Map of Hilo

Downtown Hilo collects 142 inches of rain a year. The useful part is when it falls: most of it comes down between late afternoon and early morning, so a wet forecast rarely ruins a morning at the falls or an afternoon at the beach. Plan outdoor stops early and keep the museums for later in the day. This map covers Hilo town, the beaches east of it, and the Hāmākua coast stops within a short drive north.

Where Hilo is

Hilo sits on the east coast of Hawaiʻi Island, the windward side, facing the trade winds. The same winds that drop 142 inches of rain on downtown drop 27 on Kona and 9 on the Waikoloa resort coast, which is why the two sides of one island feel like two different places.

It is the island’s largest town and the seat of Hawaiʻi County, so it has the things a working town has rather than the things a resort strip has: a hospital, a university, a farmers market that runs seven days a week, and restaurants that close on Sundays because their regulars are local. Hilo International Airport sits about seven minutes from downtown.

The other half of the answer is what Hilo is close to. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is 44 minutes away, ʻAkaka Falls 24, and the Maunakea Visitor Information Station 46 minutes up Saddle Road. Kailua-Kona is an hour and a half across the same road. Staying in Hilo puts the volcano, the waterfalls and the mountain inside an easy morning’s drive.

Drive times from Hilo

These are measured from downtown Hilo, off-peak, on the route Google picks as fastest. Add time on weekday mornings through the Kamehameha Avenue stretch, and add a lot more if you are behind a cane haul or a slow truck on the two-lane sections of Highway 19.

Saddle Road is the one to understand. It carries both the Maunakea run and the Kona crossing, climbing between the island’s two big mountains, so conditions up there have little to do with the weather you left in town. It is also how you reach Kaumana Caves, which sits between the 4 and 5 mile markers.

The areas of Hilo, north to south

The Hāmākua coast, north of town. Everything above Hilo strings along Highway 19: the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden at Onomea, the four-mile Pepeʻekeo Scenic Drive that leaves the highway and rejoins it, then ʻAkaka Falls at 24 minutes and ʻUmauma Falls further north. This is a half-day loop from town, and the scenic drive is worth taking northbound for the ocean views.

Downtown Hilo. The old town runs along Kamehameha Avenue facing the bay, with Keawe and Kalākaua one block back. The farmers market sits at Mamo and Kamehameha, open daily 7am to 3pm, with Wednesday and Saturday as the big days when 150-plus vendors turn out. Most of the restaurants on this map are inside a few walkable blocks here. Parking gets tight on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Banyan Drive and the Waiākea peninsula. The hotels sit here, on a loop road lined with banyan trees, along with Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens and the nine-hole Naniloa golf course. Coconut Island is the small island off the peninsula. Its footbridge collapsed in November 2025 and the island is closed with no access, so treat it as a view rather than a destination.

Keaukaha, east along the shore. All of Hilo’s beach parks run east from the peninsula along Kalanianaʻole Avenue, not south, which is worth saying because half the internet has it wrong. Onekahakaha is the shallow, protected one for families. Richardson has the best snorkeling and finished a $5 million accessibility upgrade in 2024. Carlsmith is the one locals call Four Mile.

Upslope and south. Kaumana Caves is ten minutes up Kaumana Drive, a skylight into a 25-mile lava tube left by an 1881 Mauna Loa flow. Getting in means a steep ladder, and you go as far as your torch reaches. South of the airport are the Panaʻewa Rainforest Zoo and the municipal golf course. The zoo stopped being free in August 2025, charges $13 for adults, and closes the first Thursday of every month.

What is on the map

Every pin below links to our full write-up for that place, and the table lists opening days, current prices and the things that catch people out. A few worth knowing before you plan a day around them: the Pacific Tsunami Museum is open weekends only while it is being revitalised, the Lyman Museum is closed at weekends, and ʻImiloa is closed Mondays.

Two more that cost money people did not budget. ʻAkaka Falls charges $5 a person plus $10 to park, and takes cards only, so a couple in one car pays $20. The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is $35 an adult, which makes it the most expensive single stop on this map. Liliʻuokalani Park, the UH Hilo gardens and Kaumana Caves are all free.