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Hilo Town, on the rainy east side of the Big Island has many fun and interesting things to do and see. You can spend a day or more experiencing Hilo.
Hilo sights and restaurants are spread out and are best seen with a car or hired taxi. You can rent a car at Hilo airport or near the Hilo harbor within walking distance to the cruise ship docks. If you are driving around the island from the west side, there isn't much time to spend in Hilo, particularily if the trip includes other stops. Stay a night or two in Hilo or nearby Volcano to allow enough time to experience the town before driving back to the west side.
If it is raining in Hilo, there are many fun and kid-friendly in-door things to see like 'Imiloa Astronomy Center, NOAA's MokuPapapa Discovery Center, The Pacific Tsumani Museum, and Lyman House and Museum. Most of Hilo's downtown area and the Farmer's market are covered to protect from the rain.
The rain in Hilo usually doesn't last long, so don't assume the day is going to stay rainy.
The free tropical parks, Liliuokalani Gardens and Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens, are wonderful ways to spend a couple of hours in Hilo.
If you are staying in Hilo for a while, check out events going on around town:
If you are hungry, there are lots of interesting places to eat with Hawaiian, Asian, American, and European foods served. Hilo Eats has a review of restaurants in Hilo to help you decide.
Liliuokalani Gardens, Coconut Island and Banyon drive are located together and there is no charge to visit or park. Liliuokalani Gardens are 30 acres of ponds, bridges, sculpture, grass, flowers and trees located on Hilo Bay. The park is the largest Edo-style Japanese garden outside of Japan and has paths that wander throughout the park. A Japanese tea house is located in the park, as well as bathrooms and benches to sit in the park and along the shore. If it is raining you will get wet, but we enjoy walking there in the rain all the time. There are covered areas that you can sit and enjoy the park and Hilo Bay even and stay dry.
Coconut island is next to the Liliuokalani Gardens and reached by crossing over a bridge. The island has a walkway around the island. You can walk around the island and take a swim in one of the little coves on the island. The picture below is a view of Coconut Island from a Hilo Hawaiian Hotel room. There are covered picnic areas on the island as well as restrooms.
Banyon drive runs next to the Liliuokalani Gardens and is the street where most of the hotels in Hilo are located. Huge banyon trees line the street, each has a sign with the name of a famous person that planted the tree. The most famous tree is Babe Ruth's Tree. If it is raining you can duck into one of the hotel lobbies along the road. Our favorite hotel is the Hilo Hawaiian hotel which has a comfortable lobby and nice bay view rooms.
At the other end of Liliuokalani Park is Suisan Fish market, a retail outlet of the largest fish distributor in Hawaii. The local fisherman bring their catch to the dock early in the morning.
The store displays a wide variety of colorful fish caught in the pacific ocean as well as reef fish. A tiny grill on the outside of the store serves fresh made fish sandwiches for lunch which makes a great picnic in the park.
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Rainbow Falls is located up above Hilo on Waianuenue drive. It is a beautiful water fall with varying amounts of water depending on recent rainfall. You can climb a staircase up above the falls and see the top of the water fall. Further up the road is Boiling pots where you can see the swirling water heading toward the water fall. Rainbow falls is free.
Rainbow falls is free, there is plenty of parking, and there are rest rooms. The last time we were there, a woman played ukulele as we watched the beautiful water fall.
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Hilo's Farmer's Market is world renown. Tropical fruits, vegetables and flowers can be purchased that are not available on the mainland. Farmer's market is open every day; Sundays and Wednesdays, the farmer's market expands to a huge arts and crafts market. Just wandering through the market is educational and a lot of fun watching the local growers hawk their produce.
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'Imiloa Astronomy Center is an astronomy and Hawaiian culture facility funded mostly by NASA and located above the University of Hawaii Hilo campus. The center has astronomy displays, films, and exhibits; a room dedicated to movies projected on a globe, and the world's only 3D planetarium. Due to the large number of telescopes on Mauna Kea and the concentration of observatory management operations located in Hilo, the center also features a telescope control console. You can see the glint of the telescopes on Mauna Kea from Hilo on clear days. Check the show times and fees for the center. The cafe is great and you can get to it without having to pay the entrance fee.
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Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens is the only tropical zoo in the US and features a Bengal tiger named Namaste. Namaste is fun to watch and the garden paths are lined with colorful birds, tropical flowers and and folliage. Peacocks roam around the grounds. There is a petting zoo for the kids- check for their website for days that it is open. The park is free with plenty of parking, picnic tables, and benches. There are strollers for rent, toilets and a gift shop.
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Downtown Hilo Shops and Museums. Hilo's main street, Kamehameha Ave, is crammed with cafes, stores, and museums to browse. It is covered to protect from the rain.
On the Hilo Bay side of Kamehameha Street is the Visitors Information Center and bus stop. There is a bandstand in the park behind the Visitors center which features entertainment and music during the year.
Some of the fun Hilo downtown attractions are:
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East Hawaii Culture Center and Kalakaua Park are across from Hilo's downtown Post Office.. The Center is free and usually has multiple art shows. If you are going to be in town a while, the center has a calendar of events, workshops, and performances.
Kalakaua Park is in front of the East Hawaii Culture Center and dedicated to King David Kalakaua, one of the Hawaiian monarchs and a great patron of the arts. His statue is prominent in the center of the park. The park also has a war memorial.
Up the road from the park is the famous Naha stone directly in front of the Hilo Library. It weighs nearly 500 pounds. There was a Hawaiian prophecy that the one that could lift the stone would unite the islands of Hawaii and legend is that King Kamehameha not only moved the stone but flipped it completely over when he was 14 years old. King Kamehameha I was the first monarch to rule all the islands.
A few blocks from the Naha Stone is the historic Lyman House and Museum with a huge collection of shells, rocks and historical displays.
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Big Island Candies factory is a local Hilo cookie maker that sends their goodies all over the world. They have a factory and store in Hilo where you can watch the cookies being made through big glass panels and sample them. The chocolate dipped short bread is decadent and delicious.
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