Who writes this site
Love Big Island is written by people you can look up by name. Founder and editor Gerrit van der Plas lives in Volcano on the Big Island, on the edge of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and covers the Big Island. Contributing writer Will McGough lived for many years on Oʻahu and still frequently leads tours going there. He writes our Oʻahu guides. Co-founder Joey Gutierrez was born and raised on Hawaiʻi Island and checks our recommendations against the experience of someone who grew up here. You can read more about all three of us on the about page.
How we research
First-hand experience comes first and second. Only when we have not recently done something ourselves, we build the page from operator details and recent guest reports, checked against official sources such as the National Park Service, USGS, and Hawaiʻi County. Prices, hours, and fees come from the operator or agency that sets them, not from other travel blogs.
How pages stay current
Hawaiʻi changes fast: eruptions close trails, fees go up, restaurants close. We re-check pages on a rolling basis and after major events, and every guide shows the date it was last updated. Guides written by contributing writers are reviewed by the editor.
How we choose tours
We list a short set of operators per activity on our tours page instead of everything bookable. An operator makes the list when we have taken the tour ourselves, or when years of guest feedback show the same consistent pattern, and when the operation treats the place and the community well. Nobody can pay to be listed.
Restaurants and places to stay
Restaurants earn a mention through local reputation and longevity, not novelty. For accommodation we weigh location and value, and we say plainly which kind of traveler a property suits.
Affiliate transparency
Some links on this site are affiliate links, including tour bookings. When you book, you book directly with the operator and pay the same price; the operator pays us a commission. Affiliate relationships help support the maintenance of this website but do not influence which businesses we recommend. We do not accept paid placements or payment for rankings.
Corrections
If something on this site is out of date, get in touch or email [email protected]. We read everything and fix what we got wrong.