Big Islandtravel Tips

Big Island Travel Tips

The Big Island of Hawaii is an exotic and fascinating place to spend your vacation. The people of Hawaii are known for their warmth and hospitality, and will go out of their way to extend courtesy to visitors. If you are a first-time visitor to Hawaii, there are a few things that you should know that will help make your trip comfortable and fun. Here is some general information about traveling to The Big Island of Hawaii.

Getting there and getting around

The important thing to remember is that the island of Hawaii bears the same name as the entire state. Therefore, it is easy to get confused when booking flights. Hawaii is most commonly known as the Big Island or even the “Orchid Isle”, so plan on referring to it as either of those.

There are a few ways to fly into the Big Island. First, you can fly directly into the airports at Kailua-Kona or Hilo, where a few airlines fly into directly. Another option is to fly into Oahu, on the island of Honolulu, and take an inter-island flight to the Big Island.

The Big Island is called that for a very good reason, it is very big. It is the biggest of all the Hawaiian Islands, and will take at least a day to drive the entire thing on your own. The roads there are fairly uncomplicated to navigate. Both the Hilo and Kailua-Kona airports have several rental car services available, where you can also rent more rugged vehicles for exploring the more secluded parts of the island.

Driving on the Big Island might be a frustrating experience. The locals are very laid back and tend to ignore the signs and signals, and the tourists don’t know where they are going, or are too enthralled by the scenery to pay much attention to their driving. Stay calm, and go with the flow. And since many areas are at the edges of steep drop-offs without guardrails, it is in your best interest to pay attention to the road and be very careful!

Communications

The state of Hawaii has two official languages: English and Hawaiian. That means that a lot of signs and names will be in Hawaiian. And many of the place names sounds similar to one another.

The locals are very friendly, and willing to give thorough directions to tourists. When you talk to a local, make sure you reiterate the names of streets and places, just so you don’t get confused if you see something else with a similar sounding name.

Miscellaneous facts and tips

Hawaii is a volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. That means that it is susceptible to just about every weather phenomenon there is, short of blizzards. This includes volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

The land of Hawaii is constantly formed and reformed from lava. Cooled and dried lava tends to be very hard, and can be very sharp. Be careful, and watch your step!

While the lava vents at Pu’u O’o in Hawaii Volcano National Park are often accessible, lava is very unpredictable. Heed any warnings.

Please be aware of warning signs regarding lava or surf conditions a the beaches, and follow them accordingly. Don’t go where you are advised not to, it’s not something to disregard!

In general, the Big Island is very safe. But, to avoid personal theft, don’t leave your valuable in your rental car in plain sight.