The Big Island of Hawaii is the youngest land in the world, home to plants and animals that exist nowhere else on Earth. Heavenly flowers glow in changing colors at night, and tropical rainforests are bordered by bubbling lava flows as they rush to the sea.

The island itself is big when compared to the other Hawaiian islands - so big, in fact, that all the other islands combined could fit onto the Big Island two times over. Visitors from the mainland (as the Hawaiians call the continental United States) are usually struck by just how small the Big Island really is. One can travel by helicopter from Kailua-Kona, on the dry western side of the island, over to Hilo in the east, the wettest city in the United States, in a matter of minutes. In fact, for about $400 per person, visitors can embark on a two-hour deluxe helicopter tour of the Big Island, getting an up-close-and-personal view of the latest lava flows as well as breathtaking passes through lush valleys with 2000-foot waterfalls, some of which are featured in the movie Jurassic Park.  The ride itself is indeed thrilling and worth the price of admission, but be warned: Those visitors who are prone to motion sickness need to be prepared for some truly adventurous aerial maneuvers.

From the air we can see that the island is indeed split in half by the towering peaks of volcanic Mauna Kea, or the White Mountain, and Mauna Loa, the Long Mountain. On the eastern side of the mountain, the Trade Winds bring moist air that dumps 300 inches of rain annually onto the island's tropical rainforests. At the top of Mauna Kea, the moisture falls as snow, providing skiing opportunities for those visitors adventurous enough to make the 13,000-foot ascent to the summit.

The western side of the Big Island is reminiscent of the American West, with rolling plains and little rainfall. Cattle roam the 15,000-acre Parker Ranch, where horse enthusiasts can saddle up and hit the trails with an experienced guide for a once in a lifetime equestrian adventure. Further west, we find something akin to a Martian landscape, where rust-red lava flows form a craggy wasteland down to the sea. This is the side of the island where visitors most often spend their vacation at a beach-side resort, flying into the airport at Kailua-Kona and roaming the pristine white sand beaches from any one of the many condos and rental houses that sit along the shore. From this side of the island, visitors enjoy views of towering Mount Haleakala on the neighboring island of Maui. Coral reefs line the beaches, providing visitors with excellent opportunities for snorkeling with the Hawaiian sea turtles that call these shores their home.

Kailua-Kona is the place on the Big Island to do some serious shopping. Visitors will find quaint shops with local Hawaiian products next to world class boutiques dotting the seaside avenues. Coffee aficionados will love touring the local coffee plantations, where visitors can sample the world famous Kona coffee beans fresh from the fields. And history buffs can visit the Captain Cook memorial, where Hawaiians commemorate the life and legacy of the Western explorer who put Hawaii on the map in 1778.

The Big Island of Hawaii is a tropical world unlike any other, with something to offer travelers of every kind. Adventure, shopping. and pure relaxation are yours for the taking here in a land where fire and water meet. The intrepid traveler can shop, surf, swim, snorkel, sunbathe and ski in one memorable Hawaiian vacation.

This tidbit of travel advice was contributed by Alfred Nylund.

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