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The pleated green cliffs of the Nā Pali Coast falling into a blue ocean, with small boats below, on Kauaʻi

Sample journey · 10–12 days

Hawaiʻi: Kauaʻi's cliffs and the Big Island's fire

Hanalei, the Nā Pali Coast, Waimea Canyon, Kīlauea, Kona & Mauna Kea

Photo: Pam Lim / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

The Hawaiian islands formed one after another as the Pacific plate slid over a hotspot, so each is a different age. Kauaʻi is the oldest of the main islands: over millions of years the rain has carved its slopes into the pleated Nā Pali cliffs and the deep Waimea Canyon, while in the Hanalei valley taro fields grow green beneath mountains threaded with waterfalls. The island of Hawaiʻi, known as the Big Island, is the youngest: here the Kīlauea volcano is still making new land, and Mauna Kea, measured from the ocean floor, is the tallest mountain on earth.

This journey links the two islands and suits couples and honeymooners: quiet mornings on Hanalei Bay, a boat along the Nā Pali Coast, a night snorkel with manta rays off Kona and a sunset above the clouds. The stays, from a house on a bluff above the ocean to an exceptional resort on the Kona coast, are chosen around how you'd like to spend your time. There's activity enough, coastal trails, kayaks, walks across cooled lava, but you always set the pace.

The route

The journey

  1. Kauaʻi: Hanalei & the north shore
  2. The Nā Pali Coast
  3. Waimea Canyon & Poʻipū
  4. Hilo
  5. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
  6. The Kona coast
  7. Mauna Kea
  1. Calm Hanalei Bay with a few sailing boats, palms and green mountains on Kauaʻi's north shore

    01Days 1–4 · Hanalei & Kauaʻi's north shore

    A bay beneath the waterfalls

    After the long flight into Līhuʻe, about an hour's drive north and three nights near Hanalei. The bay is wide and calm, especially in summer, and behind it rise mountains down which dozens of waterfalls run after rain; in the valley grow taro fields that Hawaiian families have worked for generations. Mornings bring a paddleboard or kayak on the Hanalei River, afternoons the beaches, where, depending on the surf, you can snorkel among coral and sea turtles. At the end of the road, in Hāʻena State Park, the Kalalau Trail begins: the first few kilometres to Hanakāpīʻai Beach run along steep, often slippery stretches with views of the Nā Pali cliffs, and are best walked early.

  2. Mist drifting over the red and green slopes of Waimea Canyon on Kauaʻi

    02Days 4–6 · Nā Pali & Waimea Canyon

    Cliffs from the sea, a canyon from above

    About an hour and a half around the island to the sunny south shore near Poʻipū, and two nights here. One morning, a boat along the Nā Pali Coast: from the west side, the boat runs past cliffs hundreds of metres high, sea caves and valleys no road reaches. Dolphins often swim alongside, humpback whales in winter, and on a calm day there may be a stop to snorkel. In summer the sea is usually calmer; in winter the swell is bigger and some trips are cancelled. The next day, the road up to Waimea Canyon, whose red and green walls drop almost a kilometre, and at the end of the road, in Kōkeʻe State Park, lookouts gaze straight down into the Nā Pali valleys, best in the morning before the clouds build.

  3. Lava glowing at night beneath orange plumes on a crater floor in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

    03Days 6–8 · Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

    The home of Pele

    A short flight, usually via Honolulu, to Hilo on the Big Island, and about 45 minutes uphill to Volcano village. Two nights in a cabin among tree ferns and ʻōhiʻa trees at around 1,200 metres, where evenings are cool. In the park: the rim of Kīlauea's caldera, steam vents, the Thurston lava tube and the Kīlauea Iki trail across the floor of a solidified lava lake. When Kīlauea is erupting, the glow of Halemaʻumaʻu crater is often visible from the overlooks after dark; even so, volcanic activity changes, sometimes daily, and some roads and trails are closed. For Hawaiians, Halemaʻumaʻu is the home of Pele, goddess of volcanoes, so we behave with respect here and take nothing away. The next day, the Chain of Craters Road down to the ocean, where lava once poured into the sea.

  4. A manta ray seen from below at night, its pale spotted belly against black water off Kalaoa on the island of Hawaiʻi

    04Days 8–11 · The Kona coast

    Mantas in a circle of light

    About two and a half hours across the south of the island, past black-sand beaches where sea turtles often rest and coffee farms on the slopes, to the sunny Kona coast. Three nights here, perhaps at an exceptional resort among black lava fields and white coves. One evening belongs to the mantas: you head out with a guide after dark, snorkellers hold on to a lit float, and the light draws plankton and the manta rays, which glide just a few metres beneath you. The mantas appear here often, but never on cue. By day, Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, an ancient Hawaiian place of refuge we visit with respect, snorkelling in Kealakekua Bay, where dolphins are often seen, and slow evenings by the water.

  5. White observatory domes on the red summit of Mauna Kea, with a sea of cloud below

    05Days 11–12 · Mauna Kea

    Sunset above the clouds

    The final evening belongs to Mauna Kea. The mountain, whose summit rises more than 4,200 metres above the sea, is sacred to Hawaiians: in tradition, it is where earth and sky meet, and the observatories on the summit have long been contested. So we visit with a licensed guide who talks about both astronomy and the mountain's meaning for Hawaiians, and we keep to every request and rule. Sunset above a sea of cloud, then, lower down the slopes, stars through a telescope in a sky darker than almost anywhere in Europe. The high altitude isn't for everyone, so we discuss this day with you in advance. The next day, the flight home from Kona, usually via the US mainland.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Nā Pali from the sea

    Cliffs, sea caves and valleys no road reaches, often with dolphins alongside.

  2. 02

    Waimea Canyon

    Red and green walls, and at the end of the road, the Nā Pali valleys from above.

  3. 03

    Kīlauea after dark

    The crater's glow when the volcano is active, and a trail across a solidified lava lake.

  4. 04

    Mantas off Kona

    A night snorkel as the mantas glide through a circle of light.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • For a honeymoon

    More time in one place: four nights on Kauaʻi's north shore and a quiet resort in Kona, a private boat along the Nā Pali and dinner at sunset.

  • More active

    The full Kalalau Trail with a camping permit, a summer kayak along the Nā Pali or longer hikes in the volcano park, for well-prepared walkers only.

  • By season

    In summer the sea off the north shores is calmer and Nā Pali trips run more reliably; from December to April humpback whales are usually seen, but the swell is bigger.

  • With Maui or California

    A third island, Maui with Haleakalā, or a few days on the California coast on the way from Europe.

Practical considerations

  • Hawaiʻi is warm all year, but the weather varies greatly between the wet north and the dry south of each island; the sea off the north shores is usually calmest from roughly May to September.
  • Hāʻena State Park on Kauaʻi's north shore needs an advance reservation for entry or the shuttle, and camping on the Kalalau Trail needs a separate permit; places go quickly, so we check and book them early.
  • Kīlauea's activity and road and trail closures in the volcano park change, sometimes daily; we follow official updates before and during the trip.
  • The islands are linked by domestic flights, and a hire car is easiest on both. In some places, sacred, private or culturally sensitive, we follow local requests and visit only with a guide.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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