Five days is enough to split your stay between two parts of the Big Island: two nights in sunny Kailua-Kona on the dry west coast, then two nights up in cool, rainforest Volcano Village next to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. You spend the first half on Kona’s beaches and snorkeling, the second half at the volcano, then take the long way around the island back to the airport on your last day.
It works best as a first trip, covering the main sights without rushing. The two bases sit more than two hours apart by car, so we front-load the longer drives. Everything starts at the Kona airport. If you’re traveling with children, the two long drive days take the most planning, and our guide to the Big Island with kids has the family version of this route. You pick up the rental car and head straight for the coast.
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Money-saving and trip-enhancing trip planning tips
With life getting so expensive it makes sense to save as much money on your trip as you can. These resources help you to save money (#1), to book the best tours and activities (#2), and greatly simplify trip planning (#3 + #4):
- The Discount Hawaii Car Rentals website is our first stop for a quote when we need a rental car. We like them (a) because they offer the BEST rates, (b) require no prepayment and charge no cancellation fees, and (c) because they offer additional benefits such as free extra drivers and reduced young driver rates.
- We put a LOT of effort in figuring out which tours actually are the best. Have a look at our curated tour section to see tours that get consitently good reviews *and* offer great value.
- Did you know we are giving away free itineraries for all Hawaiian islands? These are a great place to start planing your own trip.
- Our Trip Planning 101 Guide is a another GREAT place to start planning for 1st time visitors.
Day 1: Kona and the Beach
Your first two days and nights are in Kona, the dry, sunny side of the island, and this first afternoon is for the beach. Drive into town and drop your bags at your accommodation. If you haven’t booked yet, see our guide to accommodations in Kona.
If you arrive during whale season, roughly December through March or April, sign up for a whale-watching cruise, or look into the manta ray night dive or snorkel. Both book out early, so reserve them well ahead.
Sunset Manta Ray Night Snorkel at Keauhou Bay
Manta rays at Keauhou's Manta Village feed within inches of the lit flotation board. Sea Paradise has operated here since 1985, making them one of the longest-running operators at this location.
from:
$130
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.Afterward, drive north on Highway 19 to the west coast beaches such as Kua Bay or Hāpuna. If you arrived later in the day and are short on time, stop at the pier by the King Kamehameha Hotel in the center of Kona, King Kam beach, for a quick dip or a bit of snorkeling.
End the day with the sunset and a mai tai at the Kona Inn, or any of the beachfront restaurants along Aliʻi Drive. Tomorrow is a busy day, so don’t stay out too late: it starts early.
King Kam beach in downtown Kona is a good place for a quick dip between activities. There is decent snorkeling on the other side of the pier
Day 2: Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau and Snorkeling at Two Step
Get up early, which is easy on your first morning still on mainland time. Have a relaxed breakfast in town with an ocean view, or drive south toward Captain Cook and stop at the Coffee Shack (closed Wednesdays). Either way, order the fresh Kona coffee.
After breakfast, continue south to Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, the old place of refuge, to see how ancient Hawaiians lived. Then snorkel next door at Two Step, about 300 feet from the park entrance and one of the best snorkeling spots on the island. The cove is also a culturally significant site: leave the wildlife alone and take nothing from the shore.
Afternoon Sail & Snorkel at Kealakekua Bay
Sail a 50-foot catamaran to one of the best snorkeling spots on the island accessible only by boat or a two-mile kayak from Nāpōʻopoʻo. Spinner dolphins are a regular presence on the sail south, and humpback whales are sighted December through April.
from:
$125
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.If snorkeling isn’t your thing, swap it for one of the other outdoor activities near Kona, or line the day up with any tour you booked.
Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Park on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi is a good place to learn about Hawaiian history. Next door, about 300 feet from the park entrance, is one of the best snorkeling spots on the island
Day 3: Volcano Village and the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Day 3 is another early start, so pack before breakfast and begin the 2-plus-hour drive to Volcano Village right after.
Stop at South Point, the southernmost point in the United States, or at Punaluʻu black sand beach, a turtle nesting beach. Once you reach Volcano Village, drop your bags at a vacation rental near the park (our pick is this vacation rental in Volcano Village ), then head into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park for an afternoon of hiking and sightseeing.
The main Kīlauea Visitor Center is closed for a rebuild, so stop first at the temporary Welcome Center, about 1.25 miles past the entrance station, to talk with rangers about trail conditions, ranger-led hikes, and where to see the eruption. Park entry is $30 per vehicle, good for seven days, and the entrance station takes cards only.
Kīlauea’s recent activity has been at the summit, inside the Halemaʻumaʻu crater, and it comes and goes. Check the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory for the current status before you drive up.
Stop at Nāhuku (the Thurston Lava Tube) and drive the Chain of Craters Road, which drops from the summit down to the coast. If you want a hike, we suggest the Kīlauea Iki trail: it descends from the rainforest to a crater floor that was a churning lava lake in 1959.
Afterward, head back to Volcano Village for dinner at one of the local restaurants.
End the night by the fireplace or in the hot tub at your rental.
Visit an overlook in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park at night to see the glow above the Halemaʻumaʻu crater, when the summit is erupting
Day 4 (Option 1): Kalapana and the Puna Coast
For your last full day, head back into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park or take a road trip. This one heads southeast to Puna and Kalapana; option 2 is Hilo.
Kalapana is where lava buried the old Kaimū black sand beach and the town around it in 1990. A new black sand beach has grown in since, and coconut palms planted by residents now line it, so you can walk out onto land that is only a few decades old. Make a full day of Puna: the coast here is some of the youngest land on the island, built by the 1990 and 2018 flows.
From Kalapana you can drive up the coast road to Isaac Hale Beach Park at Pohoiki, where the 2018 eruption left a new black sand beach. The coast road ends there now, so it’s an out-and-back rather than a loop through to Kapoho. Head inland afterward for dinner in Pāhoa, and try Luquin’s for Mexican: order a margarita local style, with lilikoi (passion fruit) juice and a li hing mui salt rim.
Then drive back up to Volcano Village for your last night in the quiet of the rainforest.
The coastal Red Road (Highway 137) in Puna now ends at Pohoiki, where a new black sand beach formed in the 2018 eruption
Day 4 (Option 2): Hilo, Rainbow Falls, and Mauna Kea
If you skip Puna, spend day four in Hilo instead, then finish the evening above the clouds on Mauna Kea.
Private Kulaniapia Falls Day Pass
Swim and play at a private waterfall on the Hilo coast to skip the crowds.
from:
$49
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.Drive down to Hilo, about 45 minutes north, for breakfast at Ken’s House of Pancakes, an old-school American diner with window booths.
Afterward, head downtown to walk the shops, galleries, and boutiques, and visit the Pacific Tsunami Museum (limited hours during its renovation, so check before you go). If it’s market day (Wednesday or Saturday), stop at the Farmers Market and pick up fruit and bento for lunch. Got a sweet tooth? Two Ladies Kitchen (274 Kīlauea Ave) sells fresh mochi, small Japanese-style sweets. The strawberry mochi are our pick.
Take the lunch you picked up out to one of the beaches in Keaukaha, east of downtown. We like Richardson’s or Four Mile for the Hilo Bay views and the easy swimming (all beaches in Hilo). Coconut Island, the little footbridge park in the bay, is closed after its bridge collapsed in late 2025.
After lunch, head up to Rainbow Falls for photos, then continue up Kaumana Drive past the hospital to the Boiling Pots.
In the late afternoon, drive up Saddle Road toward Mauna Kea for the stargazing. Any rental car can reach the visitor information station area at 9,200 feet; the summit road above it needs a high-clearance four-wheel-drive, or you can join a guided tour from Hilo.
Maunakea Summit, Sunset, and Stargazing Tour
A small-group tour from Kona to the 13,796-foot summit of Maunakea: dinner at 9,200 feet, sunset above the cloud layer, and a private star show with an 11-inch telescope. Saturn, Jupiter, and the Milky Way on a clear night. 8 to 9 hours.
from:
$315
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.For safety tips and what to bring, see our guide to stargazing on Mauna Kea.
Then drive back up to Volcano Village for your last night. The day ends after dark. Go back into the park for the after-hours glow only if your first visit was clouded out.
Drive down the Chain of Craters Road in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to see the Holei Sea Arch rise from cliffs 80 to 90 feet high
Day 5: Road trip to Waipiʻo Valley
Your last day is the drive back to the Kona airport, going counter-clockwise around the north of the island through Hilo and the Hāmākua Coast. It runs about 120 miles, so leave yourself plenty of time before your flight.
Pack up, then drive down to Hilo for breakfast and the sunrise over the bay. From there, take Highway 19 north onto the Hāmākua Coast.
Just outside Hilo, turn off onto the four-mile Pepeʻekeo Scenic Drive, a winding stretch of old highway through jungle and one-lane bridges along the coast. Back on Highway 19, stop at ʻAkaka Falls State Park, where a short paved loop from the parking lot leads to a 442-foot waterfall.
Continue north to Honokaʻa, an old sugar town with a row of shops and galleries and a good lunch stop: Tex Drive In, for a hot malasada. From there it’s a short drive to the Waipiʻo Valley overlook at the end of Highway 240, with a wide view over the “Valley of Kings,” one of the most culturally important places for Native Hawaiians and long a center of taro (kalo) farming. The road down into the valley is closed to general traffic, so the overlook is as far as most visitors go.
From there, drive through Waimea and start heading for the airport. On the way down toward the coast you can stop in Waikoloa for lunch, or pull off at one of the Kohala Coast beaches such as Kua Bay for a last swim before your flight.
The Kua Bay beach is close to the airport and a good place to watch your last Hawaiian sunset if you have a late flight