Big Island

The Big Island (officially Hawai’i Island) is the youngest, largest, and most geologically dramatic island in the Hawaiian chain. It contains eleven of the world’s thirteen climate zones — from tropical rainforest to subarctic tundra — and an active volcano that has been building new land for four decades. This is not the Hawai’i of resort beaches. This is Hawai’i as a geological event.

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is the anchor. Kīlauea, one of the most active volcanoes on earth, sits at the centre. The Halema’uma’u crater glows orange at night when the lava lake is active. The Chain of Craters Road descends through sequential lava flows — each dated, each a different texture — to the coast where the road simply ends where lava buried it. The Thurston Lava Tube is a walk-through tunnel formed by flowing lava centuries ago.

Mauna Kea — 4,207 meters — is the highest point in Hawai’i and, measured from its ocean-floor base, the tallest mountain on Earth. Drive to the summit at sunset (4WD mandatory) for a sky that makes every other stargazing experience feel like a rehearsal.

The Kona Coast is the dry, sunny side — coffee farms (Kona coffee is grown only here), excellent snorkeling at Kealakekua Bay (Captain Cook’s landing site), and manta ray night dives that are among the most magical wildlife encounters in the Pacific.

The Hamakua Coast on the wet east side is waterfalls, tropical jungle, and the Waipi’o Valley — a mile-wide amphitheatre accessible by steep 4WD road, with taro fields, wild horses, and a black sand beach at the bottom.

When to go: Year-round. The Kona side is sunny and dry. The Hilo side rains frequently. Winter brings whale watching. The volcano is active on its own schedule.