Big Island, HI

Hawaii Island Retreat

Way up at the northern point of island, past the fancy resorts everyone has heard of, there’s a lush and little-known area of former sugar towns. In a green valley here, the Hawaii Island Retreat has added a solar-powered “yurt village” — sturdy tent bungalows standing next to a saltwater swimming pool, spa, shower house, and organic garden.

The famed beaches of the Kohala Coast are a half-hour away, but there are enough waterfalls, breezy beaches, and seafood joints to keep a person content right here. —Jeanne Cooper