Trip to Kona, Hawaii - any tips?

I used to live in Kona. Here is a list I've compiled. I hope it helps! Aloha :)

The pages I quote are from Big Island Revealed, 3rd edition.

Activities

1. Kayak across Kealakekua Bay - we rented our kayak from Kona Boys

(808-328-1234) and they were great!

2. Hike out to flowing lava - drive down Chain of Craters Road (in

Volcanoes National Park) to the end and hike out to where the current flow

is. If you want to call ahead, the number is 808-985-6000. They have a

pre-recorded update as to where the lava is flowing. I highly recommend

staying in Hilo overnight or at a B&B in Volcano Village if you decide to go

to the volcano. It will give you the chance to really explore the park and

you won't have to drive ALL THE WAY back to Kona in the same day! Very

relaxing. Volcano Village is a great place. Aloha Junction

(www.bbvolcano.com) is a nice little inexpensive B&B we enjoyed. They have a

jacuzzi -- there is nothing like soaking in a hot jacuzzi in the mist after

a night of walking around on the lava!

3. Walk to a secluded waterfall - if you have Big Island Revealed (3rd

edition), check out pages 228-229. That's all I need to say except this:

TAKE INSECT REPELLENT! We loved this hike and would do it again (it's more

of a wet walk than a hike), but we got chewed big time by the mosquitoes! Be

prepared and be smarter than we were -- you'll LOVE this! It's amazing and

we never saw another soul the whole time we were out there.

4. Place of Refuge (Pu'uhonua O Honaunau) south of Kailua-Kona - page 71

in Big Island Revealed. Very pretty, very Hawaiian place. Important and

interesting.

5. Waterfalls of the Hamakua Coast - Rainbow Falls (you can drive right up

to it), Akaka Falls, Uma Uma Falls, and Kahuna Falls. All are well worth

getting to! I think the best time to see all of these falls is in the

morning when the sun is right. Morning is prettiest in Hilo and these falls

are all on the Hilo side. Be sure to look out (if you're not the person

driving!) for the little unmarked waterfalls along the side of the road as

you drive down the Hamakua Coast!

6. Beaches - Mauna Kea Beach (Kauna'oa), Hapuna Beach, and Kua Bay are my

favorites. Kona Coast State Park (Kekaha Kai) is also really nice, but you

need 4WD to get to it. Really rocky road in! Make sure you spend AT LEAST

one day hanging out and enjoying the sun. Use sunscreen! :) The Hawaiian

sun will fry you in minutes if you're not careful. Kahalu'u Beach right in

Kailua-Kona is a good beach for snorkeling. You can rent snorkel gear for

$9/week at Snorkel Bob's in Kailua-Kona (right near Huggo's restaurant on

Ali'i Drive).

7. Punalu'u Black Sand Beach - You can drive right up to the black sand!

Very cool. Lots of green sea turtles (protected in Hawaii, endangered

species) there. Some will rest right on the beach and you can take pictures!

The water is beautiful and really cold in lots of spots. It is fed by fresh

water somehow and that makes it cold. Great place to spend some time hanging

out on the way to the volcano.

8. Green Sand Beach - page 173 in Big Island Revealed. Either hike or

drive out in a 4WD vehicle. Don't take any of the sand either here or at

Punalu'u (or anywhere else, really). :) The green and black sand in

particular are finite and if everyone takes just a little, there won't be

any left in a few years. Sorry for the lecture, but I get so steamed when I

see people filling up little vials (or big bags!) with green and black sand!

9. Ahalanui - page 117 in Big Island Revealed. Don't miss this if you can

help it! Really, really neat ocean water hot spring to swim in. Off the

beaten path and like nothing you've ever seen before (probably)! The water is warm because it’s heated by lava. Pretty neat!

10. Pacific Tsunami Museum - Nice little museum focusing on the 1946 and

1960 tsunamis that devastated Hilo. Inexpensive, very informative, and

interesting. Only about $5 to get in. Closed Sundays.

11. Kalapana - This is the name of the town that was overrun by lava in

1990. Page 119 in Big Island Revealed. Not much to see there, but it's

interesting and there’s a little snack stand that sells hot dogs and stuff there.

12. Kaumana Cave - page 146 in Big Island Revealed. This is a nice little

lava tube that you can walk into just a few feet off the Saddle Road. If you

don't want to drive the Saddle (it's not that bad a road but the rental car

companies don't want you driving it), you can come in just a couple of miles

off the Hilo side and find the cave from there. It's very damp and pretty.

We took our Christmas card picture there in 2000!

Restaurants, etc.

1. Tex Drive Inn in Honoka'a (on the way to Hilo) - they make the best

fresh malasadas! They're a Portuguese donut without a hole and they're

delicious! There's nothing like sitting on the lanai at Tex when it's

raining on the roof and you're eating a malasada and drinking a cup of

coffee. Ahhhh...

2. Lava Java on Ali'i Drive in Kailua-Kona - great Kona coffee and stuff.

Yum!

3. Huggo's on the Rocks on Ali'i Drive in Kailua-Kona - This is the place

next door to Huggo's. On the Rocks is a little bar-type place situated right

on the sand. The view is great and at night they have live music and hula.

The service is usually slow and even sometimes rude, but just enjoy the

pupus (appetizers) and the view and you won't care!

4. Kona Brewing Company (Brewpub) in Kailua-Kona - great locally made

beers (or so my husband says) and terrific pizza! Not near the beach, but

nice atmosphere anyway. The Kohala pizza is great (I'm totally jonesing for

one!) and I LOVE the roasted garlic appetizer!

5. Ken's House of Pancakes in Hilo - If you're over that way, it's worth a

stop. Ken's is open 24 hours, which on the Big Island is a rarity. Their

menu is huge and the waitresses are almost all old-timers. Good local grinds

(food) at good prices. Fun atmosphere; very 'local.'

6. Punalu'u Bakeshop in Na'alehu (south island, on the way to the

volcano) - really yummy taro and guava bread -- and cool T-shirts that state

it's the "southernmost bakery in the U.S.! -- as well as mac nut ice cream

sandwiches dipped in chocolate!

7. Roy's (in Waikoloa) - upscale Pacific Rim food. Roy's is a chain and

they're all throughout the islands as well as on the mainland. I LOVE Roy's

food and the chocolate souffle is to die for! Well worth a drive up to

Waikoloa...and you can shop at the King's Shops afterward!

8. Kona Mix Plate - local style fast food. Try the loco moco or even SPAM

musubi! My husband loves it. Best thing is to grab a plate lunch and go out

to the beach for sunset. Very relaxing and local type thing to do.

9. Java on the Rock - same location as Huggo's on the Rocks but Java on

the Rock is just for breakfast. Their fruit plate is great -- you HAVE to

try rambutan! It's a freaky little hairy fruit that is just delicious! Good

coffee and pastries and the view is incredibly clear in the morning. We ate

breakfast here almost every day on our trip in 2002.

10. Buns in the Sun - another nice little breakfast place. The food is

good (ham croissants and stuff like that) but there is no view. It's in

Lanihau Plaza near Kentucky Fried Chicken off Palani Road in Kailua-Kona. Good for taking breakfast to go and heading off to the beach or where ever.

11. Shave ice - Scandinavian Shave Ice on Ali'i Drive is pretty good and

the shave ice at Ocean View is supposed to be good, too. My friend Danicita

owns the shave ice stand in Lanihau Plaza (right near Long's) and hers is

great! My favorite is li hing mui (like a really sweet plum flavor) with

soft serve ice cream in the bottom! Delicious.

12. Tropical Dreams ice cream - this is sold at a little antiques store on the way down south called Antiques-Art-Ice Cream (near Kealakekua, I think), in Hawi, and at the Kress building in Hilo. It is unbelievably good! Try it if you’re in any of these areas. You won’t be disappointed!

Well, I hope this has been helpful! I know you won't get to all of these

things, but it should give you some ideas. Oh! And one of our favorite

things to do at night when we lived there was to get a Dairy Queen ice cream

on Ali'i Drive (near the Hard Rock Cafe) and watch the local guys play

volleyball. There is a sand court set up right there in between the Hard

Rock and Dairy Queen and there is a game pretty much every night! Fun, fun,

FUN!

It sounds like you already have a good budget plan by cooking your own food. The first thing I would suggest to do it to look for a local guide. You will be appraoched by many so just pick one you feel comfortable with. I did a lot of guiding as a teenager and I would only take people to the off the beaten path places where I would go myself. Most entertainment would be free as any local guide can tell you where the waterfalls, hidden caves, local eateries, that they grew up enjoying themselves. Just make it clear that you are on a budget.There is no shame in that on any of the islands. In fact it will make you more local. Also pick up some local coffee, some of the best in the world. Also- Do not ask for a local rate if you are not a local. This will only cause embarassment for you and the vendor. I don't ask for expect for airline tickets, boat rentals or something expensive, and I am always asked for ID to prove it if I don't know the people. On regular items it is only a 10% discount anyway, but every year another group comes over trying this and it is just doesn't work and isn't good for anyone. Best Wishes

City of Refuge is nice to go to. Also Kona has dinner cruises on glass bottom boats that are very romantic.Captain Bean's is the most popular for the dinner cruise.Also you can catch a Luau at a couple of the hotels in Kona. Some of the hotels also have live Hawaiian music near the pools at night.

I'm from Hilo and have driven to Kona many times.Hope you guys have a good time.

In Hawaii will energizes you the fresh, floral air energizes you. The warm, tranquil waters will refresh you and the breathtaking, natural beauty renews you so now is about the time to know this amazing place, starting from with hotelbye because look around! There’s no place on earth like Hawaii. In Hawaii, the six unique islands offer distinct experiences that will entice any traveller. In Hawaii you will discover your ideal travel experience. Waikiki is one of the Hawaii islands and is the Hawaii's biggest tourist attraction. A suburb of Honolulu, Waikiki is easy to reach and offers all the amenities and entertainment of a modern city. At the end of the crescent shaped beach is the extinct volcano known as Diamond Head Crater, adding a spectacular backdrop to the incredible sun drenched beach.

Yup I live hear right now

Well if you love hunting like me go up to kaloko and hunt pigs ''Boars/sao's'' or turkey's. If you want to hike go to saddle road then hike up Mauna Kea to the observatory except its a heck of far walk from the bottom but you can go to a stop off kina places if you will then walk up,remember its 14,000ft above sea level.

Another places to go is the Kilauea volcano its beautiful at ''night'' but its close to a mile long but its again a beautiful place a really important thing to remember is never take rocks from there.

Another great place is Kahalu'u beach park its mostly family Friendy but don't go up to the house kina thing.

Or Hapuna beach resort that is nice as well.

places to not go is the beach white sands/magic sands because they smoke the crazy weed.

Oahu huh, well a few places is waimea bay by I think its Kahuku sorry, another place is of course waikiki,you seriously have to go to Pearl Harbor because its a touching moment.

good luck!!!

One of the most beautiful areas on the island is the place of refuge. You can also do a night lava hike. Pele's fire is beautiful at night. There is also the Observatories on the top of Moana Loa that includes dinner and an uninterupted view of the stars. That should get you started.

YOU GUYS SHOULD GO TO THE BEACH, i live in hawaii and its cool. I live in Hawi its about 1 hour from Kona, Kona is the lest pretties place on the island.

Strongly recommend the book Taraloha refers to. It is a very candid guide book with lots or recommendations and places to avoid. Very candid!!!

Big Island Revealed

Available at most book shops

I really enjoyed the black sand beach, Akaka Falls and the Thurston Lava Tube.

Do not bring any weed with you.