Things to do in Hilo, Hawaii

 

So when I was researching things to do on the big island of Hawaii I quickly realized that most people just hang out on the Kona side of the island and barely venture to the Hilo side. Don't get me wrong Kona is a nice city, its definitely more of a resort type area but I think Hilo has a lot to offer. It appealed to me more because we are more "off the beaten path" kind of travelers.  We also appreciated that the majority of these sights are free to visit which helped us keep our overall trip costs low. 

So in no particular order here is a list of fun things to do in Hilo, Hawaii! 

Akaka Falls State Park

This is the only major "attraction" on this list that you have to pay for and honestly it's pretty cheap. This is a pretty cool waterfall- it is 442 feet long. There is a half mile fully paved hike to the waterfall. It has some stairs but it is very user friendly. In addition to the big waterfall there are also some neat banyan trees on the hike. This waterfall is located north of Hilo so we made it or first stop of the day and then headed south into Hilo. It was $5 a person to do the hike to see the waterfall-credit card only. They have a machine right as you enter the hike. Also They were charging $10 a vehicle if you parked within the park limits. We (and a bunch of other people) just parked outside the park gates and saved $10. 

Kaumana Caves 

These caves are also slightly north of downtown Hilo. There is a parking area across from the caves with some funny chickens.  They are free to enter, but you have to be semi-physically fit. There are some very steep stairs down to the entrance of the two caves and the caves themselves are unlit and uneven ground. It appears to be two different caves but it is actually one cave connected in a "C" shaped, however we were not brave enough to go full on spelunking so we just entered the cave from both sides.  We brought headlamps which was very helpful, and I would highly recommend. Also pro-tip for taking pictures have the people in the pictures turn their headlamps off and the photographer turn their headlamp on to light the people. 

The steps leading down to the caves are pretty steep- be careful!

Rainbow Falls 

Rainbow Falls is very close to Kaumana Caves. There is plenty of parking and bathrooms here. There also some picnic tables so we ate lunch here and enjoyed the waterfall. It appears that there used to be a hiking trail around the waterfall but they have since closed off the trail. 

Wailuku River- Boiling Pots section and other parts of the river 

This is a few minutes away from rainbow falls and the caves. We just travelled along the Wailuku River and found a lot of small waterfalls. These waterfalls and river system were all created from the volcanic activity of Mauna Kea. (See this blogpost: ____) It was neat to see all the different waterfalls and follow the river. 

Exploring Downtown Hilo 

Downton Hilo has plenty of free parking right by the water and the main downtown area. There is a Hilo Farmers Market that operates in the downtown area from Wednesday to Sunday- its pretty small though and mostly produce. We enjoyed walking the streets and exploring the shops along the main area. 

We ate lunch at Ken's Pancakes. They serve breakfast and lunch. Despite no A/C inside we thought their food was great and would recommend it!

                                        

Liliuokalani Gardens and Coconut Island

Near Downtown Hilo are the Liliukalani Gardens and Coconut Island. The gardens (don't make me type that name again) are a Japanese garden- I was personally expecting more plants and flowers but it much more water based. Still it's a pretty walk on the water. Right next to the gardens is Coconut Island- which you can get to by crossing the bridge. This is a fun place to just hang out. Many people were swimming in this area because the water is sandy and shallow. There is also a lot of shade from the beautiful trees on the island. 

Richardson Ocean Park- Black Sand Beach

This is technically south of downtown Hilo but we thought it was a really cool black sand beach. There is plenty of parking and the beach stretches for a long time. We saw two sea turtles while we were here. This is also a nice beach because there is some shade if you don't want to constantly be in the sun. We didn't even swim but we had a fun time exploring it and seeing the turtles. 

Overall 

Overall we thought that Hilo and the surrounding areas were pretty neat to explored. We enjoyed the lush rainforest feeling of it all. I would recommend venturing to the Hilo side of the island at least for a day or two- you will enjoy it!