As I age like fine wine I realize the value of learning about history. I may not be good on…read morejeopardy or remover the exact years but I find history especially in person exquisite. Wanting to fill our house with historic and local art we had to visit the statue and pay our respects. The first ruler of the kingdom of Hawaii uniting the island. Located downtown easily for all to see. A huge parking lot to drive up and park surrounded by a well manicured landscape. You can see how much he means as even today people continue to show respect by leaving plants and leis to decorate his statue. The bright and vibrant colors pop against the blue sky's and green surroundings. It was definitely worth the stop and a well kept area to wander around taking in Hilo slowing down and enjoying the scenery.

Beautiful statue of Kamehameha the Great cast in bronze. One of three statues in the state (Hilo,…read moreNorth Kohala, and Honolulu). This one is very easy to drive up to and maybe less crowded than going to see the one in Honolulu. I love how at this one there was hookupu in abundance.

Relaxing and shady area (compared to other places) to take a stroll and take in the views. There's…read morehistory here and there's some historical plaques to read if you're interested. The "Japanese garden" was built to honor the early Japanese sugar cane plantation immigrants who played a massive role in Hawaiʻi's economy and society. I've been to other Japanese gardens (not in Hawai'i) so I was actually a bit shocked at how plain or underwhelming this was. It felt like a simple park with a lake with a couple of architectural Japanese bridges. There's a koi pond too and a couple of lanterns. Overall still a nice place to stroll and to admire and take in nature. We didn't stay too long because it was overly hot thought. We didn't really know where to park but I think there's street parking you can find.

Let's keep it simple…read more The below website link has all the information you could possibly want or need about the history/what you're going to see/map/volunteer information and more for the gardens. www.liliuokalanigardens.org/ The best summary I can give is this. The gardens are free. They are tranquil and they are beautiful. There is little to no issue with parking except for on the weekends when it was definitely busier but overall, there seemed to always be spaces either on Banyan Drive or on Lihiwai Street along the water. The only real small negative would be that some of the trails and walkways do washout and/or flood over due to the excessive amount of rain Hilo has gotten this year (and that was pre-Lala). If you're in the area or staying in Hilo, this is a nice stop whether for ten minutes or an hour.

When I'm in Hilo, I always love visiting Big Island candies. It's always fun seeing the factory…read moreprocess and seeing the cookies dipped, but what I enjoy most is the complimentary samples. This place is a piece of heaven. Those cookies, brownies and rocky road are things I dream of. I do prefer dark chocolate over milk, but milk chocolate stuff is really yummy too. Who am I kidding if only milk chocolate dipped cookies in front of me I'd totally take them. The packaging is also beautiful, but if you just want cookies for you or to make goodie bags save a little money and get the bagged cookies vs boxed ones. And if you have any product questions, make sure to ask the friendly staff.

Bigger of an operation now compared to back when I was growing up in Hilo. But they have always…read morekept the fact that you can walk in and see the workers hand dipping cookies and whatnot. They've not changed much besides having newer items here and there. They've classic chocolate dipped shortbread cookies are always a winner. Best part about visiting is that you get samples of their products if you just ask kindly! The staff are always so friendly and helpful. I wish they would bring back the Peanut Butter Crunch Bars!

beautiful spot. well worth the stop. a bit warm and muggy our day jaunt there, but worth the…read moreeffort. take a camera. great photo ops.

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.

Totally awesome experience we were in Hilo for a short stay & sightseeing, The Lyman museum of…read moreHawaiian cultural, history and ocean biology was just the ticket. Great help by Cindy. She was the museum curator. Very funny & just a Lovely person, had a great time with the kids . Had a great time , clean and family, friendly highly recommend.

The museum is spectacular, and the house is so exciting and interesting to see. But the tour of the…read morehouse, Bruce, was unbearably over-enthusiastic. He would rant and use voices imitating other previous guests (presumably?) and bounced from topic to topic, rushing us through the house so fast that you hardly get any time to look at anything. He opened our conversation by saying how, "contrary to popular belief, the natives are not heathens." What a great start... Though he was contradicting hateful sentiments, I felt the tour didn't need to be embellished with such commentary, and the history of the missionary relationship to the Kanaka Māoli as a colonial project of theft and religious pressure was glazed over..

Great waterfall Beautiful gals not much of a hike just a…read moresmall walk from the tiny parking lot. Have to pay to park and enter. It was a gloomy day. Lots of bugs up Top by the pretty trees.

Like many other people who come to the big island on holiday, one of the things you do is go in…read moresearch of at least a few of the area waterfalls. Even if the area you come from has some, chances are they/the surroundings don't look like this. Let me start with where the theme of this one is going to go. Of the five sets of falls we visited, same day on a Monday, Rainbow was easily the one I would have no trouble classifying as at best, underwhelming. Here's the scene. With this place now being monetized, you're looking at $5 p/p as an entrance fee and $10 per vehicle for parking. My issue with that is, you're still paying to park even if you come and the parking lot is completely full? Yepper. Like several others, we had to park on Rainbow Drive up the road from the falls as the actual parking lot was full. Scan the QR code or text for a link to pay and once you get on the grounds you are met with a small militia of people all out checking devices for payment. Once you're past them, it's with a right turn to the one viewing platform or a left turn and up a few steps to the elevated viewing platform. The right side platform has some placards about the history of the falls and of the myth/legend/lore behind them. The left side has the governmental PSA placards of listing the number of deaths from people that over the recent years attempted to go for a swim and it turned out poorly. Did we see any rainbows? No, as we were there a few days before Lala hit and it was cloudy/rainy almost everyday non-stop. Two other contrarian points: 1. For the fee, you also get access to Boiling Pots which is just up the road from here. I recommend that place over this one easily as there is far more parking, it's easy access and no one was there to enforce payment so at least the day we went, in theory that could have been a freebie. 2. This could also be a freebie as there is nothing stopping you from parking up the hill a bit on Rainbow Drive and walking through the Banyan trees to get to the backside of the elevated viewing platform/close to the water. It was being done while we were there. Kudos to those smart and adventurous people. I get it. If you're staying on the Hilo side, this one is close to downtown and it's easy & quick. I mean you could be in and out in 10 minutes no problem. With that said, to me, it's overrated and if you're going to spend money, Akaka is the way to go or hit up one of the other free ones rather than spending your hard earned money for something that is more a name rather than actual substance.

The Singing Bridge, also known as the Wailuku Bridge or Airplane Bridge, is located where the…read moreWailuku River meets the ocean. As you may be able to guess, it is called the Singing Bridge because the steel grate surface that allows water through makes a distinctive sound as you drive across it. It's right along Bayfront and if you're driving between Hilo and Kona, or any of the other attractions north of Hilo, such as Akaka Falls, then you will most likely have the chance to drive over it. It's a pretty cool thing to experience. It just sounds cool to drive across, and if you look down, you can see the river/ocean!

This is a joke, right? I thought the Musical Road grooves in Lancaster, California were lame (see…read morevideo at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef93WmlEho0). Furthermore, the slippery metal grates aren't very safe to drive. But hey, it causes the car to vibrate and shimmy. Let's turn a risky road hazard into a playful jest. In all honesty, the bridge sang better than Kim Kardashian. A "hi" point of Hilo was Coconut Island while the musical bridge was a definite "lo" point of Hilo. Another interesting fact about Hilo are its many sister cities in Europe like Maxmin in Ireland, Guttenbad in Germany, and Vestwurst in Austria. And before anyone writes me to say I'm an idiot (which I stupidly know), I realize that Hilo is not pronounced high-low, but hea-low.

Definitely recommend this hike. It's easy and quick. The trees provide a nice shade and the breeze…read morefrom the ocean makes this a relaxing walk.

You pass a beautiful and scenic drive on the way to the trail. The trail is a bit bumpy, so it can…read morebe difficult for younger toddlers. It is definitely not ideal for strollers, so use a baby carrier instead, if you have it. The trail is relatively quick, and ends at at a breathtaking view of the water. Definitely one of my favorite moments so far in Hilo! If you continue up the jungle-like path, you will end up at the botanical gardens. So if you don't wish to walk there and then back after the gardens, you should take the same route back, to avoid the extra walking.