Relax & Renew ~ Big Island, Hawaii
Massage
Volcano Village is home to some of the best massage practitioners in the Islands, including the ancient art of Lomi Lomi. We can refer you to high quality healing arts studios nearby or you can arrange to have your personal massage in the privacy and comfort of Volcano Mist Cottage, your little luxe hideaway on the Big Island.
Volcano Farmers Market
Every Sunday morning (6 am to 9 am) at the Cooper Center on Wright Road/Old Volcano Hwy, locals and visitors mingle over steaming cups of estate grown coffees and teas to say “Aloha” to old and new friends, exchange news and buy locally grown fresh vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers, locally caught fresh fish, hand-blown art glass, jewelry, and other handicrafts. A wide variety of artisanal quality food products, homemade pies and preserves, and fresh baked breads and goodies like malasadas, sweet cheese and macadamia croissants, almond bear claws, and angel-wing pesto rolls are also available. If your stay at Volcano Mist Cottage includes a Sunday morning, do not miss this special small town event.
Volcano Winery
Wine tasting in paradise is just a sip away from Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and the Volcano Golf Course. Located on P’i’i Mauna Drive (off Hwy 11 at the 30 mile marker) this southernmost winery in the United States is home to some of the most unusual wines produced anywhere in the world. It specializes in tropical fruit blend wines including the exotic jaboticaba berry and yellow guava and a honey wine made from the blossoms of the macadamia nut tree. For the more traditional palate, 14 acres are planted with the Symphony grape, a hybrid of Grenache Gris and Muscat grapes. The winery is open daily for free tastings, no appointments necessary. An added bonus is the regular sighting of endangered Nene geese flying over the vineyards.
Volcano Art Center & Studio Tours
Volcano Village is home to numerous locally and internationally known artists inspired by the primal forces of nature on the Big Island, including barren, moon-like landscapes, fiery lava flows from Kilauea and the lush greenery of the Forest Preserves. The Volcano Art Center, located in the Park adjacent to the historic Volcano House Hotel, features the works of over 300 artists, and sponsors regular exhibits, demonstrations and special events. A new exhibition center outside the Park showcases local artists and also offers guided nature walks, classes and workshops in the fine arts, reading, music and dance. Local artists frequently open their studios to visitors. Volcano Garden Arts, located on Old Volcano Hwy just below Pearl Avenue, features a 1908 farmhouse turned gallery, cultivated gardens, an art studio, greenhouses and nature trails that give access into the surrounding Ola’a Nature Reserve. Ira Ono, the present owner/artist/caretaker presides over an eclectic selection that ranges from “fun collectables to works of significant impact, from pocket-sized to larger-than-life.” Ira’s gallery is open to the public daily except Monday.
Onomea Tea Company
Onomea Tea Company is a boutique tea estate located a few miles north of Hilo (off Hwy 19) on a bluff overlooking Onomea Bay. The owners planted their first camellia sinensis in 2002 and quickly became inspired to plant more and continue their artisanal efforts to expand the agricultural boundaries of Hawai’i. Their teas are organically grown in the rich, acidic based volcanic soils and are hand-picked and carefully processed into white, green, oolong and black teas. Visitors are welcome. Sampling teas in the beautiful environment in which they were grown enhances the reflective tea experience, and provides an ideal opportunity to Relax & Renew.
Botanical Gardens
A walk in one of the exquisite natural environments of a Hawaiian tropical and botanical garden is sure to delight the senses and soothe the soul. The Gardens at Nani Mau in Hilo are open daily to the public and comprise 20 acres of lush, manicured plots including a fruit orchard, lily ponds, hibiscus and flowering ginger gardens, a Japanese garden, orchid house and restaurant. Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is the handiwork of a private couple who spent years of backbreaking work hand clearing 40 acres of a wildly overgrown jungle valley so as not to disturb or destroy the native environment. It opened to the public in 1984 and is located eight miles north of Hilo (off Hwy 19) at the end of a four mile scenic drive. The valley acts as a natural greenhouse for more than 2000 species of orchids, palms, gingers, bromeliads and other rare and exotic plants and is edged by the Pacific Ocean. The property features hand hewn walking paths weaving past streams and waterfalls and winding down to the sea and the remains of the historic Onomea Arch. World Botanical Gardens is located on a 300 acre property upslope on Mauna Kea 16 miles north of Hilo (off Hwy 19) along the Umauma River. The river feeds Umauma Falls, a triple–tier waterfall that cascades nearly 300 feet through the tropical rainforest and is the centerpiece of the gardens. Other features include nature trails (some wheelchair accessible), a children’s maze, Hawaiian medicinal plants, an arboretum, and gardens containing food plant species such as mango, guava, papaya, pineapple, banana and breadfruit.