I lived on Hawaiʻi Island. These are the routes, timings and trade-offs I’d hand a friend before their first trip — so you spend your days on the island, not in forty open tabs.
Most first-timers look at the map, see one island and assume they can “do it all” from one hotel. Then they discover the volcano is two and a half hours from their beach, that Hilo gets rain while Kona gets sun, and that their must-see list needs three weeks.
None of that is a reason to stress. It just means a good plan matters more here than on any other Hawaiian island.
Lava, mantas, black sand, waterfalls, Maunakea. You can’t fit everything, so the real skill is choosing well.
Every blog has a “top 50”. Few tell you what to skip, or in which order to do things so you aren’t driving in circles.
Kona to the park and back is close to five hours behind the wheel. Pick the wrong base and that happens every day.
I’m French, a web developer by trade, and I lived on Hawaiʻi Island. Living somewhere changes how you see it: you stop treating it as a checklist and start learning which side of the island to be on when it rains, which roads take twice as long as the GPS says, and which famous spots are magic at 7 a.m. and miserable at noon.
This site is the long version of what I tell friends planning their first trip. No sponsored rankings, no “top 50” lists. Just the routes I’d actually drive, in the order I’d drive them.
Alexis Guay
More about meThe guides friends ask me for first. Read these and you’ve done 80% of your planning.
Itineraries · 6 min read
A realistic 7-day Big Island itinerary with two bases, Kona and Hilo/Volcano, so you see lava, mantas, waterfalls and black sand without driving in circles.
Itineraries
A one-day plan for Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park: crater rim, Kīlauea Iki, the lava tube, Chain of Craters Road and the night glow, in an order that beats the crowds.
Guides
Yes, you can do the Kona manta ray night snorkel as a weak swimmer or non-swimmer. How it works, what to ask the operator and the ride-along option.
Guides · 4 min read
Saddle Road, the Hāmākua Coast or the south via the volcano: the three ways to drive from Kona to Hilo, how long each takes, and the stops worth your time.
Read the guideThe paid outings that earn their place on a first trip. The rest can wait.
Most packing lists assume a beach holiday. The Big Island gives you a beach, a rainforest and a 13,000-foot mountain on the same day. Here’s the short list that saves trips.
Start with the itinerary, adjust it to your days, and leave room for the things you’ll find on your own.
See the itineraries
