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Hawaii - How to Get To, And Get Around On, The Big
Island
By Donald MacGowan
The Big Island of Hawaii's beauty is legendary and it has the most
diverse landscape on earth-but it can be as challenging to explore
as it is charming. From the icy heights of snow-covered volcanoes,
to steamy jungles and tropical beaches, to flowing fields of lava,
flower choked canyons and wide- open tropical grassland, its
scenery is unsurpas- sed. By and large the quality of your trip to the
Big Island will depend on how much of it you choose to see and how
you set about discovering your own Big Island adventures. Below
are some ideas on the options for getting to Hawaii and for getting
around Hawaii, once you are here.
Island
By Donald MacGowan
The Big Island of Hawaii's beauty is legendary and it has the most
diverse landscape on earth-but it can be as challenging to explore
as it is charming. From the icy heights of snow-covered volcanoes,
to steamy jungles and tropical beaches, to flowing fields of lava,
flower choked canyons and wide- open tropical grassland, its
scenery is unsurpas- sed. By and large the quality of your trip to the
Big Island will depend on how much of it you choose to see and how
you set about discovering your own Big Island adventures. Below
are some ideas on the options for getting to Hawaii and for getting
around Hawaii, once you are here.
Another key to the quality of your time on the Big Island has to do
with the spirit of aloha. The people you meet in Hawaii, by and large,
tend to be more open and friendly-quick to help or befriend-than
elsewhere. This is the tradition of "Aloha". When you meet local
residents, whether to ask for directions and advice or to hire services
or just in casual conversation, treat them with respect, humor and
openness-return their spirit of aloha and you will find your journey,
and yourself, deeply enriched for it.
In Hawaii, your smile is your passport.
Getting To Hawaii
The standing joke among residents of Hawaii when dealing with the
time, inconvenience and hassle of traveling to the mainland is: "This
used to be so much easier before the bridge blew down"! Of course,
there never was a bridge spanning the roughly 2500 miles between
the Big Island and mainland USA, but the humor tends to underline
the commitment, planning and time it takes to travel to and from
Hawaii.
Flying to Hawaii: Certainly the most common, quickest and least
expensive (note I didn't say "inexpensive") way to get to Hawaii is to
fly. Many major US and international carriers fly to Honolulu on Oahu
and and a host of local and international carriers offer flights from
there to all the other Hawaiian Islands, including the Big Island.
Kona's airport is the only one on the Big Island that has direct flight
connections to the US Mainland, Canada, Japan and Australia. Despite
styling itself as "Hilo International Airport", flights to and from Hilo
ONLY connect to other Hawaiian islands.
Although both airports have similar facilities and services, including
onsite rental car agencies and access to public transportation,
shuttles and taxis, it makes a big difference to the traveller where
they land. By far the vast majority of visitors to the Big Island stay in
either Kona or the Kohala Resorts which are all on the west side of
the island and are between 20 to 45 minutes from the Kona airport. If
you are staying in Hilo, it's fine to fly in there; however, Hilo doesn't
have the resort facilities, fine beaches and great weather of the Kona
side and few tourists opt to stay there anymore. Many people booked
into resorts on the west side mistakenly take flights into Hilo, due to
the misleading airport name, unaware (or even misinformed by
ignorant but well-meaning travel agents) that they now, at the end of
an exhausting day of travel and in the fading twilight of the early
tropical sunset, face a drive of almost 3 hours, across high mountains
and on narrow, winding, unfamiliar roads to get to their resort. They
just better hope it doesn't start raining, too.
So-know where you are staying, fly into the appropriate airport.
Whether you are flying directly into Kona or flying to Honolulu and
getting a connecting flight into Kona or Hilo, you want to be sure to
reserve a seat so that you see as much of the incredible scenery as
you can. Since 90% of the flight is over open ocean (which just isn't as
riveting as one might expect) you want to wring the most enjoyment
out of those portions of your flight which do feature scenery. If you
are first stopping in Honolulu, sitting on the port (left) side of the
aircraft for this leg of your trip affords the best views as the plane
screams in past Koko Head and over the top of Diamond Head and
Waikiki Beach, turns around directly over Pearl Harbor and settles in
to land at Honolulu International Airport. Sitting on the starboard side
is not as spectacular, however, it offers views of Moloka'i and Maui
islands, as well as views of Pearl Harbor, the Wai'anae and Ko'olau
Mountains of O'ahu and downtown Honolulu just before landing.
Flying into Hilo from O'ahu, one also wants to sit on the port side of
the aircraft. The flight path crosses over the islands of Moloka'i and
Maui, skims along the eastern margin of Hawaii Island presenting a
rich, fascinating panoply of soaring sea cliffs, jungle canyons and
volcanic mountains, jaw-dropping waterfalls and crashing surf along
the coast. Flying into Kona either directly or from Honolulu is no less
wonderfully scenic than flying into Hilo, but one wants to be on the
starboard side. This offers the traveller great views of the islands of
Maui, Molokini, Lana'i and Kaho'olawe, as well as incredible views of
the Big Island, Kohala Mountain, Mauna Kea, Hualalai and, on clear
days, Mauna Loa as the jet cruises in over the Kohala Coast, making
land right over Makalwena Beach and on to Kona International Airport
at Keahole.
with the spirit of aloha. The people you meet in Hawaii, by and large,
tend to be more open and friendly-quick to help or befriend-than
elsewhere. This is the tradition of "Aloha". When you meet local
residents, whether to ask for directions and advice or to hire services
or just in casual conversation, treat them with respect, humor and
openness-return their spirit of aloha and you will find your journey,
and yourself, deeply enriched for it.
In Hawaii, your smile is your passport.
Getting To Hawaii
The standing joke among residents of Hawaii when dealing with the
time, inconvenience and hassle of traveling to the mainland is: "This
used to be so much easier before the bridge blew down"! Of course,
there never was a bridge spanning the roughly 2500 miles between
the Big Island and mainland USA, but the humor tends to underline
the commitment, planning and time it takes to travel to and from
Hawaii.
Flying to Hawaii: Certainly the most common, quickest and least
expensive (note I didn't say "inexpensive") way to get to Hawaii is to
fly. Many major US and international carriers fly to Honolulu on Oahu
and and a host of local and international carriers offer flights from
there to all the other Hawaiian Islands, including the Big Island.
Kona's airport is the only one on the Big Island that has direct flight
connections to the US Mainland, Canada, Japan and Australia. Despite
styling itself as "Hilo International Airport", flights to and from Hilo
ONLY connect to other Hawaiian islands.
Although both airports have similar facilities and services, including
onsite rental car agencies and access to public transportation,
shuttles and taxis, it makes a big difference to the traveller where
they land. By far the vast majority of visitors to the Big Island stay in
either Kona or the Kohala Resorts which are all on the west side of
the island and are between 20 to 45 minutes from the Kona airport. If
you are staying in Hilo, it's fine to fly in there; however, Hilo doesn't
have the resort facilities, fine beaches and great weather of the Kona
side and few tourists opt to stay there anymore. Many people booked
into resorts on the west side mistakenly take flights into Hilo, due to
the misleading airport name, unaware (or even misinformed by
ignorant but well-meaning travel agents) that they now, at the end of
an exhausting day of travel and in the fading twilight of the early
tropical sunset, face a drive of almost 3 hours, across high mountains
and on narrow, winding, unfamiliar roads to get to their resort. They
just better hope it doesn't start raining, too.
So-know where you are staying, fly into the appropriate airport.
Whether you are flying directly into Kona or flying to Honolulu and
getting a connecting flight into Kona or Hilo, you want to be sure to
reserve a seat so that you see as much of the incredible scenery as
you can. Since 90% of the flight is over open ocean (which just isn't as
riveting as one might expect) you want to wring the most enjoyment
out of those portions of your flight which do feature scenery. If you
are first stopping in Honolulu, sitting on the port (left) side of the
aircraft for this leg of your trip affords the best views as the plane
screams in past Koko Head and over the top of Diamond Head and
Waikiki Beach, turns around directly over Pearl Harbor and settles in
to land at Honolulu International Airport. Sitting on the starboard side
is not as spectacular, however, it offers views of Moloka'i and Maui
islands, as well as views of Pearl Harbor, the Wai'anae and Ko'olau
Mountains of O'ahu and downtown Honolulu just before landing.
Flying into Hilo from O'ahu, one also wants to sit on the port side of
the aircraft. The flight path crosses over the islands of Moloka'i and
Maui, skims along the eastern margin of Hawaii Island presenting a
rich, fascinating panoply of soaring sea cliffs, jungle canyons and
volcanic mountains, jaw-dropping waterfalls and crashing surf along
the coast. Flying into Kona either directly or from Honolulu is no less
wonderfully scenic than flying into Hilo, but one wants to be on the
starboard side. This offers the traveller great views of the islands of
Maui, Molokini, Lana'i and Kaho'olawe, as well as incredible views of
the Big Island, Kohala Mountain, Mauna Kea, Hualalai and, on clear
days, Mauna Loa as the jet cruises in over the Kohala Coast, making
land right over Makalwena Beach and on to Kona International Airport
at Keahole.
We have handpicked
Honolulu.
So stop dreaming & start
planning your trip to
Hawaii!
Honolulu.
So stop dreaming & start
planning your trip to
Hawaii!
Honolulu |
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