Big Island of Hawaii 1 Day Itineraries

Explore the Orchid Isle in a Day

Big Island of Hawaii 1-Day Itinerary Suggestions

The Big Island has an area of, 4,028 square miles, and it is the largest island in Hawaii and the United States. With such grand authority in Hawaii, the Big Island has so many natural luxuries to discover. For a Kailua-Kona 1-Day Itinerary, you can walk the grounds of Pu'uhonua o Honaunau where you will learn of its sacred history.  Or, you can enjoy the beauty of sky blue waters on beaches such as Manini’owali Beach (Kua Bay) and Makalawena/Pu’u Ali’i Beach.

If that's not enough, consider a Hilo 1-Day Itinerary where you can observe the wondrous cascades at Akaka Falls. Or, venture to the Lyman Museum where you can view grand displays and learn of the Hawaiian culture. You can also head to Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo where various amphibians, reptiles, and other animals await.

Whatever you're looking to do, Hawaii has something for you.

How to use our Big Island itineraries for your trip

Big Island of Hawaii 'Pack-and-Go' Wayfinder Guides for daily excursions

Ultimately, we’ve designed our Big Island of Hawaii itineraries around a set number of on-island Big Island days: offering one (this section), two, three, four, five, six, and seven-day itineraries for exploring the island, soaking in the best sights, and ensuring your precious time (and potentially money) on the Big Island are used wisely. We’ve tried to balance our itineraries between those who seek adventure and those looking to find a good beach and relax. Overall, we want your experience to be exactly what you’ve dreamed of when planning your Big Island of Hawaii trip.

For each island, including the Big Island, we’ve attempted to split up the itinerary days by sorting attractions according to their geographic proximity; i.e., on Volcano day, you’d explore the best of the Big Island's Volcano region attractions, hiking trails, and activities. Our itineraries are not meant to be followed consecutively necessarily, which would probably be exhausting, but instead as a grab-and-go resource for ‘mapping’ your trip - think of us as a Wayfinder’s guide to the Big Island of Hawaii. We always like to travel by making day-by-day plans, putting the most important attractions and activities (the must-see and do) upfront, and if the weather doesn’t cooperate one of those days, we switch that day with another. That way, we always get to the important stuff first, and if we have to skip anything, it’s ideally the minor attractions only.