Hawaii

Big Island Hawaii Makes You Happy

People who take a vacation in Hawaii often head for the capital city of Honolulu and the island of O'ahu that the entire city and county encompasses. However, no one can truly say they have enjoyed all that Hawaii has to offer without a visit to the largest island of the Hawaiian archipelago, appropriately called the Big Island of Hawaii or sometimes simply as "Hawaii."

Big Island Hawaii spans 4028 square miles and is bigger in size than all of the other seven islands of Hawaii combined-twice over. Big Island Hawaii is covered with five volcanoes, two of which, the Mauna Loa and the Kilauea, are currently active. You can visit Kilauea in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The Kohala volcano is the oldest of the volcanoes and is extinct while the Mauna Kea and the Hualalai are currently dormant. There is also an underwater volcano near Big Island Hawaii called the Lo'ihi, which is active and may, some scientists believe, surface and attach itself to the Big Island of Hawaii-in about ten thousand years.

Like the rest of the Hawaiian Islands, Big Island Hawaii boasts a racially diverse culture, with a particularly large Asian population, although the Asian population is denser on other islands.

Big Island Hawaii was once known for its sugarcane production, but today it largely relies on tourism for its economy. Many crops such as tropical flowers, papayas, macadamia nuts, and coffee are also important economical exports of Big Island Hawaii.

There are many activities for tourists on Big Island Hawaii. After visiting the Volcano National Park, you can stop by a number of botanical gardens that showcase the beautiful tropical flowers that cover Big Island Hawaii. You also can experience a true change in the expected Hawaiian climate by visiting the snow-tipped peak of the dormant volcano Mauna Kea and the observatory located at the top.

Big Island Hawaii offers helicopter tours so you can take in the breathtaking landscape of the Big Island from the skies above. Or you can visit Puukohola Heiau, the largest restored prehistoric Hawaiian temple, or Hulihe'e Palace, which was once the vacation home of Hawaiian royalty, in Kailua-Kona.

For the naturalists in your midst, there's the Waipio Valley and the Manuka State Wayside Park in Big Island Hawaii. Waipio Valley is especially important in Big Island Hawaii's history as the childhood home of King Kamehameha I and its name, "the Valley of the Kings," reflects this. You can take tours to hike, horseback ride, or take a van through Waipio. The Manuka State Wayside Park is a public park famous for its arboretum and tropical landscape.

Are you itching to spend a week or two relaxing in the culture and lifestyle of Big Island Hawaii? If you're ready to plan your next Hawaiian vacation on the Big Island part of Hawaii, visit Hawaii's official site of tourism at gohawaii.com/big_island or try bigisland.com.