10 Non-Touristy Things to Do on the Big Island

1. Go Hiking

There are a ton of trails on the Big Island to literally get off the beaten path and likely not see another soul. 

Here are a few quiet hikes to look at:

• Kahuku Unit (Ka’u) — This is my favorite place to hike as the terrain varies so much. You’ll wander through rolling pastureland, lava fields, and old ranch roads. Technically it’s part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
  
• Makaula O’oma Trail (Kona) — This figure-8 shaped trail winds through the only dry winter tropical cloud forest in the US.
  
• Kalopa State Recreation Area (Hamakua) — There aren’t any major view points on these trails but you’ll be enveloped in a lush tropical forest, just you and the trees.

💁‍♀️ Be sure to wear good walking shoes and layers (it can get surprisingly chilly in the mountains), and enough water and snacks.

2. Chill at Small Beaches

Locals love to hit up the beaches just as much as any tourist, but they know where to find the smaller and quieter ones. 

Here are a few lesser known beaches:

• Kawa Beach – hike 5-10 minutes to a secluded, expansive black sand beach
• Old Kona Airport Beach – salt and pepper sand beach with lava pads in downtown Kona
• Wawaloli Beach Park – salt and pepper sand beach with large lava rocks for tidepooling

3. Shop Farmers Markets

Ok, so some farmers markets on the island ARE touristy, like Hilo Farmers Market and Kona Village Farmers Market. 

However, people will shop at their local farmers markets to pick up their weekly fresh produce and food goods from their neighbors. 

Some farmers markets that will have less souvenir-type goods:

• OKK Market (Naalehu)
• Makuʻu Farmers Market (Pahoa)
• Pure Kona Green Market (Captain Cook)

Other weekly markets: 

• Food Truck Friday Kailua Kona
• Hilo Town Night Market 

4. Eat Hawaiian Foods Like a Local

If you don’t want to pay the big bucks of going out to eat or attending a luau to try Hawaiian foods, do as the locals do. 

You can find a decent poke bowl from the seafood departments in grocery stores, like Foodland or KTA, for half the price of normal poke shops. 

Same with malasadas in the bakery departments (though they aren’t nearly as good as Punalu’u Bake Shop’s, imo).

If you’re looking for a snack-on-the-go, you’ll often find warm musubis waiting for you at gas stations.

L&L Hawaiian is a go-to for “fast food” Hawaiian plates. 

5. Attend Local Events & Theatre

If you time your trip right, you can attend a number of local events happening around the island throughout the year. 

Seasonal Events: 

• Cherry Blossom Festival (Feb)
• Merrie Monarch Festival (April) 
• Ironman World Championship (Oct)
• Kona Coffee Festival (Nov)
• Christmas parades (Dec)

Concerts and Live Theatre At: 

• Palace Theatre (Hilo)
• Aloha Theatre (Kealakekua)
• Kahilu Theatre (Waimea)

Recurring Entertainment:

• Uncle Robert’s Night Market
• Holualoa’s First Friday Art After Dark
• Trivia night and karaoke at breweries/bars

6. Go Surfing

The Big Island isn’t known for its great surfing conditions.

If you are a beginner, Kahalu’u Beach is about the only place to take a surf lesson on the Kona side and rent surf boards right on the beach.

Locals have their own spots around the island, some that are incredibly dangerous.

However, there are a couple of beaches where you can join locals on the waves with a surfboard rental from places like Kona Boys or Kahalu’u Surf & Sea. 

• Pine Trees Surfing Beach (Kona) – park along this long skinny salt and pepper beach wherever looks good to you. No lifeguard on this beach
• Honoli’i Beach Park (Hilo) – black sand beach with cooler waters. Lifeguard is on duty.

⚠️ Be aware that you’ll find more rocks and coral than sand under these waters.

7. Shop Thrift Stores & Antique Shops

Instead of hitting up souvenir and gift shops to find kitschy knickknacks that will just gather dust when you get home, you could hit up thrift stores and antique shops instead.

Thrift stores are great for finding useful items that you can use everyday back home, and every time you use it, you’ll think of the Big Island.

I’ve also found that they are also a good source to find aloha shirts and Tommy Bahama clothing at a fraction of retail prices.

What’s unique on the Big Island is that there are even some thrift stores next to the transfer stations (aka dump). So before items end up at the landfill, they have one last chance at adoption.

Some transfer stations with a thrift store to check out are:

• Waiohinu Transfer Station Reuse Center
• Kealakehe Transfer Station and Recycling Center

Antique shops will carry historical items, like old Hawaii and some with Asian influence that harken back to the sugar plantation days.

Some antique shops I like are:

• Discovery Antiques (Kealakekua)
• Calabash Collectibles (Waimea)
• The Knickknackery Antiques And Collectibles Hawaiiana (Hilo)
• Honoka’a Treasure Mall (Honokaa)

8. Go Fishing

While there are plenty of fishing boat tours to take, you could also bring your own fishing poles and fish from the ocean shores like locals do. 

While the types of fish you could catch are endless, some common ones are:

• Moana (goatfish)
• Moi (Pacific threadfin)
• Oio (bonefish)
• Papio (small trevally)

Nothing beats catching your own fish and cooking it over a barbecue the same day!

Nonresidents will need to get a relatively inexpensive permit to fish.

9. Pick Coffee

We all know that visiting a coffee farm is a must-do activity on the Big Island, but if you want to take it a step further, during harvest season (July-Dec), you could take a day to handpick coffee cherries from the trees. 

There are different ways to go about this. 

You could pay a farm to give you a taste of what it’s like. UCC Hawaii will “let you” pick coffee on their farm for 10 minutes for $30pp. 

Or, you could GET PAID to pick coffee cherries. I know that Sacred Grounds and Miranda’s have let people come for the day to pick and they pay by the pound. 

Ask around and you’ll find other coffee farms that will let you pick for the day as coffee farmers need all the help they can get. 

You’ll get a new found appreciation for your morning coffee after discovering firsthand how much effort goes into picking each bean. I know I did!

10. Walk a Shelter Dog

Hawaii Island Humane Society has a Field Trips for Shelter Dogs program that lets you take a shelter dog out for the day.

It’s a chance to give them a break from the shelter and an opportunity for them to potentially meet their future family as walking them will spark conversations with passerbys. 

While I am all for this program, I am not excited that the humane society charges a (not cheap) fee for this favor you’re doing them.