Things To Do
Places to eat in Kona
The main downtown road in Kona has great restaurants! - Island Lava Java - Papa Kona - Huggo's - Don's Mai Tai Bar (Great Happy Hour) located in the Royal Kona Resort - Big Kahuna Beach Grill Coffee - Kona Haven - Green Flash Coffee ABC Store - Late night snacks and spam masubi
Beaches
While there are not many swimmable beaches with sand on the island, here are a list of some located near Kona! - White Sand Beach (Magic Sands Beach) : Closest to Kona - Manini'owali Beach ; 15 mins north - Hapuna State Beach : 1 hour north, large flat white sand beach with showers and picnic tables, charges to park and enter by credit card - Kauna'oa Beach : Next to Hapuna
Night Snorkel with Manta Rays
This is a once and a lifetime experience! This company will provide you with wetsuits as well!
Captain Cook Monument
This is by far some of the best snorkeling on the island! You can either take an easy snorkeling excursion on a catamaran boat to the famous Captain Cook Memorial or hike down! Hiking: The hike down to the bottom is beautiful but challenging. This should NOT be attempted by first time hikers. The hike is almost 4 miles round trip with 1,400ft in elevation gain with minimal to no shade. If you do choose to hike down, the views are breathtaking. You will spot wild goats and walk in-between cattle fields. We recommend bringing lots of water, snorkeling gear, a hat, hiking shoes, lunch, and a gopro camera. Attempt this hike in the morning before the heat sets in. Mongoose will try to get your snacks so zip up your bags when you go into the water!
Kīlauea National Park
Come explore the world's most active volcano! Make a road trip with pit stops along the way. Kilauea is around a 3 hour car ride south of Kona. We recommend: - Punalu'u Bake Shop - Punalu'u Beach (Black Sand Beach) - Kilauea Visitor Center - Kilauea Overlook - Crater Rim Drive - Steam Vents - Iki Trail - 3.3 mile hike into a crater - Thurston Lava Tubes
Hilo
Take a back country road trip to Hilo! This is around a 2 hour drive east of Kona. We recommend stopping along the way at: - Panaewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens (FREE zoo) - Waipi'o Valley Lookout - Rainbow Falls - Akaka Falls - $10 to park $5 to enter - Honomu Goat Dairy - Carlsmith Beach