Traveling Info

Tourist Attractions Akaka Falls. Up-mountain (mauka) from highway 19, on highway 220, is a beautiful waterfall in an even more beautiful state park. Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. Located just a few miles North of Hilo, the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is a gem nestled in the tropical rainforest that is part of Onomea Bay. The aforementioned section of Old Mamalahoa Highway leads to it. World Botanical Gardens / Umauma Falls. One of the most beautiful waterfalls in Hawai'i is best viewed from the newly formed World Botanical Gardens. The bridge on highway 19 allows for a beautiful shot of the Falls with Mauna Kea in the distance. Kolekole Beach Park. A park located at the bottom of an erosional ravine on the edges of route 19. The park is downstream from Akaka Falls, and boast an additional waterfall that drops directly from a small cliff into the main stream, leading to Kolekole Stream. The setting underneath the highway viaduct is magnificent. Transportation Hawaii Belt Ro...

This old upcountry cow town on the northern road between the coasts is set in lovely country: rolling green pastures, wide-open spaces dotted by puu (hills), and real cowpokes who ride mammoth Parker Ranch, Hawaii’s largest working ranch. Waimea Map View Larger Map The town is also headquarters for the Keck Telescope, the largest and most powerful in the world. Waimea is home to several affordable B&Bs, and Merriman’s restaurant is a popular foodie outpost at Opelo Plaza. source: Frommers

is homes to the area's premier golf courses and seaside resorts. Kohala Coast divide into South and North Kohala. The natural habitats in Kohala range across a wide rainfall gradient in a very short distance - from less than 5 inches a year on the coast near Kawaihae to more than 150 inches a year near the summit of Kohala Mountain, a distance of just 11 miles. Near the coast are remnants of dry forests, and near the summit is a montane cloud forest, a type of rain forest so called because it obtains some of its moisture from "cloud drip" in addition to precipitation.

Kona is synonymous with great coffee and big fish—both of which are found in abundance along this 70-mile-long stretch of blacklava-covered coast. The Kona Coast has an amazingly diverse geography and climate for such a compact area. The oceanfront town of Kailua-Kona, a quaint fishing village that now caters more to tourists than boat captains, is its commercial center. The lands of Kona range from stark, black, dry coastal desert to cool, cloudy upcountry where glossy green coffee, macadamia nuts, tropical fruit, and a riotous profusion of flowers cover the jagged steep slopes. Among the coffee fields, you’ll find the funky, artsy village of Holualoa. Higher yet in elevation are native forests of giant trees filled with tiny, colorful birds, some perilously close to extinction. About 7 miles south of Kailua-Kona, bordering the ocean, is the resort area of Keauhou, a suburban-like series of upscale condominiums, a shopping center, and million-dollar homes. Kona means “leeward side” in...