GETTING THERE AND AROUND: Hawaiian Airlines (800-367-5320, www.hawaiianair.com) and Aloha Airlines (800-367-5250, www.alohaairlines.com) fly nonstop to the Big Island's Kona International Airport from major western U.S. cities, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, and Seattle; round-trip airfare from Los Angeles on Hawaiian starts around $560. Most major car-rental agencies have offices at the airport. The weekly rate for a midsize rental from Dollar (866-434-2226, www.dollar.com) is $245. A four-wheel-drive Jeep Grand Cherokee will run you $413 per week.

WHERE TO STAY AND EAT: The Kohala Coast—the island's northwestern coast, north of the airport—offers the sunniest skies, the most beautiful white-sand beaches (Hapuna and Mauna Kea), and a string of posh resorts. Top of the line is the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai (doubles, $625–$925; 888-340-5662, www.fourseasons.com/hualalai), a thoroughly buttoned-down 32-acre spread with 243 guest rooms and suites in two-story bungalows, all done up in stone tiles and dark wood, with private lanais (porches); an 18-hole golf course; three upscale restaurants; four pools (where staff pop by to ask if they can clean your sunglasses); and a state-of-the-art spa with lap pool. On Saturday nights, the Surf, Sand, and Stars barbecue, with tables set up on the beach, is an orgy of lobster tails, baby back pork ribs, and steamed clams. Afterwards, head to the ocean-view Lava Lounge for a fruity nightcap.
A ten-minute stroll down the beach (where you're likely to find sea turtles sunning in the late afternoon) is Kona Village Resort (doubles, $580, including meals; 800-367-5290, www.konavillage.com), a Polynesian fantasy of 125 secluded thatch-roofed bungalows, or hales, cooled by ceiling fans. Word of mouth credits the 82-acre resort with the island's most authentic ahaaina, or luau (Friday nights; $89 per adult for nonguests); think mounds of imu-roasted pork, grass skirts, and beating drums.
Farther north up the coast is the 540-room Fairmont Orchid (doubles from $329; 800-441-1414, www.fairmont.com/orchid), a stately, six-story U-shaped building shrouded in a jungle of palms and bamboo surrounding a meandering swimming pool. Head first to the Orchid Beach Club, down by the sandy lagoon, where beachboys dispense all manner of kayaks, surfboards, boogie boards, and snorkeling gear. Sign on to hike with charismatic beachboy "Uncle" Gary Medina to see petroglyphs or learn to paddle a traditional outrigger canoe. In the evening, settle in at Brown's Beach House for exquisite fresh seafood, such as crab-crusted opakapaka (local pink snapper) in sake-mirin butter sauce.
Since the Kohala Coast is relatively quiet, you may opt to stay closer to the frenzy of Kailua–Kona, south of the airport. The Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa (doubles from $209; 888-488-3535, www.sheratonkeauhou.com), which opened after massive renovations a year ago, is a whitewashed hulk set on landscaped grounds right on the lava-strewn coast; a 14,000-square-foot pool with a 200-foot waterslide makes up for the lack of beach. Huggo's on the Rocks (808-329-1493, www.huggos.com), in the heart of Kona, is a sand-floored outdoor oasis for watching the sunset, listening to live music, and sipping mixed cocktails.
If you're planning an evening hike to flowing lava in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, plan on spending the night halfway around the island on the southeastern coast. Kilauea Lodge (doubles, $140; 808-967-7366, www.kilauealodge.com), in the tiny village of Volcano, was built as a YMCA camp in 1938 and still retains that going-to-camp feeling. In a residential area right outside the park, you'll find the Inn at Volcano (doubles, $139–$399; 800-937-7786, www.volcano-hawaii.com), with five rooms and a stand-alone suite gussied up with marble accents and Victorian frills, plus a three-course candlelight breakfast served on fine china.

NIGHTTIME EXPLORING: The guys at Jack's Diving Locker say there's an 80 percent chance of seeing manta rays on one of their outings ($115 per person; 800-345-4807, www.jacksdivinglocker.com); the boat departs five nights a week for a one-tank dive prior to the manta-ray night dive. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park's visitor center offers general information about where the lava is flowing, but don't expect it to be dead-on accurate. From day to day, it's anyone's guess. Park information: 808-985-6000, www.nps.gov/havo/visitor/lava.htm. Hawaii Forest & Trail ($165 per person, including dinner, parka, gloves, and transportation; 800-464-1993, www.hawaii-forest.com) runs stargazing trips to Mauna Kea daily.

RESOURCES The best guidebook, with lots of maps and the inside scoop, is Hawaii: The Big Island Revealed, by Andrew Doughty and Harriett Friedman (Wizard, $16). For extensive information on the Big Island, go to www.bigisland.org.