The Big Island's Sleepy East Coast is Waking Up

"Dusk settles over Hilo Bay, turning the sky a deep violet and the lingering wisps of clouds the same soft pink as the frangipani that scent the air. In the distance canoes glide across the calm waters, muddling the sky's iridescent reflection. A man gingerly hops across lava rocks, then deftly tosses his fishing net. Local kids perform flips and cannonballs off old stone diving towers."

"The scene transports me to a Hawaii of an earlier era. That is the magic of Hilo. The slow-paced city on the Big Island's less-trodden east side has been spared the slick development of the tourist-favored Kona District on the sun-drenched west coast. Cultural traditions aren't confined to museums or resorts here; they are very much still part of daily life."

Hilo and the Hāmākua Coast on the Big Island present verdant canyon-like gulches, waterfalls, wild rainforests, and calm bay waters alongside lava-rock shorelines and old stone diving towers. The east side maintains a slow-paced, old-school aloha vibe and has avoided the large-scale development seen on the Kona coast. Local cultural traditions remain part of daily life, and residents are promoting a community-focused, sustainable approach to tourism to prevent overcrowding. A burgeoning food scene highlights local foraging, fishing, hunting traditions and intimate culinary experiences that contrast visually and energetically with the island’s sun-drenched west side.

Read at Conde Nast Traveler