Hawaii

Hawaii, often called "The Big Island," is the largest and youngest island in the Hawaiian chain.

Hawaii … more than twice the size of all the other Hawaiian islands combined, Hawaii has 11 of the 13 known climatic zones of the world. The big island offers the world's most active volcano, waterfalls, black-sand beaches, tropical rainforests - even snow-capped mountain peaks! And it offers great vacation activities - championship golf, horseback riding, sport fishing, and helicopter tours. This is a very special island, because some of the most sacred Hawaiian sites can still be seen here. 

The Big Island is not the cheapest destination in Hawaii - though it does have a few budget inns and hostels - and it can't compete with Honolulu for frenzied shopping or wild nightlife. The entire island has the population of a medium-sized town, with 145,000 people spread across its four thousand square miles; it has its fair share of restaurants, bars and so on, but basically it's a rural community. There's plenty of opportunity to be active - hiking in the state and national parks, deep-sea fishing off the Kona coast, golfing in the Kohala resorts or snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay - but most visitors are content to while away their days meandering between beach and brunch.