Hilo

With its multicultural roots, low-key atmosphere, and lush rainforest backdrop, aloha spirit runs deep in this soulful town on the Big Island’s east coast.

The town of Hilo is an forest-fringed oasis anchoring Hawaii’s Hamakua Coast. When it comes to island chill, Kailua-Kona’s east coast cousin could have written the book. The town has weathered tsunamis, lava flows, and near-daily deluges, but Hilo locals have always kept their cool. Maybe it’s the resilience of a tough-built sugar town; maybe it’s the warmth of a multicultural community. If you want to know our theory, spend a little time experiencing the refracted rainbow of light that streaks across Hilo’s rainforests or the impossible blue of Hilo Bay. Your worries won’t stick around for long, either.

Get a dose of Hilo-style hospitality downtown. The Hamakua Coast’s 19th-century sugar industry channeled a diversity of cultures into Hilo. Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Puerto Ricans, and Filipinos joined the Hawaiians and Americans in the fledgling settlement. The town’s multicultural story is retold in intriguing museums, landscaped gardens, and the dozens of cafés and restaurants serving up international cuisine. Hilo hasn’t forgotten its agricultural roots, either: check out the town’s two farmers markets to get a load of fresh-picked produce. Here’s a tip: take a kayak out on Hilo Bay and enjoy the view of the town with a volcanic mountain backdrop so perfect it looks painted on.

This corner of the Big Island is almost the inverse of the lava-flow landscape that characterizes the west. Spend a little time exploring its drizzle-drenched forests and you’ll find out why a raincoat and a good pair of shoes are essential items in Hilo. Waianuenue, also known as Rainbow Falls, crowns Wailuku River State Park with a spectacular show of light refracted through mesmerizing mists. Watch the steam rising from the Boiling Pots nearby, where you’ll see simmering basalt-lava rock pools fed by the active volcanic peaks peppering the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.`