Who doesn’t dream of Hawaii? Dream beaches, hula, volcanoes … Only the distance from Europe is a problem for many. However, this is no reason for a globetrotter like us 😉

If you are planning a vacation in Hawaii for the first time, the big question arises as to which islands you should head for. The volcanic island chain consists of 137 islands, 6 of which are accessible to tourists. Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Hawaii (Big Island), Molokai and Lanai.

We decided on Oahu (the main island), Hawaii / Big Island because of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Kauai (the garden island).

After spending a few days on Oahu, we landed by domestic flight on the largest Hawaiian island – Hawai’i or the Big Island. We chose the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort.

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You could immediately see that the landscape and the beaches had changed completely compared to Oahu. There were plenty of sandy beaches on Oahu and the island itself was very green. On the Big Island (at least parts of the Big Island), lava rocks shape the landscape.

In addition to the Kīlauea, there are two other active volcanoes on the Big Island, the Mauna Loa and the Hualālai, as well as two presumably inactive volcanoes, the Mauna Kea and the Kohala.

Like probably every tourist who lands on this island, we also took a trip to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We learned a lot about creation and destruction by volcanoes and got pretty close to active Kilauea.

In the park you have the opportunity to hike through a 500 year old lava cave – Thurston Lava Tube. At the end of the tunnel there is a tropical rainforest.

Then we hiked on the lava fields up to the Pacific cliffs, where normally hot lava flows into the Oezan. Unfortunately we had no luck at the time of our visit ☹

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Finally, we watched the Kilauea Crater glow in awe. In such moments you will really realize how small and powerless humanity is compared to such forces of nature.

After our successful expedition we relaxed another day at the hotel resort and in the evening treated ourselves with a few cocktails on the beach.

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Our personal opinion about Hawai’i / Big Island:

• one of the best places to watch volcanic activity
• for a beach holiday, we recommend other Hawaiian islands

On the following page you can get a very good overview of Hawaii:

www.gohawaii.com

Best travel time:

Hawaii is a great travel destination all year round. The temperatures are all year round between 24 and 29 degrees. In the summer months (April to November) it is a little warmer and drier than in the winter months (December to March). November to February is recommended for surfing. The best chance of whale watching is from January to early April.

Hotel recommendation:

Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa

More tips & recommendations:

If you don’t have a rental car, you can book excursions to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, for example via www.discoverhawaiitours.com.