Hawaii Attractions

Even today, Hawaii's Big Island's fabulous beaches remain a bit of a well-kept secret, even though Hapuna Beach and Kauna'oa Beach both have topped the list of America's Best Beaches in the last 5 years! If your clients are looking for sun and sand on their vacation, a question you can ask them is: what color beach would you like? Here, our sand comes in three varieties: white; black, formed from lava crystals cooled by the ocean and broken down by waves; and green, so named because of the tiny volcanic olivine crystals that give the sand its distinct emerald hue. All of our beaches have one glorious thing in common: they're uncrowded!

Here are the favorite beach spots on our island, although there are many more hidden away, waiting to be discovered and explored by your clients. 

Hilo Area
Richardson Ocean Center/Leleiwi Beach Park
The shallow bay fronting Richardson Ocean Center is the most popular snorkeling site on the Hilo side of the island.  Surfers and bodyboarders ride the "Richardson" break adjacent to the southern point of the bay. The center contains a marine life display and the beach park contains picnic pavilions, restrooms, parking and showers.

Onekahakaha Beach Park
Favorite of the local residents, this small, 1 - 4 foot deep, sand bottomed ocean pool is one of the safest swimming areas along this coastline. Frequented by families with small children, this area also offers tide pools and inlets, picnic facilities and restrooms.

Reeds Bay Beach 
On Hilo Bay near Banyan Drive, it is a popular small boat port and swim spot.

Kalapana Black Sand Beach
This beach is east of the original Kaimu Beach, which was covered with lava during a recent eruption. Although smaller, it boasts the same exotic black sand.

Kona Area
Kahalu'u Beach
Located on Alii Drive adjacent to the Ohana Keauhou Beach Hotel, this is one of the area's more popular beaches, renowned for it's excellent snorkeling.  Ask anyone where the "Snorkel Beach" is; your clients will have no trouble finding it.

Kekaha Kai Beach Park
Located just a few miles north of the airport, this beach offers two choices for your clients.  Kekaha Kai Beach has picnic facilities, restrooms and granular white sand with great swimming or kayaking.  Off to the right, the small crescent cove is Mahaiula Beach, which boasts powdery, white sand, turtles and good snorkeling. Either choice is a no-miss!

Disappearing Sands Beach
Also known as magic sands, this white sand beach is located on Alii Drive just south of Kailua-Kona. This small beach has been known to disappear overnight due to tidal shifts or strong surf, but always returns.

Kohala Coast
Kauna'oa Beach
This near-perfect crescent of sand leading to azure water annually is voted among the Top 10 beaches in the U.S. by Conde Nast's Traveller magazine.  Located adjacent to the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel.  Access is available to non-guests, however parking spaces are limited.  It is recommended to arrive early.

Hapuna Beach State Park
On the Big Island's spectacular Kohala coast, Hapuna's white sands have earned it a reputation as one of Hawaii's finest beaches, being consistently rated in the numerous national Top Ten lists.  The largest of our island's white sand beaches, it is located adjacent to the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.  There is ample parking, food vendors, picnic areas, restrooms and showers.

Anaeho'omalu Beach
Called "A-Bay" locally, this stretch of beach next to the Outrigger Waikoloa Beach offers wind surfing, canoe rides, snorkel sails and beach equipment rental.  Ample parking and restrooms along with picnic facilities are available. An ancient fishpond hugs the beach and was a major aquaculture resource in pre-contact Hawaii. Historical signage informs visitors about the cultural importance of the area.

Big Island Ancient Hawaiian Historic Sites
Perhaps a journey of discovery to the sacred places and historic sites of Hawaii's Big Island will foster a keener understanding of the ancient cultures of the world and provide the perfect backdrop for restoration and rejuvenation.

Nearly every one of the Big Island's stunningly diverse regions - from the lava fields of Puna to the lush valleys of Kohala - boasts its own nationally recognized park or site.

Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park
In days of old, a network of places of refuge, or puuhonua, once existed throughout all the islands of Hawaii. Steeped in mana, or spiritual power, a visit to a puuhonua had the power to shelter Hawaiians until purification rituals could be carried out by a kahuna (Hawaiian priest).

Spanning 180 acres of idyllic oceanfront land in the South Kona district of Hawaii's Big Island, is the last remaining example of these ancient sanctuaries. Carefully and authentically restored to reflect the special importance of the puuhonua, the royal compound includes a fishpond, a small sandy cove for canoe landing, several hale (houses), halau (structures used for storage and worksheds) and the Hale o Keawe heiau (temple).

Native plants and examples of traditional Hawaiian craftsmanship complement these structures, such as kii, exquisitely carved wooden idols, as well as the great stone wall that stretches 1,000 feet long, 10 feet high and 17 feet wide, built stone by stone without mortar to designate and enclose the puuhonua area.

While the structures and natural landscape alone are awe-inspiring in their simplicity, stark beauty and mana, Puuhonua o Honaunau finds one of its most powerful attractions in its human aspect. Interactive cultural opportunities abound at Puuhonua o Honaunau  and park staff are cultural treasures themselves, sharing their knowledge and skill for the education of all. 

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Historians speculate that continuous volcanic eruptions - the Big Island has the most active volcanoes in the world - perhaps signaled the presence of land to peoples migrating from the South Pacific. Most likely, these intrepid voyagers landed at Ka Lae, the Big Island's South Point, which today defines the nation's southernmost edge, and is located about 30 miles from the park's southwest entrance.

The fire goddess Pele, the most powerful and revered Hawaiian deity, makes her home at Kilauea caldera. Cresting the summit of Kilauea, the island's drive-in volcano, the surrounding area is one of the park's most breathtaking attractions, with recent flows, pit craters, and lavascapes waiting to be explored.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park celebrates the beliefs of these ancient Hawaiians and, at  the same time, highlights the unsurpassed geological and natural importance - a  distinction that earned the park its designation as an International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site.

Mookini Heiau
Located in the Kohala district at the northwest tip of the island, near the quaint artists' community of Hawi, Mookini Heiau was the first site in the state to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Overlooking the windswept coastline - perfect for modern-day whale watching - Mookini was constructed for worship, purification and sometimes for human sacrifice. King Kamehameha the Great was born near this spot in about 1753. The heiau is believed to have been built using stones passed hand to hand from Pololu, the verdant waterfall-laced valley 14 tortuous miles away.

Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site
Impressive as Mookini's 30-foot walls may seem, they are dwarfed by the 224-foot long by 100-foot wide heiau platform at Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site-a reminder of Kamehameha the Great's power just before his invasions of the other Hawaiian islands. Built in 1791 to honor his family war god, Kukailimoku, Puukohola rises like a great stone mountain and is the site of the sacrifice of Kamehameha's last great rival and cousin, Keoua as well as 14 other royal retainers.

It is also the last major heiau built in Hawaii. The park itself, at 77 acres, encompasses three heiau-Puukohola, Mailekini (built in the 13th century) and Hale o Kapuni; as well as a site that once featured the house of John Young, one of the first non-Hawaiian residents of the islands and trusted advisor to Kamehameha.

Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park
This 1,160-acre park in the Kona district provides yet another example of how Hawaii's Big Island has dedicated itself to preserving its history. Dedicated in 1978, Kaloko-Honokohau features some of the best examples of how ancient Hawaiian communities lived, worked and played. Kaloko fishpond, located at the upper end of the park, illustrates the crucial relationship between Hawaiians and the ocean that surrounded them. Kaloko-Honokohau is a living monument to pre-contact Hawaiian culture and the knowledge passed down through the generations. 

Ahuena Heiau
Nestled right in the heart of downtown Kailua-Kona, Ahuena Heiau attests to the strength of the Hawaiian tradition, belief and ritual, and also to the challenges to those beliefs posed by western influence since the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1778. As part of the effort to understand and interpret Hawaii's history, guided walking tours of Kailua-Kona and this important site are offered by Kona Historical Society.
 
These sites give visitors a true vision of Hawaii's special resilience and power. These historic, often sacred, places protect and nurture the true spirit of humanity. 
 
For more information contact:
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, (808) 985-6000
Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, (808) 328-2326
Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic al Park, (808) 329-6881
Mookini Heiau, (808) 591-1170
Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site, (808) 882-7218