Hawaii

Hawaii occupies a category of its own in American travel — a Pacific archipelago of volcanic islands sculpted by fire, shaped by trade winds, and layered with Polynesian, Asian, and American cultures into something entirely distinct from the mainland it belongs to politically.

The accommodation possibilities here span an enormous range that resort brochures rarely capture. On the Big Island, boutique lodges in upcountry Waimea sit amid cattle ranches at 2,500 feet, cool and green and wildly different from the Kona coast below. Remote vacation rentals in Kauai’s Hanalei Valley put you within walking distance of some of the most dramatic coastal scenery on earth. Eco-retreat centers on Maui’s quieter upcountry offer farm-to-table cuisine and genuine immersion in Hawaiian culture.

The largest and youngest island in the chain is Hawaii’s geological soul. Kilauea and Mauna Loa are among the world’s most continuously active volcanoes; Hawaii Volcanoes National Park lets you walk across cooled lava fields, explore lava tubes, and — conditions permitting — witness lava entering the ocean. The contrast between the island’s lava-desert west coast and its rainforest east coast is stark and immediate.

The oldest of the main islands is the most dramatically beautiful. Na Pali Coast’s fluted sea cliffs rise 4,000 feet above the Pacific and rank among North America’s defining natural images. Interior Kauai is 97% undevelopable wilderness; the island has actively resisted the resort development that has transformed parts of Maui and Oahu.

Maui rewards those who move beyond the resort strip of Ka’anapali: the Road to Hana, Haleakala, and the ranching communities of upcountry offer a completely different island. Oahu is the state’s cultural and culinary capital; Honolulu’s food scene, the North Shore’s surf culture, and the historical weight of Pearl Harbor make it essential even if only briefly.