This was a peaceful stroll around a beautiful Japanese…read more Garden. A gift from Japan as a sister city in 1987. Overcast, very empty today Right on the Harbor.

This beautiful Japanese park and garden is tucked along the shores of Hilo Bay, offering a peaceful…read moreescape filled with towering banyan trees, colorful flowers, and singing birds. Stroll along scenic walking paths lined with decorative pagodas, stone lanterns, charming bridges, and tranquil ponds. Best of all, it's completely free to visit -- a must-see when you're in Hilo!

This is easily one of the best things we did on the Big Island. Luckily we saw a couple of You Tube…read morevideos that told us to bring a good flash light. We went by WalMart and picked up a decent power Flash light. Don't think you can do this with you cell phone light. The caves are not modified with railings and walkways and colorful lights. This is raw spelunking. At first it feels a little creepy but once you get in and start exploring the anxiety of being underground goes away. The floor is uneven and jagged. Don't come in flip flops. Bri g some sturdy sneakers or hiking boots. Water is constantly dripping from the roof but none of that matters cause you are so enthralled by the experience. You go through giant tubes carved out by lava you also enter giant cavernous rooms formed by the intense molten flow. Breathtaking is the best way to describe it. I wouldn't recommend little kids under eight. It is very hard to traverse some of these rocks. But go! Please go. You will thank me. Definitely Recommended.

When we went it was on and off raining. The stairs are quite steep- down to the two caves. One on…read morethe right and one on the left. If you have trouble with balance etc. you should consider waiting in the car as the caves were wet and slippery. Was just accross the street from the parking lot. We were there for about 1/2 an hour. And it's FREE! I enjoyed seeing what the lava had created. We went to the volcano after this. Recommend flashlights and at least one head lamp. Phone lights are just too little!

This Beach park happened by accident when my niece was looking for a place for us to eat lunch in…read moreKona. This happened to be the closest picnic area that we could come to, thanks to a little tik- tok video she watched. If you're looking for a traditional beach with sand, this isn't the place. But what you'll get instead are the famous black lava rock formations Kona is known for that spill into several lagoons full of crystal clear water. As for eating, there are plenty of places to lay down a blanket in the grass, picnic and relax. The park has several trash cans for you to use as well and I did happily notice that the park was clean. I did not have to use the bathroom here so I can't comment on that. What impressed me the most was that they had built in stairs for you to walk into the ocean. In my entire life of traveling, I've never seen a beach park with built in stairwells to walk into the lagoons. This was a treat for me. If I have one big tip, it's to remember to have your water shoes because the rocks are sharp to walk on and can easily cut you if you're not careful. I also did read that they do have outdoor showers but I didn't see them when we were here. Lots of folks brought their own snorkeling gear because there were a lot of fish, not to mention at least 3 turtles that I saw swimming around. As I'm writing this review, I'm already missing Kona and the uniqueness of this island. If you plan on going to Kona, you must come and enjoy this place. It's truly special and I would recommend it to anyone.

After coming across social media post, Carlsmith Beach Park was a must visit for me! I added it to…read morethe list of places for my uber driver/hubby to take me. We missed it the very first time, the hubby took me to the wrong beach & had to re-route. I remember it is hard to find via GPS if you miss the turn. We found parking after the beach and walked down. When I walked to Carlsmith Beach to finally check it out for the very first time, my heart just melted and just had that Wow, grateful, OMG moments and also feels like DeJaVu. I also asked my husband to pinch me, that I am not dreaming. It was so nice to just experience this live in real life, such tranquil atmosphere, crystal clear waters. I just love the color of the water, the ocean, so beautiful! Carlsmith Beach Park in Hilo is a hidden gem for sure! After we took our tons of photos, enjoyed the scenery which I really wanted to stay longer but we had a busy day ahead. For next time I visit, I would love to picnic & enjoy lunch under the coconut, palm trees and go swimming. Although I didn't sea turtles during my visits, hopefully next time.

Amazing and beautiful area to have a picnic and take family out for an hour or two…read more Cute trail small hike for the kids to enjoy. Lots of landscape to take advantage if you are looking for a nice photo opportunity. $10 for parking and $5 for each person. Very reasonable. The scan code was easy to use and fast for payment. There was nice ambassadors helping not just one person so it made it a fast experience and they were informative of where we could walk and viewpoints. Great customer service. Restrooms were cleaned. The informational boards had graffiti on it.

God's gift to man I tell ya!…read more This was a quick stop as we toured a bit of Hilo, and I'd say it's a "must stop" if you're here for a short visit. It's definitely, and annoying touristy, so just keep that in mind. Yes, I'm one of them, so I hated myself lol. Features to highlight: ~ A big parking lot with tour busses parked. As well as cars full of people causing traffic. ~ A fairly long line for the restroom. A perfect stop for bus tours. ~ From the parking lot, you'll see the people along the fence-line checking out the falls. Taking pics, selfies, tiky-tok'ing etc etc. ~ Don't get me wrong with the negativity, it is fairly picturesque! I just cropped the tourists out. The day was sorta cloudy, so we didn't see any rainbows coming from the falls. ~ Take the stone steps to the right, up to the top, and you'll be gifted with a different perspective of the river above and the falls. ~ As you walk along the railing, you'll also be drawn into the tall trees that lead to the giant banyan tree. I'm pretty amazed with how vibrant a tree can be, and how much shade these large banyans provide. ~ We only spent about 15-20 minutes here, but we full-on enjoyed every minute of it! Side story that you don't have to read: As I was walking past everyone. A family had asked if I could take a picture of them. I kindly said, "Sure." Then some other random bonehead tourist stopped me and said, "I'll take their picture!" Fine, whatever dude, here's their phone. As I walked away, I heard Mr. Bonehead say, "I'll take several angles and we'll do a funny one, OK?" Hahaha, I looked back at the family, and they looked super annoyed.

Check for access before planning to visit Coconut Island. The pedestrian bridge connecting it to…read more land collapsed earlier this month under the weight of a small excavator. The bridge was closed pending repairs.

Fun, beautiful hang for the whole family. Definitely a great location for swimming and on my top 5…read moremust visit spots in Hilo town

This was a mike above Rainbow Falls. Another special…read moreexperience. We were alone on the lookout. Surreal .

Worth a quick visit if it's on your way from Kona into Hilo, and you want to see a waterfall…read morewithout a hike into it. Located in the middle of a residential neighborhood, just 5-10 minutes from Downtown Hilo, this is a lush park with a small, free parking lot and a bathroom facility. You walk right up to a lookout point and look left and right (there's no hiking access to the waterfalls or the pools). Look left to see the Pe'epe'e waterfalls upriver in the distance. Look down and to the right to see the Boiling Pots - the river carved tiered pools into lava rock, and when the river is high from heavy rains, the water flows through the pools and swirls, looking like boiling pots. The water was low and not swirling when we visited last month, but we still appreciated seeing this as we didn't do the coastal drive to see the bigger waterfalls. I hear that Rainbow Falls, just about 1.5 miles away has pretty falls that you can get closer too, so add that to your list.

Lucky me we had the entire beach park to ourself. Not meant for adult swimming or diving deep to…read moresnorkeling but for a families with young kids or those who can't swim this is the best to cool off. Known for the sandy shallow ocean pools and a bountiful tide pools to explore. The natural lava rocks surround the area making protected lava pools blocking the crashing waves. The parking itself was plentiful, but when school is out and the island is at its peak tourist season you never get the seclusion I got today. The park has tables, restrooms and even horseshoe courts. Anytime I can get out and dip in the water is a win!

So many beautiful sights to see on the Big Island. I love that we planned ahead and packed some…read morefood to enjoy while out sightseeing. We like to go exploring off and on the main roads finding great spots and meeting some friendly locals. We bring enough food to share.

This is more than just a waterfall, it's an experience where you immerse yourself in a rainforest…read moreand appreciate the beauty, sounds, smells, and little creatures around you. Although the entire hike is about half an hour, I would recommend you take your time and see everything around you. The hike itself is not strenuous. Some of the reviews indicate the steps were arduous, but our little 3-year-old had no problem. The paths are paved with railings. It didn't take long before we reached where Akaka falls was visible. It is beautiful against the mossy green backdrop. Then we climb the stairs to see the other waterfall, but when we got there, it was pretty anti-climatic. It's a small little fall, but still worth seeing. Overall, this is a beautiful spot to discover new plants, see a couple of waterfalls, and take a ton of pictures.

Our first stop of the day. 2 waterfalls , one narrow and one huge…read more Many stairs to each one. Very small crowd.

I'm smiling just thinking about this place because if I could ever imagine a tropical paradise,…read morethis would be it. Best money spent on the Big lsland. At $35 for adults, $25 for kids aged 6-12, and free for kids 5 and under-- it's money well spent. Some might call this place pricey but after coming here, I disagree. Places like this are so rare and unique that they can just take my money. I've never been to a garden so full of exotic plants, flowers that I'd never seen before, mini waterfalls, a pond, and to top it all off-- getting to see the ocean waves crashing onto the lava rocks at the end of the garden. Prior to this I had never seen orchids growing in the wild off of tree trunks. These guys were everywhere here. And how do I know this place is cool even for Gen Z?-- I caught my 20 year old nephew taking videos of a beautiful flower that he was admiring. Of course I didn't make a huge deal out of it because he would have blown me off. Once you walk the paths and over the bridges, you can see how meticulously this garden is maintained. When you find out the history of how Mr. Dan Lutkenhouse Sr. and his wife Pauline who bought this parcel of land back in 1977 and decided to turn it into a garden, you'll be even more amazed. There was no machinery used to turn this place into the garden it is today. It was 40 years of Dan and his assistant Terry Takiue who worked with *just* cane knives, sickles, picks, shovels and a chainsaw to clear paths through the jungle. Another fun fact: He had no formal training in botanical gardening... Insert mind blown emoji here... Can you imagine that?? I can only respect that these guys did this just so that we could enjoy this garden paradise for us and future generations to see. Bravo to this place coming from our fam that came and loved it.

The variety of plant life here is huge. The walkways for the most part are very steep and paved…read more but there are also handrails and benches. The grounds are spectacular with so many varieties of flowers and flowering plants. The waterways and waterfalls have a calming effect splashing over rocks and between ferns. There is a small gift shop, but as far as refreshments go, they only sell popsicles or small boxes of water.

Loved this 5 miles round trip hike to the beach. Huge variety of vegetation and most of the trail…read moretramps through a tree forest. The tree forest is interesting with some abandoned and vegetation encrusted old jeeps and cars, historic rock walls and towards the end, spur trails to the sea cliffs, and a collapsed lava tube. At the end is a gorgeous bay favored by sea turtles. We saw at least 23 turtles on our visit. Please note that this trail is muddy and very muddy in spots even when it has not been raining, and the footing is very uneven so it is not for the casual walker, for flip flops or any shoes that you don't mind getting very muddy. I found that having hiking poles was helpful in order to gage how thick the mud was at various places on the pathway. Go early as it is very humid by late morning or mid day.

The Puna Trail that leads from the dirt parking lot to the secluded Shipman Beach (Ha'ena Beach) is…read more2-1/2 miles in each direction and consists of a jungle, lava rocks, and muddy conditions. It can be challenging especially during the rainy periods and at times it may seem forever until you reach the very end. Nevertheless, I was finally able to make it to the beach and it was worth it in the very end, though it's not one of these points of interest that I would want to do again. As for Shipman Beach, it's a nice place to relax at if it wasn't for the strong waves and currents particularly during the winter months. On better days, you might even see some sea turtles hanging out on the rocks nearby (do not approach them!). Best to apply bug repellant prior to hiking and make sure to scrub your shoes before and after at the trailhead brush.