Sunset to Sunrise: Things to Do on the Big Island at Night
Looking for things to do on the Big Island at night?
Are you a night owl, having issues with jetlag, or just want a crazy night to brag about?
I lived on the Big Island for a year, so know a lot of things to do after the sun’s gone down.
I have here a unique night itinerary for the Big Island. This is a jam-packed schedule that will keep you busy from sunset to sunrise.
While the rest of the world sleeps, the goal is to fill the night with things to do on the Big Island. Watch the sun go down in Kona, stay busy with fun activities like snorkeling with manta rays, hiking to see lava flowing, spelunking in caves, and stargaze until you watch the sun come up on top of Mauna Kea.
Some activity timings will have to be adjusted throughout the year due to sunrise times. But this is your guideline of inspiration; length times are approximate.
✨Tab’s Trip Tip: Book your tours/activities as soon as possible as they can sell out quickly.
Summary of Things to Do on the Big Island at Night
A quick look at this itinerary before I get into the nitty gritty details:
- Luau – luaus are so much fun, and I think everyone should experience at least one in their life
- Night Snorkel with Manta Rays – by far my favorite experience on the Big Island
- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – my other favorite thing to do on the Big Island, if lava is flowing. Night time is the best time to see the lava glowing
- Ken’s House of Pancakes – the only place on the Big Island open 24hrs for food
- Kaumana Cave – I have so much spelunking through this huge lava tube
- Mauna Kea – whether stargazing or watching the sunrise, being on top of this volcano is worth the drive up
Okay, now let’s see how to fit all of this into one night.
Luau in Kona
Start: 5:00pm
Length: 3hrs
Sunset is around dinner time, so your first thing to do on the Big Island at night is to eat dinner, hopefully with a sunset view.
Luaus are on most people’s Hawaiian bucket list and I highly recommend attending one. Not only will a luau keep you busy for 2-3hrs, it’s a fantastic Hawaiian feast with Polynesian music and entertainment.
Voyagers of the Pacific luau is held at the Royal Kona Resort, right on Ali’i Drive. Have a beautiful oceanfront view of sunset as you enjoy this traditional Hawaiian celebration.
Be greeted with a shell lei and grab a mai-tai. Watch a lei making workshop and observe the imu ceremony of removing the pig from the ground.
An all-you-can-eat buffet dinner includes Hawaiian staples like Kalua pork and cabbage, purple sweet potato macaroni salad, poi, and haupia for dessert, among a variety of other choices.
As the sun is setting and providing a phenomenal backdrop, enjoy dances from Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa and New Zealand. The show finale ends with the crowd favorite: fire knife dancing.
>> 🌺 Check Rates & Availability for Voyagers of the Pacific Luau Here! <<
Drive to Kailua Bay
Length: 20min
After the energizing luau has ended and your mai tais have worn off, change into your swimming gear and head to your manta ray night snorkel tour. Most tours take off out of Keahou Bay, next door to the Outrigger Kona Resort.
There isn’t much parking at Keauhou Harbor. If it’s full you might find street parking on Ehukai St or go all the way around to the opposite side of the bay on Kamehameha III Rd with an official parking lot.
Manta Ray Night Snorkel
Start: 9:40pm
Length: ~1hr
If you do nothing else, the one thing to do on the Big Island at night is to snorkel with the manta rays. Hands down one of the most unique experiences you’ll ever do.
The boat ride is a short 5 minute ride away to the mouth of the bay. Here you’ll get in the ocean with your lit up boogie board and hang on “Superman style” as you await the glorious monsters.
The blue lights shining into the water from your board attract plankton and the plankton attract the manta rays. These large sea creatures will swim and dance inches from your face; so close they might even bump into you.
Manta rays can’t and won’t hurt you but it’s still an adrenaline rush having such a huge animal swim so close.
You’ll be in the water for about 20 minutes, which is the perfect amount of time; not too little and not too much. Board your boat and head back to the harbor.
>> 🤿 Check Rates & Availability for Hawaii Island & Oceans Manta Ray Night Snorkel Here! <<
Dry off, change clothes, and settle in for a long drive ahead to see some flowing lava.
Drive to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Start: 10:45pm
Length: 2hrs
Driving in Hawaii at night is an adventure all its own. There are hardly any street lights, so the roads are extra dark. Road markings are lined with reflector lights which surprisingly illuminate the road quite far up ahead.
The road gets pretty curvy for a quarter of the way, so be careful and go slower. Keep your eye out for pedestrians walking the narrow shoulder or wild pigs darting across the road.
When you reach the boundary for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, turn your eyes to the right and look for an orange glow in the not so distant distance.
If it’s cloudy or has been raining, Kilauea’s lava can reflect off clouds or smoke and be diffused into a warm, eerie glow.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is open 24/7. Late at night the ranger station at the entrance is closed so you can pay the $30 entrance fee in a cash box at the visitor center (if you want). I also recommend the visitor center bathrooms over the sometimes unsanitary outhouses at the trailhead.
To get to Keanakako’i Lookout to see lava, go down Chain of Craters Road until you reach the Devastation Trail parking lot. Take the Old Crater Rim Drive trail that starts next to the road, right by the outhouses. This map will lead the way.
Lava Flow at Keanakako’i Lookout
Start: 12:45am
Length: 1hr
The hike to Keanakako’i Lookout to see the lava flow is an easy 1 mile hike one way. The path is paved as it was the part of Crater Rim Road drive until 2008 when portions of the road were destroyed in the eruption.
Bring flashlights or headlamps for this nighttime hike. Sometimes the sky is bright enough with stars and the moon that you may find it easy to walk the path in the dark. You’ll for sure want it once you reach the rockier bit at the end.
The hike is peaceful, just you, the trees, and the stars. It’s comforting to know that there are no predators like bears or mountain lions. Pigs I guess could be an issue, but unlikely.
There is one section of the path with a roped off giant “pothole”, so if you aren’t prepared for it you might be surprised at having to dodge it.
You’ll start to see the orange glow as you get closer to the crater. An A-frame traffic barricade in the path will direct you to the right where you follow a gravely trail down to Keanakako’i Lookout.
At the ropes edge you’ll have a clear view straight into the lava lake, about 3/4-mile in the distance. You can see the lava without binoculars, but if you have them they will definitely enhance the experience.
The strength of the lava flow can be finicky and unpredictable. Some days it can be a gushing fountain from the cinder cone and other days it could just be a trickling creek.
But even if you just see glowing cracks in the crater lake, it’s still a once in a lifetime experience to see real live lava, no matter how small.
Depending on your interest and the activity level of the lava, you might be watching it for 5min or 30min. It’s all on your time.
Hike back the way you came when you are ready for the next driving leg.
Drive to Hilo
Start: 1:45am
Length: 45min
Back in the car, you’ll be on the road again for another 30-45min. It’s a fast ride though, as the highway is pretty straight without many turns or hills.
You’ll probably be hankering for some grub after all the snorkeling, hiking and driving. So when the highway ends at a T, you’ll see Ken’s House of Pancakes on the left.
Ken’s House of Pancakes
Please note: Ken’s is currently not open 24hrs
Start: 2:30am
Length: 1hr
You might be surprised to know that one of the things to do on the Big Island at night is going out to eat in the middle of the night. Ken’s House of Pancakes is a 24-hour diner in Hilo.
Ken’s first opened in 1971 and was the first and only 24-hour business on the eastside of the Big Island. Today it remains a tourist and local’s favorite spot for some ono grindz.
It’s exactly what you would expect from a typical diner: rust colored upholstered booths, pictures of the diner’s history crowding the walls, and oversized plates of food.
The two most popular items on the menu are of course pancakes and also loco moco.
Loco moco is a contemporary Hawaiian dish consisting of white rice topped with a burger patty, brown gravy, and an egg. Ken’s other meat options are corned beef hash or Portuguese sausages.
When you order pancakes, you get a stack of 3 the size of dinner plates. Besides regular pancakes, they also make a coconut, macadamia nut, or banana pancake. Drizzle on Ken’s house made syrups: coconut, guava, and lilikoi (passionfruit).
Once you’ve refueled it’s time to go spelunking in a lava tube.
Kaumana Cave
Start: 3:30am
Length: 5-30min
Just outside of Hilo on the way towards Saddle Road, make a stop at Kaumana Cave. Since you’ll need a flashlight to explore the lava tube it doesn’t matter if it’s day or night.
Parking for the cave is on the left side of Kaumana Road. Cross the street and take the steep stairs down to the cave entrance.
Kaumana Cave is a lava tube that was created by the 1881 Mauna Loa eruption and has been measured at 2-miles long.
The cave has two entrances to explore. The one to the left will require more crawling and ducking. The one to the right is the main tunnel and is more open. Explore one or the other or both, there’s no wrong answer.
Proceed as far as you want into the lava tubes. At some point on both ends I reached spots I wasn’t comfortable continuing past due to the climbability or the jankiness of boulders hanging above my head.
But you don’t have to go far to enjoy the awesomeness of these caves that were once flowing with rivers of lava. Minerals make sections of the walls glitter like diamonds and rock textures change from baby soft to deathly sharp.
When you’ve explored as deep as you want, get back on the road up the mountain.
Drive to Mauna Kea
Start: 4:00am
Length: 1.25hrs
The last leg of the night is a little over an hour’s drive, climbing up Saddle Road then on to Mauna Kea Access Road.
Stargaze and Sunrise on Mauna Kea
Start: 5:15am
Length: ~1hr (depending on sunrise time)
Mauna Kea is arguably one of the best places in the world to stargaze due to its dry atmosphere and lack of air disturbance. 13 telescopes funded by governments across the globe (including NASA) reside on the mountain’s summit.
The Mauna Kea visitor center sits at 9,200 feet of the total 13,803 feet of Mauna Kea. If you have a 4×4 you could continue up the road to the summit; most cars cannot make it. Alternatively, the hike to the summit is a 6-mile trek one way hike.
However, the visitor center is still a good elevation for seeing stars in the clear sky, often above the cloud line. The Milky Way can be clearly seen up there.
✨Tab’s Trip Tip: Be aware of altitude sickness. I am a relatively healthy person and got caught off guard by it at the visitor center.
Bring a warm jacket and/or blankets as the weather can get cold up here (even snow!).
Lay on the hood of your car or bring beach chairs to relax in as you stare at the celestial orbs above. Pull out a stargazing app to learn about the constellations and planets above you.
Then patiently wait to see the sun start cracking its way up over the horizon in the east.
Good Morning!
Congratulations! You did it! You successfully found a full after-dark themed itinerary of things to do on the Big Island at night!
You stayed busy with a luau, snorkeling with manta rays, seeing lava flow, ate some great food, spelunked through a lava tube, and sat on technically tallest mountain on earth (19,700ft from base to tip) to enjoy a celestial expanse.
Now you can go find your bed for a nap this morning or forgo sleep and continue on your day to begin a new adventure!
➡️ Find Out How to Spend a Day in Kona Here!
🌺 Big Island Travel Planning Guide 🌺
🚨 Should I buy Hawaii travel insurance?
YES — I recommend Travel Insurance Master because you can compare multiple options with one click. With plans starting at $5/day per person, why not give yourself piece of mind? Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it!
🚗 Is it safe to rent a car on the Big Island?
YES — It’s totally safe to drive on the Big Island. And unless you plan to chill by the resort pool the entire time, renting a car is pretty much a necessity on the Big Island! Jeep rentals are popular. I recommend Discount Hawaii Car Rental, as they have some of the best prices around.
📞 Will my phone work on the Big Island?
PROBABLY — Most, if not all, cell providers work on the Big Island. However, be prepared for some dead spots in the more remote parts of the island. For example, I always lose service driving through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
🛏️ What’s the best way to book my Big Island accommodations?
For Big Island hotels, Booking.com is amazing because you can often reserve your room with no money down. If you are looking for an Airbnb condo with a kitchen and more space, don’t forget to check VRBO for potentially better prices and options.
✈️ What’s the best site to buy Big Island flights?
I recommend looking at Skyscanner for finding cheap flights. Pro Tip: check if flying into Hilo is cheaper than flying into Kona.
🛂 Do I need a passport to visit Hawaii?
NO — If you are a US citizen, you do not need a passport as Hawaii is part of the United States. If you are from out of the country, the same passport and visa requirements are the same as entering anywhere in the United States from your country.
🧳What should I pack to the Big Island?
Pack for tropical weather but also prepare for colder than expected nights and early mornings, so a light sweatshirt is recommended. Check out this list of 5 Things Not to Forget to Pack.
