REJUVENATING NEW WELLNESS HAPPENINGS AND MORE ON THE ISLAND OF HAWAIʻI
REJUVENATING NEW WELLNESS HAPPENINGS AND MORE ON THE ISLAND OF HAWAIʻI
Island of Hawai‘i Visitors Bureau Media Contact:
Cheyenne Gomez, (808) 539-3409, [email protected]
Island of Hawai‘i (June 5, 2023) — The start of the summer season means more exciting, relaxing and rejuvenating events, activities and offerings on the island of Hawai‘i. Whether you’re looking for a fun, exhilarating adventure-packed experience or a quiet, relaxing vacation, you’ll find lots to do on Hawai‘i Island this summer. Don’t miss all the new events and activities on your next visit, especially calming wellness experiences sating your health and well-being.
Read on to learn more about what’s in store on the island of Hawai‘i for your summer vacation.
ACTIVITIES
Big Island Coffee Roasters, known for its Espresso Bites and wide variety of intricately handcrafted, roasted-to-order Hawai‘i-grown coffee, is opening its first public roastery in July. Born from a desire to serve the company’s longtime customers and coffee club members, Big Island Coffee Roasters new roastery will include a tasting room, cafe and retail shop where spectators can book immersive tasting tours, order specialty espresso and coffees, sip on māmaki tea and more. The roastery location borders Queen Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens in Hilo. For more information, visit https://bigislandcoffeeroasters.com/.
Enjoy a cold, deep-ocean-water foot soak at Kona Sea Salt Farm in the Hawai‘i Ocean Science and Technology Park (HOST). The salt farm’s foot soak incorporates a full cold-water plunge in mineral-rich, cold-flowing water drawn to the ocean surface at 52 degrees Fahrenheit from centuries-old deep-sea currents. Now with 10 individual foot soak stations in Kona Sea Salt’s foot-soak cabana, individuals or groups can add the activity to a salt farm tour or culinary event. HOST is located a few miles south of the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole. For more information or to book, visit https://konaseasalt.com/pages/the-farm or email [email protected].
Refresh your mind and body exploring Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park via e-bike with Bike Volcano. The company’s e-bike rentals include four to six hours of GPS-enhanced audio tours while exploring up to 21 miles of bike trails at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Guests can park at Bike Volcano’s shop in Volcano Village to pick up their e-bike between 10 a.m. and noon, then head to the park’s bike trail less than a mile away to explore trails at their leisure. An early booking special includes a $10 discount per person with use of the promo code FLASH23. For more information or to book a rental, visit www.bikevolcano.com or call (808) 934-9199.
Mauna Kea Spa by Mandara invites all looking to take care of their health and enhance their wellness to experience its guided spa journeys designed to restore personal balance. Each spa journey is curated and customizable to transport the mind and spirit to destinations across the globe from Asia to the Mediterranean. For more information or to book an experience, visit https://www.maunakearesort.com/play/wellness/spa-salon.
Polynesian Adventure Tours welcomes guests to join its Volcano Adventure Tour to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park to see two of the world’s most active (but as of this writing, not currently erupting) volcanoes, Kīlauea and Maunaloa. Accompanied by a local guide, tour guests learn the mo‘olelo (stories) and legacy of Hawaiian fire goddess Pele, view the massive expanse of Kīlauea's summit, Halema‘uma‘u Crater, visit steam vents and explore the interior of Nāhuku lava tube. The tour also includes a walk through a lush North Hilo coastline rainforest on the trail to breathtaking ʻAkaka Falls. Roundtrip transportation is available from Hilo hotels, and a takeout lunch and chilled bottle of water is included. Polynesian Adventure Tour’s Volcano Adventure Tour is offered five days a week from June through early September. For more information, call (808) 833-3000 or visit www.polyad.com.
Situated on 1,800 acres along the Kohala Coast, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel offers once-in-a-lifetime nature experiences such as its Manta Night Swims. When the sky turns dark and night sets in, graceful manta rays come to feed in front of the hotel in Kauna‘oa Bay. Mauna Kea Beach Hotel guests can book the Manta Night Swim experience with Manta Ray Advocates for a private nighttime snorkel to learn about these beautiful marine creatures as they swim in illuminated waters and feed on tiny krill attracted to the light. Manta Ray Advocates was created to serve and educate the public about the ocean, marine life, and manta rays. For more information, visit https://www.maunakearesort.com/play/island-activities.
The public is invited to experience the art of mo‘olelo (storytelling) outside under the night sky at King Kamehameha Kona Beach Resort throughout the summer. Travellers and residents can listen to mo‘olelo while enjoying s’mores roasted on a bonfire. S’more kits are available for purchase at the hotel’s Billfish Poolside Bar and Grille. For more information and upcoming mo‘olelo dates, call (808) 329-2911 and/or visit https://konabeachresort.com/experiences/.
Waikoloa Beach Resort Golf, a 27-hole golf experience on the island of Hawai‘i, offers family golf every day after 3 p.m. Families can play nine holes on the Kings’ Course for as little as $25 per junior golfer (ages six to 17) with free rental clubs included. Adult admission (ages 18 and older) is $50 per person plus $25 each for rental clubs. A family of four can play for $200. Fees include a shared cart, bottled water and unlimited use of Waikoloa Beach Resort Golf’s practice facilities on your group’s days of play. Fees exclude Hawaiʻi State tax. Visit WaikoloaGolf.Com or call (808) 886-7888 to book tee times.
“‘Ohi Wai,” a new documentary produced by Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, shares the importance of lava tubes in Hawaiian culture and natural ecosystems. Created for the park’s ʻIke Hana Noʻeau (Experience the Skillful Work) film series, the 10-minture documentary reveals how lava tubes were once conduits for torrents of molten lava and once the lava stopped flowing, an empty lava tube, or cave, was left behind. The video is viewable on the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park website, YouTube and on Big Island Television alongside other videos in the ʻIke Hana Noʻeau series. The park created the videos for everyone looking to learn more about Hawaiian culture, including native Hawaiians seeking to reconnect to their culture. For more information or to watch the video, visit https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/historyculture/ike-hana-noeau-film.htm?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery.
This summer at Mauna Lani, keiki (kids) can embrace the spirit of play at the resort’s tennis courts, fairways and Surf Shack, creating teams and going for the win with coaching tips from pros at Kainalu Ocean Sports, Golf and Tennis. Coaching is available for hotel guests interested in tennis, pickleball golf and canoe racing, ages five through 12, on July 2 and August 6. For more information, visit https://aubergeresorts.com/maunalani/one-of-a-kind-experiences/.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Join in at Pu‘uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park on June 24, from 9 a.m. to 3 pm., for the park’s Hawaiian Cultural Festival and 62nd anniversary celebration. The event will include cultural demonstrations and talks, educational displays and hālau hula (hula school) performances. For more information, visit https://www.nps.gov/puho/planyourvisit/calendar.htm.
In the late 1980s, Mauna Lani, in partnership with O‘ahu-based marine and wildlife center Sea Life Park, established the Mālama Honu, Mālama Honua green sea turtle conservation program. Based on the belief that caring for Earth’s wildlife benefits the well-being of our entire planet, the program explores the ecology and biology of the endemic Hawai‘i species important to Hawaiian culture. Open to the public, Mauna Lani’s Honu Lagoon allows an up-close look at this large species of sea turtle. Green sea turtle hatchlings are raised and nurtured in the resort’s lagoon and eventually released into the ocean each year on July 4, the resort’s Turtle Independence Day. For more information, visit https://aubergeresorts.com/maunalani/culture-heritage/ or call (855) 550-5008.
Celebrate Hawaiian culture at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park’s 39th annual Hawaiian Cultural Festival, held in the beautiful Kahuku Unit in Kaʻū on July 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Enjoy Hawaiian music by Kenneth Makuakāne and Russell Mauga and experience traditional ‘oli (chant) and hula (dance) while learning a Hawaiian craft. The fun-filled, family-friendly day shares the connection of Hawaiian people to the ʻāina (land). Kahuku is on the mauka (inland) side of Highway 11 near mile marker 70.5, a 50-minute drive south of the park’s main entrance. Food and refreshments will be available for sale. Water, raingear and sun protection are recommended. Open to the public, entrance into the Kahuku Unit and all festival events are free. Visit www.nps.gov/hawaiivolcanoes for more info.
Summer Jam returns to the Hilo Civic Auditorium on July 29. The free, family-friendly event features local food trucks from Eat the Street Hilo, an ‘ohana (family) health fair, keiki (kids) games and experiences, a bus pull, and strongman and strongwoman contests. For more information, visit https://bisac.org/.
The 61st Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) is set for August 5-13, with its five days of competitive deep-sea fishing happening off the Kona Coast, August 7-11. Teams and anglers from around the world are expected to return to Kona to experience the tournament’s annual tradition of marlin fishing aboard some of the coast’s top charter boats. New to this year’s HIBT is a Four Flag Tournament set for August 2-4. The HIBT Four Flag Tournament is a light tackle, 30-lb. test line, fishing tournament focused on four marlin species. For more information including team registration, visit www.hibtfishing.com.
Held annually during the Labor Day holiday weekend, the Queen Lili‘uokalani Canoe Race is the world’s largest long-distance outrigger-canoe race. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, from August 31 through September 4, the race will bring paddlers from around the world to Kona’s offshore waters to complete. In addition to its spotlight races, the event also includes a torchlight parade and an awards lū‘au. For more information, visit www.qlcanoerace.com.
King Kamehameha Kona Beach Resort’s Hawaiian Crafters Fair offers opportunities to meet with local crafters and artisans and browse and purchase their handcrafted goods — everything from clothing to jewelry, dishware and more. Happening several days each week, the craft fair is set to run throughout the summer. For more information or to find fair dates and times, visit https://konabeachresort.com/event/hawaiian-crafters/2023-06-04/.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Hilton Waikoloa Village resort has opened its newly refreshed Kona Pool. The property’s largest pool features a hot tub, views of the surrounding landscape, a sand-bottom kids pool, a scenic rope bridge, casabellas offering a shady place to lounge, and the Kona Pool Bar for poolside cocktails and refreshments. Guests can also rent out four brand-new oceanfront cabanas, each constructed with reclaimed ironwood from fallen trees near the resort’s Palace Tower. Arriving guests are also now greeted by a colorful monument spelling out the word aloha, which was designed, fabricated and installed in-house by the hotel’s property operations and landscaping teams. For more information, visit www.HiltonWaikoloaVillage.com.
The Hilo Beach House Inn sits steps away from Onekahakaha Beach in Hilo on the island of Hawai‘i. Guests at the boutique inn can enjoy fitness classes in its outdoor atelier, including yoga, Pilates and salsa dance classes, or simply rest and relax at the property. Travelers considering a stay at the inn this summer are invited to use the discount code SUM23 when booking three nights or more in one of the property’s oceanfront or garden view rooms. For more information or to book, visit www.hilobeachhouse.net or call (808) 933-3933.
Hilton Waikoloa Village’s Culinary Summer Camp is an opportunity for students and individuals exploring the culinary and hospitality industries to gain experience in a high-performing resort kitchen. The paid internship program —running from June through August and now accepting applications — offers participants comprehensive training and mentoring as they work alongside skilled professionals. Participants will also receive a competitive wage for their work, a $500 bonus and a recommendation from Hilton Waikoloa Village’s hotel manager upon successful completion of the program. To apply, individuals can call (808) 889-2819 or meet with a recruiter on the property at Hilton Waikoloa Village's Human Resources office. For more information about Hilton Waikoloa Village and its Culinary Summer Camp, visit https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/koahwhh-hilton-waikoloa-village/.