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Big Island

The Big Island of Hawaii is almost twice as big as all the other Hawaiian Islands put together.

Although  the Big Island is the largest island, it is also the least populated per square mile. Kilauea, the world's most active Volcano resides here and is home to the legendary Hawaiian goddess, Pele.  It's the hottest attraction!!

Today, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HVNP) is the country's 13th National Park and Hawaii's #1 visitor attraction.

The Park is located 30 miles southwest of Hilo and 96 miles southeast of Kona. It's open year-round, 24 hours a day.

Like many Hawaiin Islands, the Big Island of Hawaii has a wet and a dry side. In fact it can boast eleven of the 14 known climate zones in the world - from desert to tropical rain forests to beaches to snow on top of volcanoes.

Hilo is on the wet side and is where the airport is located. The most popular destination is Kona which is on the dry side.

Facts:

Total area - 4,038 sq. miles
size - 93 miles long and 76 miles wide
coastline - 266 miles of coastline
population - over 120,000 residents
highest point - Mauna Kea at 13,796 ft above sea leve

note:  Mauna Loa is 13,680 feet above sea level and over 31,000 feet when measured from its rise on the ocean floor - making it the tallest mountain in the world from base to summit.

Driving Times:

Kona to Hilo 2 hours, 15 minutes
Kona to Waimea 1 hour
Kona to Hawi/North Kohala 1 hour, 20 minutes
Kona to Volcano 2 hours, 30 minutes
Kona to Na'alehu / South Point 1 hour, 40 minutes

Hilo to Kona 2 hours, 15 minutes
Hilo to Waimea 1 hour, 20 minutes
Hilo to Hawi/North Kohala 2 hours
Hilo to Volcano 45 minutes
Hilo to Na'alehu / South Point 1 hour, 30 minutes

Waimea to Kona 1 hour
Waimea to Hilo 1 hour, 20 minutes
Waimea to Hawi/North Kohala 35 minutes
Waimea to Volcano 2 hours, 10 minutes
Waimea to Na'alehu / South Point 2 hours, 40 minutes