Hawaii vacations -
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deals:
The Big Island of Hawaii -- the island that lends its name to the
entire 1,500-mile-long Hawaiian archipelago -- is where Mother
Nature pulled out all the stops. Simply put, it's spectacular. The
Big Island has it all: fiery volcanoes and sparkling waterfalls,
black-lava deserts and snowcapped mountain peaks, tropical rain
forests and alpine meadows, a glacial lake and miles of golden,
black, and green sand beaches.
The Big Island has an unmatched diversity of terrain and climate. A
50-mile drive will take you from snowy winter to sultry summer,
passing through spring or fall along the way. The island looks like
the inside of a barbecue pit on one side, and a lush jungle on the
other. The Big Island is the largest island in the Hawaiian chain
(4,038 sq. miles -- about the size of Connecticut), the youngest
(800,000 years), and the least populated (with 30 people per sq.
mile). It has the nation's wettest city, the southernmost point in
the United States, the world's biggest telescope, the ocean's
biggest trophy marlin, and America's greatest collection of luxury
resorts. It also has the highest peaks in the Pacific, the most
volcanoes of any Hawaiian island, and the newest land on earth.
Five volcanoes -- one still erupting -- have created this
continental island, which is growing bigger daily. At its heart is
snowcapped Mauna Kea, the world's tallest sea mountain (measured
from the ocean floor), complete with its own glacial lake. Mauna
Kea's nearest neighbor is Mauna Loa (or "Long Mountain"), creator of
one-sixth of the island; it's the largest volcano on earth, rising
30,000 feet out of the ocean floor (of course, you can see only the
13,796 ft. that are above sea level).
The Big Island is not for everyone, however. It refuses to fit the
stereotype of a tropical island. Some tourists are taken aback at
the sight of stark fields of lava or black-sand beaches. You must
remember that it's big (expect to do lots of driving). And you may
have to go out of your way if you're looking for traditional
tropical beauty, such as a quintessential white-sand beach.
This is the least-explored island in the Hawaiian chain, but if
you're looking to get away from it all and back to nature in its
most primal state, that might be the best thing of all about it.
Where else can you witness fiery creation and swim with dolphins;
ponder the stars from the world's tallest mountain and catch a blue
marlin; downhill ski and surf the waves in a single day? You can do
all this, and more, on only one island in the world: the Big Island
of Hawaii. |
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