Big Island of Hawaii Regions and Areas

There is much talk, if not controversy, about how to split up the Big Island by region so that it can easily be described on a website such as this. Why the controversy you ask? Well, the Big Island of Hawai'i is a single county politically divided into nine districts, clockwise: South Kohala, North Kohala, Hamakua, North Hilo, South Hilo, Puna, Kau, South Kona, and North Kona. Here you can see an image of the District Map.

It seems simple enough until you start to describe what's in each area and/or how to get to certain locations. For example, parts of central Hawai'i are in the Haumakua, North Hilo, and Kau districts, but there is absolutely no way to access central Hawai'i from any of these districts. To the modern day traveler these districts serve no purpose.

The remedy then is to find a way to divide the island into segments that are easy to recognize, describe, and access via the major roads of the island. This is where much of the debate comes from. Every "expert" has their own way of dissecting the island into pieces.

Our way is pretty simple and it's a method we've followed religiously in all of our physical guidebooks. We like to take the North, East, South, and West approach and we've stayed as true as possible to that format here online (see the map above). In general, we've adjusted some region names as needed and kept others to preserve common reference. For example, we refer to west Hawaii's coast as 'Kona' instead of 'West Hawaii' because it is almost always referred to as such on the island and elsewhere.

Ultimately we've divided the island in a manner that helps us group spots together so that they are easily accessible along the major routes of the island. This allows us to use our mile by mile directions to easily and accurately describe each spot here on our website.

Via the links below we'll cover each of those areas in detail so you will know exactly what to expect in each region of the Big Island. The map to the above right shows our divisions, versus the District Map.
They are, clockwise: Kohala, North (Hamakua) Coast, East (Hilo and Puna), Volcano, South, Kona, and Central Hawai'i.

Kohala Region / Area (Kohala Highlights)
North / South Kohala Area
--North Kohala
---Pololu Valley
------Pololu Valley Trail
--South Kohala
---Hapuna Beach State Park
---Malama Petroglyph Trail
---Waimea Town

North Hamakua Region / Area (Hamakua Highlights)
North (Hamakua) Area
--Waipio Valley
---Muliwai Z-Trail to Waimanu Valley
---Hi'ilawe Falls
--World Botanical Gardens
---Umauma Falls
--Four Mile Scenic Route
---Onomea Bay
---Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
--Akaka Falls State Park

Hilo Town Region (Hilo Town Highlights)
Hilo Town Area
--Liliuokalani Park and Gardens
--Wailuku River State park
---Pe'ePe'e Falls
---Rainbow Falls
--Kaumana Cave

Puna District Region (Puna Highlights)
Puna Area
--Lava Tree State Park
--Kehena Beach
--Ahalanui Park
--Kalapana (destroyed)
--Kumukahi Lighthouse

Volcano Region / Area (Volcano Highlights)
Volcano Area
--North of HVNP
---Tree Molds
---Bird Park
--Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
---Crater Rim Drive
------Kilauea Caldera Overlook
------Halem'auma'u Crater Overlook
------Thurston Lava Tube
------Kilauea Iki Overlook
------Kilauea Iki Trail
---Chain of Craters Road
------Hilina Pali Overlook
------Devil's Throat
------End of Chain of Craters Road
------Napau Crater Trail

South Region / Area (South Ka'u Highlights)
South Ka'u District Area
--South Point at Ka Lae
--Pali o Ha'uki'uki (Broken Road)
--Papakolea Green Sand Beach

Kona Region / Area (Kona Highlights)
Kona (West) Coast Area
--Kailua-Kona Town
--Kiholo Bay Scenic Overlook

Central Region / Area (Central Highlights)
Central Hawaii Area

Another tid-bit of information that may interest you is that in the future the county of Hawai'i may become two separate counties. In recent years the Kona side of the island has expressed concern about the county's future, especially considering the county seat is in Hilo, not in Kailua-Kona. As you will quickly learn upon visiting the island, the two sides differ in many ways.

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