*Tiny Pahoa Village is about 5 miles/8 km away. Though small, there are several good restaurants: Kaleo's, Ning's Thai, Mighty Sushi, Paolo's Italian, Tin Shack Bakery (breakfast & lunch), others.
*It is worth a drive to the coast to see the new black sand beach at Isaac Hale Beach Park where the lava stopped at the very edge of the parking lot.
*Walk down Leilani Avenue to see the now-solidified lava flow that inundated the lower third of the subdivision and flowed 5 miles/8 km to the ocean, destroying 700 homes and creating a new coastline.
*Visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (about 1 hour drive) to understand the geologic forces at work. View the collapsed main crater, steam vents; hike Kilauea Iki, a small crater; drive down Chain of Craters Road to the Sea Arch; take a forest hike.
*Hilo, a 35-minute drive to the north, offers many beach parks (Onekahakaha, Carlsmith, Richardson), many restaurants (Café Pesto, Pineapples, Hilo Bay Cafe, Jackie Rey's Ohana Grill, Ocean Sushi, Suisan Fish Market, etc.), an extensive farmers market, Rainbow Falls, Kaumana Caves, Coconut Island and the Queen Liliuokalani Gardens, the King Kamehameha Statue, events at the Palace Theater, the Lyman Museum, the Tsunami Museum, Imiloa Astronomy Center, and the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center for Hawaiʻi’s Remote Coral Reefs.
*North of Hilo, watch surfers at Honoli'i Beach Park, take the 4-mile/6.4km scenic drive to Onomea Bay; visit the exquisite Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens; continue along the coast to visit Laupahoehoe, the town of Honomu and Akaka Falls, the town of Honoka'a and the magnificent Waipio Valley Lookout.
*Sundays, visit Maku'u Farmers Market, 15 minutes away on Hwy. 130. for exotic tropical fruits and vegetables, delicious local dishes, many art and craft booths, usually with live music.
*The entire island can be visited using our house as a home base, but you may wish to book a few nights on the west coast of the island (Kailua-Kona or Kohala areas) for sandy beaches and more tourist-oriented offerings such as boat snorkel tours, manta ray tours, luaus, etc.