Horseback riding, snorkeling, hiking, observatories, the big island has it all.

When most people think of the big island of Hawaii, they will inevitably think of one of several things: lava flows, observatories, and the Ironman competition. These are all great things to see and experience on the big island, however, there are many more things to do.

Cowboys and Horseback Riding: Few people know that paniolos (Hawaiian cowboys) have been around as long as the American cowboy. If you want to take your family on a Hawaii vacation of a different sort, then consider going inland, driving north to the towns of Waimea or Honokaa. In these towns, you will find the gentle spirit of the Hawaiian people alluring and make you want to kick back and stay a while. Around the American holiday of Memorial Day (late May), you can watch the annual Hawaii Saddle Club Rodeo begin in Honokaa. At this event, you can watch paniolos display their skills in various cow handling techniques. While visiting these towns, you can go to Dahana Ranch and learn to ride, rope and herd. You can also go on a cattle drive or take a trail ride through the Waipio Valley.

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving: For some truly awesome diving experiences on the big island of Hawaii, you must check the following out. At Garden Eel Cove, manta rays gather regularly to feed on plankton. These beautiful sea animals with wingspans exceeding 20 feet, provide quite a show as they dive, loop and swirl thru the water, seeking food. If you would like to dive to coral meadows, steep slopes, and gentle hillocks to see Achilles tangs, crown-of-thorn starfish, huge sea urchins and Hawaiis state fish -the humuhumu-nukunuku-a-pua'a- then visit Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park . This park is a short drive south of Kona. For the family that likes snorkeling, you must check out Kealakekua Bay. This is the famous bay where Captain Cook and his ship perished on the lava rocks hidden under the water. This bay has beautiful rococo coral gardens and a vast array of submarine life. If you are lucky and you go early enough in the morning, you may be able to swim with dolphins here!

Hiking: The big island offers some gorgeous hikes. If you would like to go hiking or camping , go into Hawaii Volcano National Park and speak to a ranger about trails that are open and whether you need a permit or not.

Observatories and peak bagging: Want to say you climbed one of the world's highest volcanic peeks? The big island of Hawaii has two of them. Mauna Loa (13,678 ft.) offers a 19 mile hike that can give you quite a different experience than any other you ever had on Hawaii. You will experience subartic conditions, but rangers from Hawaii Volcano National Park have kindly built a hut system along the way for you to take shelter. You will need to obtain a free permit before you go. If you would like to take a drive up to the visitor's center on Mauna Kea you can use their telescope to take a look at the heavens.

If you have a rental vehicle, you will not be able to drive up to Keck observatory, however you can find other ways like hitching a ride with someone else or hiking the 6 miles up. (Actually, you can take a rental up it. But since you have to sign a waiver stating you will not take your car up the Mauna Kea trail, then you will assume all risk and liability if you burn out your brakes or damage the car on your way up or down the steep road). At the top of Mauna Kea you may be able to get into the world famous Keck Observatory and get a tour. You should call in advance and find out when you can actually have an open tour. You can find out more information about that by clicking here. As you can see there are a number of adventurous things to do on the big island of Hawaii. You just gotta do it!

Big Island, Hawaii Map