but ultimately I grew to appreciate it after seeing how beautifully lush that side of the island was. So nice to finish the trip with some classic Hawaii sun, too! I am insanely jealous of your helicopter ride over the Volcano! Were there active lava flows when you were there?
This article provides a lot of really helpful detail for trip planning. The photos you chose really highlight the adventures tips you have suggested. Thank you for building this breakdown as I am sure I will be referring to it when I get around to seeing Hawaii!
Thanks April! Hopefully you make it to Hawaii sooner rather than later!
This is amazing, thanks so much, super helpful! We’ve been to Maui though not made it to the big island – actually hit up Maui for our wedding so between all of the family we had there they all had a Hawaiian vacation lol but we were preoccupied the whole time with plans and appointments. So would love to get back to actually see the islands. Will put this itinerary into play!
I have always thought Maui would be such a perfect place to get married! You absolutely should go back, if only for the nostalgia of your wedding! I’m going to Maui in December, too so I’m excited to share another itinerary! I know the island really well as I’ve been there several times and absolutely LOVE IT!
I would love to go to Hawaii and now I want to go even more after reading this. Thanks for the tips!
You’ll love it!
Nice guidelines! With AirAsia planning to fly to Hawaii, the big island sounds like a possibility! 🙂
Didn’t even know about the AirAsia plans. Where are they flying from?
According to reports, it would be between Kuala Lumpur & Honolulu, starting from Nov if everything goes to plan.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/airasia-x-plans-hawaii-flights-in-november-1428336034
Wow, that will be a big boost to Honolulu tourism! Hope they are ready for it!
These are great guidelines and the pictures looks absolutely stunning! Loving the pictures with the avocado trees and dolphins! I’ve actually been to Maui and Oahu and I just loved it! I plan on visiting Hawaii again so I would love to visit the Big Island and Kauai. I will definitely bookmark this page to keep this guidelines in mind when I visit! Thanks!
Thanks! I can’t take credit for ALL of the photos – a few were licensed through creative commons or from my sister. But the rest were all mine! You should definitely go back to Hawaii if you get a chance. There’s something really amazing about those islands.
Spent a couple months in HI and never made it to Big Island. AAUGH! We´ll have to take it in next time on the way through to Asia. Thanks for this well laid-out guide and beautiful pix.
Oh darn, I guess you’ll just have to go back!
As a geology-grad it’s my dream to go to Hawaii, this post has done nothing to convince me otherwise! TAKE ME TO THE VOLCANO!
Yep, if there’s one thing I’m never going to do, I’ll never convince someone NOT to go to Hawaii. Did you see the lava lake on Kilauea bubbled over last week? The video footage is nuts! Here’s the video.
I love Volcanoes National Park! The adjacent village of Volcano is small but there are some good food options. Our favourite was called Thai Thai (I bet you can guess what they serve). They do a great peanut sauce and the portions are big enough that you can easily share, esp if you add in some side dishes. Perfect after a long day of hiking at the park!
So funny you say that, because that is the exact spot we ate dinner after hiking around the volcano!
Wow, what an amazing and detailed itinerary! I’m going to have to pin this one. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you! Yay, I love pins!
This is such a comprehensive list! When I finally go to Hawaii, I’ll make sure to refer back to this post. I’d really love to see turtles and beautiful sunsets 🙂
Hope it’s helpful! Hawaii is definitely great for seeing turtles and sunsets. Or whales, manta rays, fish, coral, volcanoes, waterfalls, beaches… Ok I’m just making myself want to go back now.
Can you tell me more information about Kohala Forest Preserve Hike to Alakahi Falls Lookout. I can’t seem to find any information about it elsewhere. Thanks!
Hi Bonnie, absolutely. I got my info from one of the hiking/snorkeling focused guidebooks I use, Hawaii the Big Island Trailblazer. I’ll try to sort of summarize what they have there. Basically, take Hwy 19 east from Waimea then after mm54 turn left on White Road. After .6 miles park off the street near a locked metal gate. It is possible the trail will be closed, as you have to cross a road that is leased out by Hawaiian Homelands so it might have a no trespassing sign. Maybe ask around to see if you can hike there or if it is open when you get there.
Once you’re around the gate, follow the road to Waimea Reservoir. The road will then curve left around a hill (Pu’u Ka’ala) and take you to the Kohala Forest Reserve gate. You’ll go uphill through some jungle and level out to cross the Hamakua Ditch. Then you’ll go through some bamboo and exotic plants for a mile or so and the trail will narrow and curve right, crossing a stretch of boardwalk. You’ll then walk through a forest of massive trees, and end at the ledge of Waipio Valley with a drop off of almost 2,000 ft. Across the valley is Alakahi Falls.
Hope that is helpful! I would really recommend getting the book if you are interested in doing any off-the-beaten path hiking or snorkeling. It has some good road trip suggestions too, as well as some swimming and surfing spots.
Thank you — this is a great, detailed itinerary that I plan to rely on heavily for my trip! I do have one question — it looks like this itinerary has you start in Kona, go toward Hilo almost immediately, and then go back to Kona. It seems like it would be simpler to fly into Hilo, get a one way car rental, and then fly out through Kona. Is there any particular reason why the itinerary starts and ends in Kona, versus doing it as Hilo-to-Kona?
The main reason for that is most flights are cheaper if you fly in and out of the same airport. Same with car rentals – sometimes they charge a big fee for dropping the car off in a different location. If you don’t mind paying more, or if you can find a cheaper open-jaw flight and a flexible car rental then it would make sense to do Hilo first, then Kona, or vice versa. You could also fly in and out of Kona, for example, and when you get there just drive immediately to Hilo and start there. Lots of options, just depends on what you want to do.
Travel and enjoy your vacations because you deserve it.
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