Your engagement photos will become lifelong, tangible memories that anchor you back to these sunny, blissful moments just before you say “I do.” The Island of Hawaii, or the Big Island, is a spectacular spot to get pictures that capture the warm, passionate vibes of your new engagement!
From gorgeous tropical scenery ripe for adventures and sunsets burning as brightly as your love, you can capture your happiness together. The sense of adventure in these amazing locations for engagement photos in the Big Island’s most scenic spots.
Waipio Valley Lookout
This scenic lookout point on the Hamakua Coast overlooks the sacred Waipio Valley (“Valley of the Kings”). The lush valley cuts through the green-blanketed Kohala Mountain contrasted by the vast, blue ocean. It’s a favorite spot for snapping engagement pics, especially at sunrise!
From this romantic lookout point, you’ll take center stage in your engagement photos in front of a dramatic green valley, 2,000-foot cliffs, distant waterfalls, and an otherworldly black sand beach down below.
Akaka Falls State Park
Just a few miles north of Hilo, Akaka Falls State Park is an incredible place to take engagement photos with paved paths winding through a tropical rainforest that evokes a sense of adventure. You can capture a range of scenery including dense greenery, wild orchids, bamboo groves, and vibrant ferns in your pictures to showcase the wild side of your love.
Follow the trail loop to pose by Akaka Falls plunging 442’ into a green gorge with the smaller 100’ Kahuna Falls nearby.
Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden
A love like yours is rare and unique, making the Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden the perfect spot to capture your engagement pictures. It’s a 20-acre paradise north of Hilo that looks and feels like the Garden of Eden!
A 1.25-mile trail down a rustic wooden boardwalk winds through a stunning display of endangered plants, flowers, and trees with abundant places to snap pictures celebrating your engagement.
Rainbow Falls
It’s hard to imagine a more scenic place to get your engagement photos done than Rainbow Falls (Waianuenue, meaning “rainbow water” in Hawaiian) in Wailuku River State Park, just west of Hilo.
The 80-foot falls give off a misty iridescence that refracts sunlight like a prism for a colorful show of the Big Island’s brilliance. The morning mists are the most colorful, so arrive early for the best photo opportunities!
Punaluu Black Sand Beach
The otherworldly beauty of the Big Island’s black sand beaches makes for delightfully unique engagement photos that showcase your sense of adventure as a couple. Punaluu Black Sand Beach on the Kau coast is a prime spot to take your pictures surrounded by leafy palm trees, and sparkling black sand contrasting with blue skies.
It’s the most famous black sand beach on the Big Island, so come early if you’re hoping to beat the crowds for the best photo opportunities. Sunrises on the beach are stunning.
Puuhonua o Honaunau National Park
In South Kona, Puuhonua O Honaunau National Park is a historic, sacred place on the Big Island that can be the ideal setting to celebrate the love you share with your special someone.
There are tons of great spots for pictures here: Black lava shores, the cobbled, L-shaped Great Wall, sparkling fishponds, thatched traditional houses, a sacred temple, and wooden kii statues of Hawaiian gods are just a few.
Waialea Bay
If you’re searching for a more secluded zone to take your engagement photos far from the resorts and crowds, you should check out Waialea Bay. Known by locals as Beach 69 (it’s near the #69 telephone pole marker), this natural white sand beach is unspoiled by developments.
You’ll be able to pose on the tree-fringed shoreline with driftwood, tiny tidal pools, and the pure blue ocean around you. The beach is more crowded in the afternoons, but sunsets are absolutely breathtaking here for dramatic photos.
Mauna Kea Volcano
Feeling adventurous and want to try something wildly different for your engagement pictures? The Mauna Kea volcano could be the perfect backdrop for your photos. It’s the highest point on the Big Island at almost 13,800 feet high and offers panoramic views of the ocean, green valleys, and the sister volcano, Mauna Loa.
Mauna Kea is dormant (last erupted over 4,500 years ago), so don’t worry about an untimely eruption interrupting your photo session!
Kaunaoa (Mauna Kea) Beach
North of Kona, there’s a little slice of paradise at Kaunaoa or Mauna Kea Beach. You can create some of the most memorable snapshots of you and your honey on the crescent-shaped shore where soft, white sand meets the pure azure waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Coconut palms and trees dot the shoreline and offer shade for flawless mid-day pictures. It’s one of the best beaches near Kona and popular for capturing engagements!
Kukio Beach
Head to sunny Kukio Beach (about 20 minutes north of Kona) on the western coast of the Big Island to discover a gorgeous beach that feels secluded and romantic. A shady coconut palm tree grove, white sand contrasting with black lava formations and arches, and some of the most beautiful sunsets on the island make this an absolutely perfect spot to take engagement pictures.
Stick around after photos to see the tidal pools teeming with life or snorkel to spot the native green sea turtles!
Whether you’re personalizing your save-the-dates and wedding invitations or creating tangible memories you two can look back on for decades, these amazing locations to take engagement photos on the Big Island won’t disappoint.
Pick a location, book your travel, and plan some fun poses that showcase both of your personalities in the most gorgeous tropical settings on the Island of Hawaii!
