Punalu'u Beach is about 45 minutes from Volcano National Park, 1.25 hours from Hilo, and 40 minutes from Green Sand Beach. This was the perfect day trip. I left the National Park area and headed for a pit stop before going to Green Sand Beach. Yes, you can hit two of the world’s rare beaches in under an hour!

So, what makes this black-sand beach unique? If you are lucky, you can see both hawksbill and green turtles hanging out on the beach, enjoying the sun, and swimming around. Sadly, the green turtles were not on the beach when I was there. 

Did you know that sea turtles rarely hang out on the beaches, but Hawaii's green turtles are the leading animal attraction on the island?

I am not sure how my obsession with National Parks started, but over the years, I have made every attempt to visit all the Big 63 national parks. Luckily for me, The Big Island is famously known to be the home to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. This was my first time seeing volcanoes this close since my trip to Iceland many years ago. I truly fell in love with the area and its mana, which I will explain in more detail below.

Here are the top four things you must do if you only plan to be here for a few days.

 What if I told you that the USA has two of the four rarest beaches on Earth?

And you can hike or ride on the back of a pickup truck to see one of them?

Lastly, what if I told you that Key West isn't the southernmost tip of the USA?

Did I pique your interest? Would you actually ride in the back of a pickup with 8-9 other strangers?

It’s a lot more fun than it sounds!

I debated back and forth about where I wanted to stay near Volcano National Park, and Volcano Inn was on my list since it was a four-minute drive from the park. After texting and talking with the manager of this place, I decided to pull the trigger and book my stay. I am SO happy I did! This place is truly magical!

My main food goal in Hawaii was to eat all the fresh fish I could, and boy, did I accomplish that—and then some. Below are my six favorite places to eat, drink, and have amazing experiences. I picked these places based on their vibes, food, drinks and the overall memories I took from them. As you will see, I returned to some of these a few times!

To be honest, surfing wasn't on my list of things I needed to do in Hawaii until my boss told me I needed to do it. Okay, boss, challenge accepted! This was the perfect way to spend my last day in Oahu: going on a quick hike and then spending my last few hours in the ocean learning the most popular sport in Hawaii, surfing!

IslandView Hawai'i is the only family-owned and operated pelagic shark dive tour in Haleiwa, Hawai'i. Before becoming a tour company, it was once a crabbing company that provided their family's primary source of income and food.

For a while, the family only invited friends on their boat to swim with the sharks since they were a family of divers and lifeguards, and they felt comfortable taking them. That changed in 2012 when they realized they could provide a safe and controlled environment for visitors to experience the magic of swimming cage-free with sharks.