Kailua-Kona

KAILUA, KONA

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Kona Village Resort fish pond

The Big Island mainly has two seasons - wet and dry except at its highest mountain peaks like 13,000-foot-high Mauna Kea Volcano, where the contrast of snow can be seen in the Kohala Coast through the palm trees. We arrived on the Kona coast of the Big Island on March 28, 2001, a time when the rainy season was just starting. Its weather is unsettled. Rainfall is highly variable by elevation and location. One can experience different kinds of weather within a day, making it a tad difficult to plan what to wear. Of the 22 possible climates in the world, 21 can be found here. As we travelled around the island, we experienced days that were rainy, muggy, humid, warm, foggy, cold, hot, and pleasant - all in a span of less than 2 weeks. The months of November through March tend to be slightly cooler, while the months of September through October are warmer. The rainy season on the Kona coast is around April through May, but rainfall occurs throughout the year.

Kona means leeward, sheltered from the trade winds. In this case, it's the western side of the island.

As we drove from the Kona International Airport to the Plantation House where we were staying in Kailua, we noticed that both sides of the road was mostly filled with a'a lava that flowed in 1801 from the pali (cliff) of Mt. Hualalai down to the sea. These lava flows created this stark vast land. 200 years later, nothing grows in this area.

Along the roadside, one will quickly notice the local style of graffiti: white coral rocks from the beaches spelling out messages on the black lava roadside banks. ("Akoni, I love you," "Lani, will u marry me?" etc.). Newcomers are always amused by this.

Our first 3 days were spent here at the Kailua Plantation House, along 75-5948 Alii Drive in Kailua, Kona. This bed & breakfast place is perched on black lava that juts out into the sea. It has its own private oceanfront lanai, an outdoor dipping pool and spa. It is minutes from fine restaurants, fishing piers, shops, and wonderful snorkeling and diving destinations. They serve delicious breakfasts of avocado omelettes, Hawaiian sweetbread french toast (very different from the mainland French toast that we know of), banana bread pudding, fresh tropical fruits and juices, as well as breads and muffins. (Photo courtesy of Plantation House)

This was our room, the Hale Apelika (African Room), an exotically and tastefully decorated spacious oceanfront room with a queen-size four-poster bamboo bed surrounded with a sheer canopy. The rest of the furniture are also made of rattan and bamboo. Looking at the photo above, it is the encircled room to the left on the 2nd floor. From our balcony, we had an unobstructed view. We took a lot of the most glorious sunsets imaginable like the ones shown below. (Room photo courtesy of Plantation House)

Mouse-over these images to the left and below to see more photos.

Kailua, Kona is on the southwestern side of the island. It boasts of fine restaurants, fishing piers, souvenir shops (Hard Rock Cafe and Crazy Shirts are right on Alii Drive), and historical landmarks . Volcanic ashes from Mt. Kilauea get blown into this region causing a warm, humid, and muggy climate compared to that of the Kohala Coast, 20 miles farther north.

(Mouse-over the images below to see more photos.)

Michael Angelo Restaurant in
Kailua/Kona

Kailua-Kona Shore
and Rowers

Kailua Palm & Bougainvilleas

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH at Kailua-Kona was erected by American missionaries who first landed on this coast in 1820.

Kua Bay

One of the best areas to go snorkeling in this region is the Kua Bay, 15 miles north of Kailua and just south of the Four Seasons Resort along the Kohala Coast. It has calm waters, coral reefs close to the shore, and a white sand beach. We took a snorkeling-kayaking tour with Pacific Passion ($78/head includes lunch). We assembled at 8:30 am in a marina very close to the Kona International Airport & went out to sea by 9:00 am. Its friendly 3-man crew took us to Kua Bay on a 20-minute ride in a 35-foot boat.

Halfway into our destination, we encountered a school of 50 to 100 spinner dolphins who put on quite a show for us. They flipped up in the air and porpoised merrily along as our boat created big waves.

Shortly after, we spotted 2 humpback whales! We lucked out considering that this was the end of the whale-watching season. The tour guides said that they'd be lucky to see dolphins or whales once a week around the end of March.

We had about 4 hours of snorkeling & kayaking. The tour guides dove deep into the waters to bring up sea urchins, octopus, corals, etc. for us to see, hold, & enjoy. We also took our own pictures of turtles, fish, and corals underwater with a digital camera.

(Click on the thumbnail photos below to enlarge.)

FOOD & RESTAURANTS

The regions of this island differ in character but they all seem to share one thing - no matter how small the town, one is likely to find an excellent restaurant. Some of our favorites were: the Canoe House at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, Brown's Beach House at the Orchid at Mauna Lani, Oodles of Noodles in Kailua Kona, Roy's at Waikoloa, Surt's in Volcano Village (try their mango tiramisu for a change), and Hilo's Cafe 100 (a hole-in-the-wall fastfood place known for its loco moco). Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Mauna Kea Resort both serve excellent breakfast buffets.

We explored the Kailua area and noticed several shopping centers with big stores like Costco, Walmart, Safeway, Liberty House, & great restaurants. We even found a Filipino restaurant-store, Glo-Ivy, which is located in the Kopiko Mall, near Hilo Hattie's Dresses & Long's Drug Store. Their halo-halo is super! We also explored the hillsides where it usually showers around mid day. We saw a mixture of modest and huge homes.

LUAU

Travel books rate the luau at Kona Village Resort to be the best in all of the Hawaiian Islands. It is offered only every Friday at 6:00 pm. You have to book way ahead of time because their resort guests have reservations priority. It starts with a tour of the resort, then the guests are escorted to the luau area. The food was great and the costumes used in the show were a bit different from those of Old Lahaina Luau in Maui and Gerry's Luau in Oahu. Cost: $75/head comes with lei & beverages.

Kona Village Resort fish pond

Kona Village Resort is constructed on the site of an ancient Hawaiian fishing village. The old fishponds have been restored, and the rooms are constructed in a Polynesian style. This resort stays away from the modern complexities of life and is going "back to nature." They do not have TVs or radios in any of the guest rooms. It is a family-oriented resort that offers activities for everyone in the family, especially children. A resort guest informed us that a resort staff picks up the kids at 5:30 pm for some fun activities and dinner. Its property sits right next to the Four Seasons Hotel's lush golf course and modern amenities. What a contrast!

Kona Village Resort cabins

Blue Marlin