24 Hours in Kona, Hawaii

Why Kona?

• I’ve been to several islands in Hawaii, but never to the Big Island.
• A $197 roundtrip fare became available, a friend and I quickly snapped it up before it disappeared.
• Again, it’s a $197 roundtrip fare.  It never happens.

 

After a very bumpy flight, we finally arrived at Kona Airport, and headed straight for the hotel in Keauhou Bay, and then quickly over to Papakōlea Green Sand Beach near the southernmost tip of the island.  Along the way we stopped at a few scenic viewpoints, and about 90 minutes later we were parked and ready to go to the beach.

In order to get to the beach, you can either hike for at least an hour, or take a shuttle over.  Since it was already 5:30pm, it wouldn’t make sense to hike that far, and the terrain would be insane to walk through after being through a long, bumpy flight.

We asked the folks there for a quote, and was told it would be $20 per person for the ride, and went for it.  I stood in the back of the pickup truck with a family from Vermont, and my friend rode with the driver in the passenger seat.  The 20-minute off-roading ride was very bumpy, as we were going up and down the terrain.  It really takes an experienced driver to drive through this.  The driver told my friend that he can only drive two roundtrips a day.  It’s just too much.

It was a cloudy day, so the sand appeared much darker than I had thought.  I walked down to the beach and got a close look at the sand, and it’s definitely a darker shade of green.

After getting back to the parking lot, we headed straight for South Point for the sunset.  Even on a cloudy day it was beautiful and just serene.  By the time sunset was over, it was 7pm.

The thought was to go to the volcanic viewing platform to see the lava flow, as there is volcanic activity, but Google said it would take two hours, so we decided against it and went back towards the hotel for dinner.

We ended up at Teshima’s, which opened in 1957, before that the family opened a store back in 1929.  The butteryaki fish was super yum, and the portions were very generous.

After a good night’s sleep, we went the town of Kailua just to walk around.  At one point I decided just to lay down and enjoy the sound of the waves.  I am just not good at doing that, so I remind myself every so often to do it.

Shortly after, it was time to head to the airport.  On the way to the airport we heard over the radio that the viewing points are closed due to more activity.  We were a little bummed that we missed it; however, we were able to get a good night’s sleep and that’s more important.

Mahalo Big Island.

 

Practical Information

Papakōlea Green Beach: It’s better to go earlier in the day.  At sunset you really have no choice but to take the off-roading option.

Stop and enjoy the view.