The curving, steep drive around the Big Island, taken at a leisurely pace, seems to cover as much change in altitude, climate, and scenery as it does distance—a fitting route for enjoying Hawaii’s volatile extremes as well as its more peaceable pleasures.

Day One: Waipio Valley to Waimea (112 miles)

Start out in the Waipio Valley, which cuts between the foothills of the centuries’ dormant Kohala volcano, at the bottom of 2,000-foot cliffs. Drivers should take heed: The road out of the valley, which slopes 900 feet at a 25 percent grade, is restricted to four-wheel-drive vehicles. Lush and wild, with waterfalls, a black sand beach, and no roads, the Waipio Valley is said to be the playground where the early Polynesian kings were raised.

After you’re sated with serenity, head off down Route 240, joining the Mamalahoa Highway (part of Route 19), as it travels along the island’s east side. The Hamakua Coast was, until a decade or so ago, home to cane plantations; today, it has small towns, high grasses, and mist-capped hills. Drive four miles inland on Route 220 to view the Akaka and Kahuna falls, which cascade down 800 and 900 feet, respectively. Back on Route 19, head south to the left-hand turnoff toward the sea and onto Kulaimano Road. This is the beginning of a four-mile scenic drive over one-lane bridges and under African tulip trees. The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is here, nourishing 2,000 different plants and flowers.

Hilo, the island’s biggest town, is home to the Pacific Tsunami Museum, which has impressive exhibits that help demystify these killer waves. Leave town on Route 200, also called the Saddle Road because it runs between the Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanoes. This freshly paved two-laner is framed by the ferns and ohia lehua trees of the Hilo Forest Reserve, although the landscape thins as you gain altitude, as does the road’s wide, smooth surface. Use caution here: The road is dangerous. Follow the John A. Burns Way up 9,200 feet to the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy, where you will be rewarded with an extraordinary view to Mauna Loa. Continue back to Waimea on Route 200.

Day Two: Waimea to Hawi and back (51 miles)

Set off west on Route 19, to Route 270 and the North Kohala Coast. Less than a mile past the intersection is Samuel M. Spencer Beach Park, a perfect spot for snorkeling and humpback whale watching. Follow Route 270 as it hugs the coast up to Hawi, a nineteenth-century sugar town at the northernmost tip of the island. The pastel-painted storefronts now house galleries and restaurants, as well as the Landing Elixir Kaba Bar & Garden Spa, which offers acupuncture treatments and massages. The route back to Waimea, through the Kohala Mountains along Route 250, ascends to 3,000 feet and has stupendous vistas of the glowing black lava of the Kohala Coast. The drive is a perfect sequence of moments, blending lava and sea, shaded mountains and blazing orange sun.

Day Three: Waimea to Volcanoes National Park (158 miles)

Head south on Route 190, with its sweeping views of the island’s west coast, all the way down to the turnoff for Ka Lae, the southernmost point in the United States, where fields of scrub take the place of lush vegetation. Volcanoes National Park is huge, encompassing the enormous Kilauea Caldera and featuring one of the most dramatic roads on the Big Island.

Crater Rim Drive is an 11.5-mile loop around the caldera; pull over by Steaming Bluff, on the north rim, to get another vantage on the otherworldly purple-gray landscape. The Halema‘uma‘u Crater is a deceptively tranquil-looking flat, circular surface more than a quarter of a mile in diameter. Chain of Craters Road traverses 20 miles of surreal black lava, descending 3,500 feet of mountain toward the sea. The ride ends abruptly, since the road has been overtaken by lava that has been oozing its way to the sea since 1983. If the Pu‘u ‘O‘o Vent is erupting, hike out onto the flow just before dark, and bring a flashlight. You’ll alternate between walking, climbing, and jumping until you see the heat source: the vent, its bright, burning red gash high up in the distance.

Pit Stops

Hawi

Landing Elixir Kaba Bar & Garden Spa (808-889-1000; treatments, $80–$200).

Volcanoes National Park

Volcano House (808-967-7321, fax-8429; doubles with crater view, $165–$185).

Waimea

Jacaranda Inn (808-885-8813; jacarandainn.com; doubles, $189–$300). Daniel Thiebaut (808-887-2200; entrées, $19–$32). Merriman’s (808-885-6822; entrées, $17–$35).

Waipio

Waipio Wayside B&B Inn (808-775-0275; waipiowayside.com; doubles, $95–$145).