Puna Rainforest Retreat

What to expect

Puna Rainforest Retreat is not a hot spring you can drive up to and pay for a soak. It is a private vacation rental: a gated 20-acre estate in the rainforest of the Puna District, about 4 miles from the small town of Pāhoa on the Big Island’s east side. What earns it a place in a hot springs guide is the heat under the ground. Steam vents have opened on the lower part of the property, and the host uses that natural steam to heat soaking tubs for guests.

Every listing for the property comes from the same host, who has rented here on Airbnb for more than a decade and lives on site. The listings describe the setup in slightly different words: “volcanic hot spring tubs,” “geothermal-heated soaking tubs,” a plunge pool and, on one listing, a swimming pool. Treat it as what it is: man-made tubs warmed by real volcanic steam, in a rainforest garden, rather than a natural pool where water rises from the ground.

The estate has a main house and four smaller cottages. The main house sleeps up to 10 in four bedrooms. The cottages include studios and two-bedroom units, and the names in the listings include Rainbow, Purple Passion, Blue Ginger and Green Bamboo. The whole estate can be booked together for large groups; one listing describes about 10 bedrooms and space for 16 or more people.

The steam vents and tubs

According to the host, the vents sit on the lower property, more than 500 feet from the houses. The listings give their temperature as about 197°F92°C on one page and about 150°F66°C on another, which suggests the readings have changed over time. The steam column ranges from barely visible to more than 100 feet tall and is strongest after rain, which in this part of Puna is often.

A 1.2-mile trail loops through the property’s native ʻōhiʻa forest past the vents. The host also points out skylights into lava tubes, lava trees and small caves on the grounds. Puna sits on the flank of Kīlauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and steaming ground is part of life here.

The host does not publish tub temperatures. Expect the water to be adjusted for comfort rather than set at a fixed number, and ask when you book if heat matters to you.

Getting there

Fly into Hilo (ITO), the closest airport. The host puts Hilo about 24 miles from the estate, which works out to roughly 40 minutes by car. From Hilo, take Highway 11 south to Keaʻau, then Highway 130 toward Pāhoa. The exact address and the gate code arrive only after you book.

From Kona it is about 100 miles across the island on the Saddle Road (Highway 200), which the host says takes around two hours.

You need a car. There is no public transport worth relying on in lower Puna, and the property is reached by a long private driveway behind a gate.

When to go

Puna is warm and wet year-round. The rainforest gets frequent showers, especially in the afternoon and winter months, but that is when the steam vents put on the biggest show. There is no seasonal closure.

Prices and booking

There are no day passes, walk-ins or tours. You can only soak here as an overnight guest.

• How to book: through the host’s Airbnb listings for each cottage, the main house or the full estate.
• Rates: not published as a fixed price. Airbnb shows the total once you enter dates and party size.
• Pets: not allowed. Trained, housebroken service animals are accepted under the guest’s control, and the guest pays for any damage.
• Parties: the whole-estate listing does not allow parties or events.
• Children: none of the listings sets an age rule. One listing notes that the pool or hot tub has no gate or lock, so watch young children closely.
• Clothing: the tubs are private to the estate’s guests. The host does not publish a dress code; if you share the estate with other parties, ask whether tubs are shared between units before you book.

Where to stay nearby

You stay on site; that is the only way to use the tubs. If you are looking for somewhere else in the area:

• Pāhoa, about 4 miles away, has restaurants, a grocery store and a few small inns and rentals.
• Hilo has the widest choice of hotels on the east side.
• Volcano Village, near Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (about 40 miles away according to the host), has cabins and B&Bs.

Safety notes

• Steam burns: The vents are well above boiling. The host asks guests not to touch the steam, and you should keep children away from the vent area.
• Gas: The host says the steam has been tested by the USGS and shows no harmful gases. We could not see those results. Anyone with breathing problems should keep a distance from active vents.
• Dense rainforest: The host asks guests to stay on the grounds and marked trails, because the forest is thick and easy to get lost in. Lava tubes and skylights can have sudden drops.
• Volcanic hazards: All of lower Puna is in high lava-hazard zones. Before your trip, check alerts from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense.
• Untreated water: If the tubs use untreated water, do not put your head under, the same rule as any natural warm water in Hawaiʻi.

Nearby stops worth adding

The free, public Pohoiki warm ponds at Isaac Kepoʻokalani Hale Beach Park are about half an hour’s drive away on the coast. They formed in the 2018 eruption and are the area’s best-known public warm soak. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is about an hour away, and Hilo has the farmers market, Rainbow Falls and the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center.