21 Things to Do Around the Big Island, Hawaii | Two residents share their favorite things to do

Here are our favorite things to do in Big Island, Hawaii in 2022. This is your guided tour of what the Island of Hawaii has to offer and the best things to do for your Hawaii vacation! See our itinerary for more details and more places to visit.

Update: The Octopus Farm has been closed!

There is so much to do on Hawaii. We debated long and hard to make this list of our favorite things to do on Hawaii. Jump in the car with us as we show you all the Big Island has to offer for your Hawaii vacation.

How to fit these things to do into your Big Island, Hawaii vacation? Download our Big Island Wayfinder Itinerary, learn more here:

Here are our Big Island tour recommendations: We recommend these tested and vetted Hawaiian Islands tours. To support our channel, we earn a small commission at no cost to you when you book using our links. Mahalo!

Pono Pledge: Know the Pono Pledge before you arrive on the island

Manta Ray Night Snorkel Tour near Kailua-Kona:

7 Tips for Snorkeling with Manta Rays (article):

9 Best Big Island Farm Tours (article):

Kohala Waterfall Swim & Hike Tour

Umauma Falls Zipline Tour (see our website for more Umauma tours)

USGS Kilauea Eruption Status:

Best Kilauea viewing location:

Hawaii Packing List

Hawaii Discount Car Rental: Great deals on car rentals and no pre-payment required:

FREE Hawaii Cheat Sheets for each Hawaiian Island:

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POPULAR VIDEOS

[joecollazo]

The greatest thing I love about Hawaii is that even though it’s broken up into many islands you can never say “see one, you’ve seen em all”. They each have their own character and climate. I absolutely love the place and pray I can retire there one day.

[alyssahaley]

I would add the Tropical Botanical Gardens north of Hilo to this list. It was one of my favorite places I visited on the Big Island. And stay at The Volcano House, great way to see the eruption at night.

[rollercoasterfweak]

I have the Big Island as my favorite. Both the Kaloko Fish pond and Manta Ray night snorkel were amazing

[TheHawaiiVacationGuide]

Mahalo for watching! There is so much to do around the Big Island. Share your favorite place to go below!

[vegangurleva]

I love your videos! They bring me back, every time. I swear, I can feel the air. Can’t wait to return! Next time big island!

[joankilburn]

That was awesome. Thank you all so much. You ROCK. I CAN'T wait to get back to the Big Island. God bless you all. Blessings from Arizona

[erikh]

I cannot wait to get back and see the waterfalls. So much to explore.

[Countess]

Last time I was there, I went to the seahorse farm. The only one in the entire world. They ship mature seahorses all the world for aquariums. They only let so many people experience this. You get to see them in every stage of their lives, in their cold water, pristine tanks. With an adult seahorse in a tank, you put you finger in, and the seahorse swims over and actually CURLS around your finger, so gently. An experience of a lifetime!!!

[robertalexander]

Thank you for taking the time to post this video.

[teylaroseable]

Thank you for representing & respecting & being very informative on the areas you have covered. One place that is great for families to learn about ocean farming is OTEC. Its near the Kona Airport. Seahorses, lobster abalone.
Hilo theres also the Imiola Astronomy Center. 2 great places to have the kids learn.

[Disneyphotog]

Amazing big island content. Thanks for this

[windsongdesigns]

Congrats Erica on doing the zip line! Not sure I would be able to do it. Just wanted to mention, I really enjoy the newsletters you send out via email. Appreciate all the work that goes into them. Cheers from Canada.

[christinehalsey]

I stayed in Kona for about a week in a house and it was beautiful. Love the big island and your videos!

[doreenlatimer]

Great 15 min. Tour. We love tropical Botanical garden and Liliuokalani park.

[blaineedwards]

We don't fully understand just how intelligent octopus really are. They are well known to do problem solving, like how to get out of complex enclosures and they have extensive memory and recognition skills. They are a truly fascinating creature and we have so much more to learn about them.

[marcielston]

awesome vid. I saw some of our favorite spots, and a couple of new things for our next trip in April!

[Countess]

I’ve done that night dive with the mantas, and it is ONE of the best experiences of my lifetime. They are busy feeding on plankton. There mouths open to 12 foot wide, come at you & you think you are going to be swelled up. At the last minute, they know you are ther, and lightly brush by you. It’s surreal.

[sarahlaubach]

Erica & Jordan make the best Hawaii videos! Can’t wait to use this to help with our big island itinerary for our multi-island honeymoon this May! ❤️

[Mellyberm]

We just got back from the Big Island and really enjoyed reliving so many of the places we saw! Was bummed Waipi’o Valley is all closed! Maybe one day it will be ready for visitors again.

[derbagger]

Another awesome video. I'd say I was hoping for some hidden nuggets I didn't know about, but there weren't that many because I have seen so many of your videos.