Kona is a pleasant town that welcomes you to the big island

In our opinion, Kona, Hawaii is the perfect town to choose to fly in to on your family vacation getaway to Hawaii. Many of the great chiefs of ancient Hawaii, chose Kona as their home because the of the weather. You will find, as you fly into the big island, that Hualalai Volcano shelters the town from the winds and rains, preventing many of the nasty storms from reaching Kona. From your airplane, you will see a stark contrast between this western side of the island versus the eastern side. Kona gets a lot less rain than Hilo does on the eastern side. You will see that there are more lava rocks and baren land and not as much vegetation.

Enjoy some tasty treats while you stay in Kona! Click the picture!

When you land at the airport, you will need to drive about 5 miles south on Highway 19 into Kona. The airport is not actually in the town itself. The town has a mile long stretch of oceanfront road called Alii Drive and begins at the Kailua Pier. This is close to the starting gate for the Ironman Triathlon .

If your family has been itching to get into the ocean, then Kamakahonu Beach is a great place to start. It is a very calm beach and you can rent all your gear hear as well-although it is recommended that you go in town a little ways to rent gear. You will find that any of the rental shops on the beach are going to charge outrageous prices.

Going down Alii Drive, you will see a seawall near the Kailua Pier that offers great fishing and good views. If you or a family member really likes fishing, then go down a little ways further to Hulihe'e Palace. This Palace was a home for vacationing Hawaiian royalty until the early 1900's.

Continuing on Alii Drive, you will see a seawall near the Kailua Pier that offers great fishing and good views. If you or a family member really likes fishing, then go down a little ways further to Hulihe'e Palace. This Palace was a home for vacationing Hawaiian royalty until the early 1900's.

About this time, if the weather is warm, your kids are probably going to start complaining about being hot, or wanting something drink. Go across the street from the seawall and stop at the Ocean View, a great little place to get some shaved ice. You can head on down the street and see some more shopping boutiques and an old missionary church. A little further down, you will see a bunch of different restaurants that offer great food and awesome sunsets. My favorite was Bubba Gump. The service was good, the food excellent, and the sunset awesome. After the restaurants, if you drive down down a few more miles, you will come across a golf course on your right. If your idea of a family vacation involves a round of golf, check it out.

Other than what has already been mentioned, Kona is not much of a town for too many exciting activities. Most families would do well to rest and catch up on sleep here, then move on south of Kona towards the many attractions available like the City of Refuge or Hawaii Volcanoes National Park . You will see that many of the towns in between Kona and the park have a coffee theme. If you are a coffee lover, you will enjoy the road trip.