There are a wide variety of activities available to you on the Big Island. The ocean is beautiful here and inviting for all types of water related activities including: diving, boating, fishing, swimming, snorkeling, and surfing. Your days might also include touring the areas around our volcanoes, the observatories on Mauna Kea, hiking to spectacular waterfalls, picnics along the coastal roads or on a beach, and a myriad of other interesting activities. But when you come to the Big Island, don’t forget to leave time to just relax!
Great Beaches!:
Mauna Kea Beach
Swaying palms, whispering waves, soft breezes scented with flowers, warm sand, crystal clear aquamarine ocean water, and sparkling sun; what more could you want in a beach anywhere? Our Big Island Beaches come in a rainbow of hues and a wide range of sizes. From swimmer friendly to sunning only, from easily accessible with parking and showers to a found at the end of a bone jarring ride down a lava trail, we have it all. Click on the link to see some of the favorites: Beaches.
Golfing:
Every day is a wonderful day for golf on the Big Island and selecting which course to play may be your biggest challenge as there are so many interesting options. Courses here may meander through ancient lava fields, require shots over the crashing coastal waves, encircle an active volcano, or wander through a magnificent ohi’a forest. There is a course for every day of the week and for every level of play from beginner to professional.Click on the link for more information: GOLF.
Luaus:
Hula Girls
Every visitor to the islands needs to experience a Hawaiian luau at least once. The luau is a wonderful gathering of friends and family to share food, music, and laughter and is a regular part of all important occasions here in Hawaii. Weddings, birthdays, graduations, and end of life celebrations are all built around the luau. Actually, any time is a good time to gather and celebrate family, friends and life in general. Impromptu luaus are often the best! To get a taste of the experience, schedule a luau for an evening while you are here. We’ve been to all of the luaus on the leeward side and consistently find that the King Kamehameha and the Royal Kona put on the best shows.Click on the following link for pictures and more information: LUAUS
Shopping:
The Big Island has a variety of shopping opportunities available. It is a haven for artists and that makes it a very exciting place for visitors interested in taking home a unique item (or five) in memory of their time spent here. New shops have recently opened that provide resort wear. Be sure to check out the Shops at Mauna Lani as well as the Queens’ Marketplace and the King’s Shops in Waikoloa Beach Resort. If you go into Kona, be sure to check out the cute shops on famous Ali’i Drive. Click on the following link for more suggestions: SPEND MY MONEY!
Dining:
Wonderful dining awaits you on the Big Island–even if you don’t like seafood! If you do, we have the freshest in Hawaii and some of the finest in the world. Check out the wonderful Macaroni Grill that just open up in November 2008 in the Queen’s Shops. Call for reservations–it’s popular! Click on the following link for more restaurant suggestions: ONO GRINDS!
Volcanoes:
The Big Island of Hawaii isn’t just big–it’s still growing, and you can see it in action! It has one of the most accessible active volcanoes in the world and should not be missed if you come here. Here, you can see the results of 70 million years of volcanic activity. Going into the park truly feels like you’re stepping into another world. Click on the link for park times and more information: VOLCANOES!
Mauna Kea:
Snow Topped Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the world–if you start measuring from the bottom of the ocean, anyway! Because of the clear air and distance from mainland lights and haze, it’s home to some of the world’s most sophisticated observatories. Although you cannot visit inside the observatories, there are available tours who will take you there for a very reasonable fee. Mauna Kea Tours leaves from the Kona area about 2 PM and provides a lunch and a comfortable ride. Most of the tours also provide telescopes at an area of about 10,000 feet (with warm coats, of course!). The view of the stars is probably the best in the world! Click on the following link for more information: MAUNA KEA
Ocean Activities:
The Big Island is home to some of the best ocean activities available anywhere in the world. Ask anyone who has moved here why they came and they’ll tell you they took one look at how blue the ocean was, and couldn’t leave. As the Big Island is the youngest of the Hawaiian Islands, it has very few rivers and streams (on the western/Kona side) that enter directly into the ocean. That combined with the fact that it’s simply a pile of rocks in the middle of the Pacific, gives us some of the very clearest water anywhere in the world. Anytime the sun shines, the water turns incredible shades of blue.
The Big Island is one of the only places in the world where you can be in deep ocean water within two miles of the coast line. As a result, you don’t have to travel far to be in waters hosting all of the creatures of the deep ocean sea. Click on the following link for more information: I LOVE THE PACIFIC OCEAN!
MAPS:
Check out some of our maps of the Big Island. We have carefully mapped out some of the key locations for our guests using Google maps. Click on the link to see: MAPS
TV Viewing
The units in our rental program all use Oceanic Time Warner Cable. The main living areas have HD digital programming. Most of the bedroom TV have standard digital programming options. To see the latest channel listings click on the following link to the Oceanic Time Warner website: Digital Channel Listings. You may need to enter the Zip Code of 96740 (Kona) or 96738 (Waikoloa) and 96743 (Mauna Lani). Alternatively, you can click on the Tivo logo at the bottom of each of these pages.
