Where the island is still being made
Fly into Kona, stay on the Kohala Coast, and you'll have a perfectly fine Hawaii trip. Fly into Hilo, head south on Highway 130, and you'll have something else entirely.
Puna is the Big Island's eastern frontier — a district where the land is still being shaped by Kilauea, where ancient ʻōhiʻa forests meet black lava fields at the ocean's edge, and where a community of artists, surfers, farmers, and longtime residents has built something genuinely its own. The hosts who live here describe it the same way, over and over: real Hawaii. The wild east. The place the guidebooks haven't caught up to yet.
The region splits naturally into two zones. The Puna coast runs from Pahoa south along the Red Road, past black sand beaches and thermal pools to the lava shoreline. Volcano Village, 45 minutes inland and 4,000 feet up, is a cool, misty rainforest community at the edge of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Most great trips in Puna include both.
Kehena and the Red Road
Highway 137 — the Red Road — is one of the great drives in Hawaii. It runs south from Pahoa through a tunnel of jungle canopy, past small farms and artist studios, along a coastline that hasn't been manicured because nobody wanted to manicure it. The landscape is too dramatic, too alive.
Kehena Beach anchors the coast. It's a black sand cove reached by a short trail from the road — dramatic, alive, and one of the most culturally iconic beaches in the state. The Sunday drum circle has been a Puna institution for decades; dolphins regularly come in close to shore. Hosts nearby measure the distance to the beach in minutes on foot.
Farther down the coast, Pohoiki (Isaac Hale Park) is the surfing heart of Puna — a black sand beach with consistent waves and dolphins as near-daily company. The park also holds Hawaii's only natural hot springs: a thermal pool where volcanic heat meets the sea. No facilities, no signage. Ask a local.
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
Kilauea is the most continuously active volcano on Earth. The park that surrounds it is unlike any other landscape in the national park system — crater overlooks, lava tube hikes, sulfur banks, ancient petroglyphs, and an ecosystem that exists nowhere else. From the Puna coast it's about 45 minutes; from Volcano Village, 4 miles.
The Kilauea Visitor Center is the starting point. From there: the Volcano Art Center Gallery, the Crater Rim Drive overlooks, the Thurston Lava Tube, and the rare spectacle of watching the earth actively remake itself. Hosts in Volcano Village stock flashlights for guests who want to hike toward the glow after dark.
Volcano Village
Four thousand feet above the coast, Volcano Village is cool enough that the fireplaces in local rentals aren't decorative — they're the thing you light after dinner. The rainforest here is extraordinary: dense, dripping ʻōhiʻa lehua, tree ferns, mist through the canopy at dawn. It has a character entirely its own — a small community of artists, growers, and people who came because the landscape demanded it.
Within a short drive of the village:
- Volcano Winery — 6 miles; local fruit wines and a macadamia honey wine
- Akatsuka Orchid Gardens — 5 miles; one of the great orchid collections in the Pacific, free to enter
- Sunday farmers market at Cooper Center — 1 mile; the best local produce and prepared food in the area
- Volcano Golf Course — 5 miles, set in the forest at elevation
- Panaewa Rainforest Zoo — the only natural tropical zoo in the US, 30 minutes north in Hilo
Hilo and the waterfall coast
Hilo is 40 minutes north of Pahoa — the Big Island's east-side city, and the one that actually feels like a place. The downtown farmers market (Wednesday and Saturday mornings) is the best in the state. The waterfront is lined with historic storefronts. And the waterfalls begin almost immediately outside of town.
Akaka Falls is about an hour from Pahoa — a 442-foot ribbon waterfall in a lush gorge, one of the most photogenic in Hawaii. Richardson Beach Park in Hilo offers calm water swimming and regular sea turtle sightings along the shoreline.
Getting here
Most mainland flights land at Kona (KOA) on the west side. Hilo (ITO) is closer to Puna and worth checking — the drive from Kona to Pahoa is roughly 2.5 hours; from Hilo, 45 minutes. A rental car is essential; you'll want the freedom to drive the Red Road whenever the mood takes you.
Find your base in Big Island, Hawaii — browse stays indexed by CielStay.
Search stays on CielStay →Stays that informed this guide
These properties contributed local knowledge to this guide through their CielStay listings. Photos courtesy of host listings.
Try a search
Searches inspired by this guide — describe the vibe you want.
This guide was assembled from the local knowledge of hosts with properties throughout Big Island, Hawaii, as indexed by CielStay. The descriptions of restaurants, trails, swimming holes, and local tips reflect what hosts share with guests in their listings — not the observations of a travel journalist or guest reviewer. Photos are sourced from host listing images and are credited to their respective listings. Information about permits and trail conditions may change; always verify with official sources before your trip.