Uncategorized Archives

Traveler’s Blog

September 10, 2023 By Doug Arnott

Aloha all travellers who have booked at Arnotts Lodge…

As we are also avid travellers we have some tips for you in todays world of mass cancellations and disruptions to travel plans.

While Hawaii has generally been lucky, we have guests coming in late due to cancellations elsewhere, especially flights into Kona which then means guests simply cannot get to us in time for their first night.

Our No.1 Travel tip is BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE. It is relatively inexpensive compared to your overall trip cost and gives you peace of mind if you are caught up in a serial delay.

Many Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) do not refund under any circumstances as travel Insurance is readily available and both they and we could have booked someone else for your room who would not have been delayed and would have arrived on time….We kept our side of the contract and held your room…..Please buy travel Insurance…!!

Other aspects of arriving late include understanding that you may need food and Hilo is not a late-night town. We do have various takeout food outlets and all the usual delivery options as well as Uber and Lyft….we also keep some canned soups and microwaveable ramen for sale at the front desk. Safeway and Walmart are usually open until midnight and are only a few miles and less than 15 minutes by car from our Lodge. If you do not plan on getting a rental car make sure you study the free Bus Schedule (Hele-On Bus) as it does not run at night and we do not recommend walking around late at night unless you use reflective clothing and carry a flashlight.

The New Eruption of Mauna Loa

December 5, 2022 By Doug Arnott

On the evening of November 27th at 11:30 p.m., we were just getting ready to sleep when social media became alive with news of a lurid glow over Mauna Loa and that an eruption was in progress. This announcement followed months of increased activity after years of mild tremor recorded by sensitive instruments placed at strategic points on the mountain.

Of course in a very short time the Internet was flooded with pictures from 360 degrees around the mountain of very strong glow.

A quick visit to ever-patient HVO research Webcams on Mauna Loa’s NW corner of the Caldera Rim showed the entire Caldera of Moku’aweoweo flooded with very hot fresh Lava, and for a while it seemed like it would spill out the Southwest corner toward a very steep slope down toward South Kona communities and some residents even evacuated mindful of as little as 3 hours travel time from summit to sea.

Rivers of lava from Mauna Loa traveling towards Saddle Road.
Photo by Glory Arnott

In the morning of November 28th, some stunning footage began to appear on official and social media pages, including amazing footage from Paradise Helicopters’ early morning overflight of a breakout eruption on the old fissure line toward the Northeast, which includes historic flows toward the Mauna Kea turnoff and points East, including Hilo and a few miles short of Kea’au.

Everyone was on their devices getting updates as the flow developed and intensified, with high-volume fountaining and many rivers of lava headed downslope more or less toward about the 26 mile mark on the Saddle Road, or a few miles short of the Mauna Kea turnoff on the Hilo side.

As the hours went by, some fountains died while others sped up and a high volume of lava cut the access road to the Mauna Loa NOAA Observatory, a key player in monitoring CO2 in the atmosphere.

As of today, December 2nd, the fountaining has died down and the drain out to a lower 7000ft elevation has the flow stalled almost 3 miles from the highway.

View of the Mauna Loa eruption from Mauna Kea.
Photo by Andras Toth

Thousands of residents and visitors (some say 10,000 at a time), flocked to view the once in a lifetime spectacle and some have taken our Mauna Kea Sunset tour which gives a unique perspective from slightly HIGHER than the Eruption 25 miles across the Saddle between the two mountains. The last eruption of Mauna Loa was in 1984, 38 years ago. Right now is the first time in decades that both Mauna Loa and Kilauea are erupting at the same time.

Spectators on the summit of Mauna Kea have a fabulous view of the eruption of Mauna Loa.
Photo by David Collier

We have seen Photos or Images from Pro Cameras with huge lenses as well as iPhones and Androids, and all are spectacular…definitely as its night, your phone will catch colors but be a bit fuzzy on detail. Professional cameras on a tripod are producing AMAZING images and several webcams on Mauna Kea have been repositioned to catch elements of the eruption.

Land of Fire and Ice: our guide Andras captured this moment of snow on the summit of Mauna Kea while viewing the rivers of lava streaming from Mauna Loa.
Photo by Andras Toth

Here at Arnott’s Lodge we have a few rooms available at more affordable prices than larger fully staffed Hotels AND we have daily space on our Mauna Kea Sunset tours that now include an overview of this amazing Eruption As you visit Hawaii please be aware that the world is short-staffed right now, so be patient with Airport Staff, Stores, Restaurants and yes, even at our Hotel, especially if you are arriving late as we also are short-staffed and may be personally checking you in.

Please also be aware that If Hawaii Island was a football field this eruption is taking up less area than a Hot Dog Stand. There is NO risk to your safety right now.

A twilight view of the eruption of Mauna Loa
Photo by Sarah Garcia

Updates Around Arnott’s Lodge

September 25, 2020 By Sarah Garcia

Aloha friends!

We hope all of you are staying safe and healthy. These are challenging times for everyone. I think we all have our sights set on that future when things will begin to feel safe and secure again.

In preparation for that time, we here at Arnott’s Lodge have been busily beautifying, renovating, and repairing our home. We hope that when the time comes that guests can begin to move about freely again we can provide the safe, clean, secure place that we’ve always provided, but as bright and beautiful as we can make it.

Douglass Arnott, owner of Arnott’s Lodge, showing our new upgraded WIFI

Our staff have worked hard to improve and perfect our surroundings in the recent months. We’ve renovated our outside stairwell, replaced carpeting in several rooms, touched up tile, and spruced up shelving. We’ve corrected concrete cracks, power-washed, scrubbed, and re-arranged. We’ve fixed fencing and re-painted walls. We’ve looked through the lodge and found the things that could use a little love and given them our undivided attention. We think the result of all of this effort is a place with even more character and charm for our guests: a shining gem in Hilo.

Mindy helps keep Arnott’s clean and vibrant.

Andras spent several weeks sanding and re-finishing all of our wooden tables and benches, as well as finishing our gorgeous new mango-wood counter at our reception area after Leo helped us install it.

Andras sanding and refinishing all of our wooden furniture.

Leo, Doug and Glory assess our new mangowood counter.

Jasmine deep-cleaned and showed some love to all of our tour vehicles.

Ed, Donna, Jasmine, Siobhan, Lauren, and Sarah have been working to add some painted charm to many areas of the lodge.

Ed paints the wall of our men’s dormitory.

Jasmine painted so many beautiful signs.

Siobhan adding charm and flair to the women’s dormitory.

Lauren with her Hawaiian compass at our front desk.

Mike has helped in every area to brighten our walls and appliances where they need it.

Mike helped paint so many areas of the lodge.

Mike hangs bananas grown at Arnott’s Lodge.

Donna and Bear have contributed to the island by organizing trash cleanups at local beach parks.

David and Traven have assisted us in creating new and improved manuals for our tour guides so that we can continue to provide the best tours possible.

As you can see, we’ve been busy! We will always be improving and planning and creating here at Arnott’s Lodge. This pandemic was unexpected and unwelcome but we will use this time to look towards a better future and as always, do the best we can.

Wherever you’re from and wherever you’re headed:
We look forward to seeing you soon on your next visit to Hilo!

Hau’oli Makahiki Hou from Arnott’s Lodge

January 3, 2020 By Doug Arnott

The Christmas Holidays have bought major occupancy back to Hilo hotels, along with the reopening of the Mauna Kea Summit road after a lengthy closure due to cultural differences over construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope. As we have provided free transport to the summit of Mauna Kea to cultural practitioners for the past 27 years, we understand their passion over this issue, which is not finished but on hiatus for the winter.

Winter weather in Hawaii usually means night temperatures can drop to the mid 60s F or 17 C with daytime temps still ranging from the mid 70s to 80s F or 23-28 C. This relatively minor change in yearly temperature averages is one of the golden reasons why Hawaii remains such an excellent year-round destination. Our modernized air-conditioning system and peaceful surroundings will keep you comfortable at all times.

Arnott’s Lodge is steadily adding solar! We currently have panels to run our water heating system and some of our electric needs.

Image result for Hawaiian winter — Photo of a sandy snowman from Oahu via Houston Style Magazine

Arnott’s guests, with directions from our Front Desk, have lately been enjoying sea turtles swimming at both Carlsmith and Richardson’s Beach Parks nearby. Some guests have spotted the big old turtle with the GPS antenna and reconstructed fiberglass shell (after he was attacked by a shark some years ago.) Some lucky guests may be able to see whales passing by as well! Humpback whales usually visit Hawaiian waters between November and May, with peak viewing opportunities about to begin in January. Our near neighbor with his collection of ducks, geese, and a parrot, and migratory visitors such as ducks and Golden Plovers from Alaska provide endless enjoyment for kids especially.

We’d like to wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and Arnott’s best wishes for the new year to come.

Author: Doug Arnott

Flying to Hawaii?

June 13, 2019 By Sarah Garcia

Some exciting changes have been going on with the airline offerings to Hawaii! First and foremost, Southwest Airlines has begun offering flights to Hawaii as of March 17^th. Their inaugural flight began with nonstop service from California to Honolulu. If you have ever scoped out flights to Hawaii, you may understand why this is big news. It means that Hawaiian Airlines will have some competition, which in turn means cheaper flights to Hawaii (win!) Southwest is even offering flights to the Big Island! One of their new airport stops is in Kailua-Kona, just a skip across the island from us. Check out their interactive flight map here.

The biggest question of the year: When will Southwest Airlines flights take off for Hawaii? And how much will it cost? Photo: Jim Glab — https://www.sfgate.com/chris-mcginnis/article/Southwest-Airlines-Hawaii-update-13311130.php#photo-15667712

Don’t get us wrong, we love Hawaiian Airlines. They’ve consistently offered the most options domestically to fly to Hawaii for a long time. They show wonderful aloha via their flight attendants and pilots, and can usually be counted on for good, reliable service.

Hawaiian Airlines eyes direct route from Honolulu to Fukuoka — https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/05/08/hawaiian-airlines-eyes-direct-route-honolulu-fukuoka/

With that being said, one of the reasons it can be hard to vacation in Hawaii is that the cost of flights to and from the mainland United States (not to mention internationally) can be prohibitive. The average cost from the continental U.S., Japan, and Australia has remained between $400 and $2,000, depending on airline and time of year.

That’s why everyone is loving the addition of Southwest Airlines to the mix. Southwest will bring some much-anticipated cost relief to domestic flights to and from Hawaii. At the time of writing this, Southwest is even offering an interisland flight deal for $49 on their home page. That’s not just a win for visitors, but for locals as well who are looking for flights between the islands. If you’re planning on using Southwest for a flight to Hawaii, we recommend booking in advance. As an example, a round trip flight from Portland, OR to Honolulu this month averages about $630, but if you book that same flight now for December, you could score a cost of $238.

Southwest and Hawaiian Airlines aren’t your only options for flights to Hawaii. If you live in the continental U.S., you can also find flights with Alaska Airlines and United Airlines as well. American Airlines and Delta have a few options, depending on your location, and there are others with inter-airline connections that could get you here.

https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/southwest-airlines-first-hawaii-flights-sale-cheap-flights

If you’re looking for international flights to Hawaii, check out Japan Airlines, Air New Zealand, Air China, Korean Air, Qantas, Philippine Airlines, jetBlue, China Eastern, Fiji Airways, and Singapore Airlines. Of course, our own Hawaiian Airlines offers some international flights as well, including direct flights to Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Pago Pago, Papeete, Sappon, Tokyo, and Seoul.

Some healthy competition between airlines can really benefit the customers. Everyone deserves a chance to see the paradise that is Hawaii, and we are looking forward to seeing what Southwest Airlines will bring.

Carlsmith beach park in Hilo on the Big Island of hawaii — https://www.lovebigisland.com/big-island-beaches/carlsmith-four-miles/

Author: S. Garcia

Hurricane Season in Hawaii

September 10, 2018 By Sarah Garcia

Guess what time of year it is! That’s right, it’s hurricane season in Hawaii!

Every year from the beginning of June to the end of November, Hawaii has its eyes on the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to Japan, watching for weather disturbances. The Central Pacific Basin, in which Hawaii squarely sits, is monitored constantly by NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.) Our busiest month for hurricanes is usually August, followed by September.

Let’s be real: Hawaii is in a blessed spot. Hurricanes rarely strike us directly, and there are some good scientific reasons for this. First, Hawaii is a small target in a big ocean. The Pacific is the largest and deepest ocean on the planet: it covers about 63 million square miles and contains more than half of the free water on earth. Hawaii is not a large landmass, so right off the bat, a hurricane would have to move just right in order to hit it. Second, Hawaii is protected by the cooler water of the Central Pacific. Hurricanes thrive in warmer waters, so they’re usually generated near the Mexican and Central American coastlines in the shallower water during the summer and early autumn months. As they’re pushed across the Pacific ocean towards the west by prevailing trade winds, they hit the cooler deeper water of the Central Pacific. (Click here to read more about “upwelling” and the process by which ocean temperatures change.) Once they hit that cooler water, these hurricanes become vulnerable to winds coming from other directions that can tear the storm apart. Why? Because the hurricane no longer has access to all of that easy evaporated water it had over warmer ocean waters. The evaporating water is its fuel. This is another reason why hurricanes tend to fall apart quickly once they make landfall. (NatGeo.)

An image of Hurricane Iselle in 2014, with Hurricane Julio just behind. Iselle was the first named storm to directly hit Hawaii since Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

If a hurricane follows a more southerly path, there’s a better chance of it reaching the islands. For example, Hurricane Iniki came from the south of the islands and swung northward just after it passed beneath us. It was able to keep feeding off of the warmer equatorial waters and maintain its strength.

The path of Hurricane Iniki.

Most of the time, the cooler waters brought down from Alaska into the Central Pacific kills or weakens any storm that attempts to approach from due east. It’s a fact that “Virtually every system approaching Hawaii from the east since 1950 tracking at least as far north as the latitude of the Big Island of Hawaii eventually weakened to a tropical storm or depression by the time it reached the islands.” (Weather.com.) However, in an El Nino year, the chance of a hurricane tracking within 100 miles of the islands increases by 13%. This is due to El Nino’s effect on ocean water temperatures. Both of Hawaii’s most recent destructive hurricanes (Iniki and Iselle) happened during El Nino years.

Image result for tracks of hurricanes near Hawaii

Looking at this image, it seems like a lot of hurricanes! But these are the tracks of the storms passing within 200 miles of Hawaii.

Tropical Storms and Hurricanes passing within 75 miles of Hawaii since 1950

This image, on the other hand, shows just how few storms actually come very close to us.

Back to reason number 3 why hurricanes rarely hit us directly: wind shear (or hurricane poison, as you could think of it) is usually stronger near the Hawaiian Islands. Wind shear is the rapid change in wind speed and/or direction over a short distance, and the wind shear around Hawaii is usually what takes hurricanes apart. It has also been posited that Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, the two giant volcanoes dominating the landscape of the Big Island, have an effect on wind circulation when storms attempt to make landfall here. Although they won’t have much effect from a distance, any storm that hits the Big Island directly will probably die a swift death.

It’s probable that due to climate change and the warming of the oceans, Hawaii will begin to see an increased number of storms. One current prediction is an increase of 15% per decade (Forbes.)

However, data is still being collected and only time will tell exactly how many heavy storms Hawaii could see in the future.
Don’t let this slow you down if you’re thinking of visiting! Hawaii is a wonderful place full of beauty and aloha, and big storms are still so rare here that the usual response of locals to dire weather predictions is humorous jokes. The key to hurricane preparedness is to stay informed and pay attention to the NHC.

By S. Garcia

Volcanoes of Hawaii

July 3, 2018 By Sarah Garcia

In lieu of the most recent fissure eruption in the Puna District of the Island of Hawai‘i, we want to clear up some confusion about our volcanoes. Unlike the rest of the volcanoes that surround the Ring of Fire, the Hawaiian Islands were and still are created by a hotspot magma chamber in the asthenosphere. Over this hotspot, the Pacific Tectonic Plate slowly moves. Due to this type of uprising of magma, our Hawaiian Islands form as shield volcanoes.

Hawaiian Hot Spot

So what is the big confusion? As most of the world is not familiar with the idea that there are many different types of volcanoes and lava flow events, one of the biggest things has been that many people have thought that the eruptions have been signs that we will be the next Mt. St. Helens or Mt. Vesuvius eruptions. THIS IS WRONG! Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Vesuvius are identified as Stratovolcanoes. Most stratovolcanoes are characterized by their steep slopes, explosive eruptions, and highly viscous, pyroclastic lava flows. Over time, pressure builds up under layers of cooled lava that hardened before having the chance to flow any significant distance, then the pressure exceeds the strength of the cooled lava, causing a very strong, violent, explosion.
**One of the most recent examples of a stratovolcano is the sudden eruption of Mt. Fuego, just outside Guatemala City, on 3 June 2018. Unlike Mt. Fuego, our currently erupting shield volcano, Kilauea, has gentle slopes, and very fast moving ‘a‘a and pahoehoe flows. Our volcano, in fact, has been erupting since 1983, forming new landscapes across the south east part of the Island of Hawai‘i! Kilauea has been reshaping and adding to the island of many years, and it will likely continue for many more!

Life Cycle of the Hawaiian Archipelago!
Over the last 65 million years, the Pacific tectonic plate has been slowly moving over the same hotspot that Hawaii Island sits over today. In the beginning, the islands were nothing more than small submarine volcanoes, just like Lōʻihi, our newest forming island. As the hotspot feeds the volcano, and magma is brought to the surface of the lithosphere, the size of the island grows, eventually breaking the surface of the ocean. At this point it becomes an island, continuously growing, as the Big Island is still doing now, until the tectonic plate has moved away from the hotspot (e.g. all other Hawaiian Islands). Once the volcanoes become dormant, or extinct, the island begins to weather away, becoming smaller and smaller. Evidence of this: Notice the difference in size from Hawaii Island to Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. Of course, not just size is indicative, but also the amount of steep valleys that have been carved out of the landscape due to rivers, as well as the amount of dirt that has formed. As these islands grow and shrink, coral reefs also grow, creating barrier reefs. The most well known is the Great Barrier Reef along the northeast coast of Australia.

Midway Atoll, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. satellite image
As these islands become smaller and the reefs continue to grow, the island eventually forms a lagoon in the middle, and they become what is known as an atoll. Atolls are primarily coral reef ecosystems where the rate of growth of the coral is able to keep up with the rate of erosion of the extinct volcano/island. Check out this cool animation of the formation of an atoll!
However, once the coral can no longer keep up with growth, and the entire island has gone back below the surface of the water, it then is defined as a seamount. This is the last part of the cycle of an island before it is either levelled off to the seafloor, or is subducted into a trench.

Image result for how an atoll is formed

TL;DR?? We, on the Island of Hawaii, as well as the rest of the state, are SAFE! It is perfectly safe to still visit Hawai‘i, and explore! The Islands are still open for business! We are not going to be the next Guatemala or Pompeii. The only thing you can’t currently do is go into the Puna District, nor can you visit Volcanoes National Park. We welcome all visitors from around the world to enjoy our beautiful beaches, hiking trails, mountain tops…and so much more!

Author: B. Fuemmeler

Marine Life in Hawaii

June 23, 2018 By Sarah Garcia

When you hear “Hawai‘i”, what do you first think of? Sunshine, the beach, and the ocean, right?
Many travelers coming to the islands often look forward to jumping into our warm waters, whether to surf and swim, or snorkel and dive! Just as the views from above the surface of the water are beautiful, the life and landscape under the water is just as breathtaking! To the untrained eye, everything under the water tends to look the same, with little to no diversity…however when you take an even closer look, you begin to realize life under the water is more than just a few rocks, fish, and turtles! There is an amazingly complex, and delicate ecosystem, just waiting to be fully understood.

Here in Hawai‘i, we have amazing reef systems that are home to a wide variety of fish, such as our tongue-twister state fish: humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa (reef triggerfish, wedge-tail triggerfish, rectangular triggerfish; Rhinecanthus rectangulus) Photo by Keoki Stender

Over the years, Climate Change has been something that has been getting more and more press, as the arctic sea ice has shrunk to all new lows, and coral reefs across the planet have begun to “bleach” and die. The idea of warming may not be something we, as humans, can physically detect with our own senses, but the coral and other marine organisms can; even if it is only a couple of degrees difference! One of the main sources of climate change, on the large scale, is increased levels of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. While it is difficult to stop all CO2 emissions, there is something that EVERYONE can do, on a small scale, to help the reefs. In addition to reducing the amount of driving we do and the plastics we use, another major help to the marine ecosystem includes using REEF SAFE Sunscreen! According to a study in 2015, up to 14,000 tons of sunscreen ends up in the ocean, annually! That is a lot of chemicals for very sensitive organisms to come in contact with! These chemicals, once in the water column, are so small that they are able to be siphoned or absorbed into marine life, poisoning them as concentrations increase.

How to recognize dying coral reef: Coral Bleaching is one of the biggest tell-tale signs of a dying reef. While you are snorkeling, if the reef has a lot of life floating around it, with many colors all over, it is safe to say that it is a pretty healthy reef.

These photos were taken at three different times just 8 months apart near American Samoa.

If the coral is starting to turn bleach white, or some will become super bright neon colors, there is something that is causing the coral to release all of its polyps and is dying. It is still possible for the coral to recover if we act now!

However, once the coral has begun to grown any sort of algae, it has died, and at this point it is unlikely to ever recover.

>> Staff recommendation by B: Watch the film “Chasing Coral”…a Netflix Original Documentary

What has Hawai‘i done? Effective January 1, 2021, Hawai‘i has signed a bill into law, banning the sale of all sunscreens that are believed to have reef harming chemicals, such as Oxybenzone and Octinoxate.

What can you do? Avoid sunscreens that include chemicals, such as Oxybenzone and Octinoxate! Whether you are along a coastline, or landlocked, these chemicals can find their way into our coastal waters, and eventually harm our marine organisms! Instead, choose a non-aerosol mineral sunscreens that only contains zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.

Image result for does your sunscreen contribute to the destruction of coral reefs

Here are a list of some sunscreens that are reef safe!

Badger Unscented Sunscreen Cream
Raw Elements Certified Natural Sunscreen
Stream2Sea Mineral Sunblock
Mama Kuleana Waterproof Reef-safe Sunscreen
Kokua Sun Care Hawaiian Natural Zinc Sunscreen
Manda Organic Sun Paste

What ELSE can you do to help our coral reef and marine life? Avoid single use plastics! Use reusable containers, bags, and utensils! Tell your restaurant server “NO straw please!”

ALSO, be careful where you are stepping when getting into and out of the water, as well as while you are in the water! Avoid grabbing hold to delicate coral. Avoid stepping on loose rocks, as there may be many little creatures hiding under them!

Illustration by Toni Reyna

Author: B. Fuemmeler

Camping in Hawaii

May 29, 2018 By Sarah Garcia

Who wants to go on a camping trip to Hawaii?

Are you interested in camping in paradise? It seems like a beautiful existence, doesn’t it…pitching a tent on the beach, waking up in the morning to the sun shining and birds chirping? Well….it definitely can be!

Big Island, Hawaii. Map it.

The key to having a good time camping in Hawaii is to come prepared. Do your research before you even leave your home. Which campgrounds are you going to stay at? What amenities, if any, do they offer? Do they require permits? What kind of gear do you need? It’s one thing to show up at a hotel with nothing but the clothes on your back, but that’s not really a fun time when you’re roughing it!

The island of Hawaii has a number of possibilities for campers. There are camping options in Hawaii State Parks, including Kalopa State Recreation Area, Kiholo State Park Reserve, and Manuka State Wayside beginning at $12/$18 per night. There are shelters that can be rented at Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area, and Kalopa State Recreation Area for $30/$90 per night. Check out a map of camping options at camping.ehawaii.gov.

If tent camping is more your jam, check out the campsites that are maintained by the County of Hawaii. They charge for their permits per person, and rates are cheaper for Hawaii residents. They have a pretty good selection of locations all around the island, and their website shows which amenities are available at each campground. Some campsites are known to be safer than others. Do your research beforehand; search the web and ask around for opinions, especially if you’re planning on travelling alone. The County of Hawaii website is currently slightly out-of-date in one area as well: Isaac Hale is not currently available for camping due to being cut off by the eruption in Leilani Estates.

Camping isn’t for everyone. If you love your comforts– your plush bed, your television, and four walls around you–roughing it in a tent is probably not for you. But, if you’re an outdoorsy type who loves adventure and sleeping out under the sky, we recommend camping on the Big Island. There’s also an intermediate version: come camp at Arnott’s Lodge!. We are the only campground in Hilo, and we offer a cushy lawn to pitch your tent on, as well as free wifi, free parking, and warm showers. We are a 5-minute walk away from a small beach, and we also offer discounts on our adventure tours for our guests. It doesn’t really count as roughing it, though :).

Some basic gear to bring camping:

Tent (waterproof!)
Sleeping bag
Pillow
Insect repellent
First aid kit
Food/water
Flashlight
biodegradable soap
Sunscreen (FYI, Hawaii is phasing out non-mineral sunscreen. Please help save our coral reefs and choose mineral sunscreens with zinc oxide, NOT the kind with oxybenzone and/or octinoxate!)

Some helpful links to check out:

Hawaii State Parks
County of Hawaii website: plenty of info about the island!
USGS Website: keep up to date on current volcanic hazards
LoveBigIsland.com
HVNP’s website on camping (the park is currently closed, but will hopefully open again soon)
Wander Wisdom, a travel blog
Frommer’s, another travel blog

Author: S. Garcia

Write a Review!

Address