Читать книгу Hawaii Trails. Walks Strolls and Treks on the Big Island онлайн

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Driving conditions on Hawaii vary widely, and driving time can make serious inroads on your hiking time. The sheer size of the island and the layout of its roads makes it unreasonable, for example, to stay in Kona and to hike in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Plan to stay in or near the areas you want to hike in. This may mean changing lodgings. It’s worth the trouble.

Forget the silly notion that you can see the Big Island (or any of the other major islands, for that matter) by driving around it for a day. (It’s a great way to see asphalt, though.)

Hawaii Belt Road

Highway 19 arcs northwest from Hilo, and Highway 11 arcs south from Hilo. The highways circle the island to meet again on the west side at Kailua-Kona. They form the 221-mile Hawaii Belt Road. The Hawaii Belt Road is the island’s major highway. However, it is rarely more than a two-lane road. Your speed, nominally the 55-miles-per-hour limit outside of the towns, is frequently reduced to 45, 35, or even 25 miles per hour through the island’s many little villages. You also have to slow down on mountain curves as the road winds around the south side of the island. Slow-moving trucks and stops for road work further impede progress on the Hawaii Belt Road. And the island’s best scenery isn’t along the Hawaii Belt Road—though lovely Hilo and the spectacular Hamakua coast are exceptions.