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Kona
At the north end of this region is the Kona International Airport--where most visitors will land. Do not make the
mistake Michael made on his first trip to the big island, and fly into Hilo for a slightly cheaper fare. It's a very
beautiful but nearly 3 hour long drive from there to Kona!
Just south of the airport, you'll get to the town of Kona--a very cool town with about 30,000 people, and a mix of new and
older resorts, condominiums, houses, and shopping and services.
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World-famous Kona coffee! Photo courtesy Kirk Lee Aeder.
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If you like to wander around, explore the town, and get outside your resort, this is part of the island where you'll want to be.
If you prefer to just stay inside your resort, dine in the resorts' restaurants, maybe play a little golf, visit the spa but not
venture outside, then consider the resorts further north on the Kohala Coast, or perhaps
the Keauhou area just south of Kona.
In Kona, we recommend
the luxury all-inclusive Kona Village,
and the Royal Kona Resort.
Photo courtesy Starwood Hawaii.
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Keauhou
Keauhou is just south of Kona on the sunny west coast of the Big Island. The Bay is a popular spot for
all sorts of watersports including scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing, etc., and the beach is generally much less
crowded than the better-known beaches of the Kona Coast.
Yet, you're just a couple of minutes away from the galleries,
restaurants, etc. of Kailua-Kona, and just minutes south of here you'll find historical spots such as Captain Cook,
the City of Refuge and the Hikiau Heiau, once the site of an ancient Hawaiian temple.
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In Keauhou, we recommend
the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort,
which recently reopened following a 70 million dollar renovation. The bay is famous for its manta rays--guests of this resort
can observe the mantas feeding from their lanais (balconies) at sunset. Local manta ray expert James Wing will even take
guests into the water for a nighttime snorkel or scuba expedition to the feeding site.
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