The manta ray night snorkel leaves from Keauhou, 17 minutes down the coast from Kailua-Kona. Of everything on this page, that’s the one we’d book first. The coffee farms above Hōlualoa, the snorkeling at Kahaluʻu and Kealakekua Bay, and the walk through Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau all sit within 40 minutes of town.
Most of this list keeps you on the Kona side, close enough to fill a day without crossing the island. A handful pull you further, past Waimea and up the Hāmākua Coast, and we say so where the drive is the deciding factor. Two things have changed recently enough to catch people out: Kealakekua Bay now needs a permit for any kayak, and swimming with spinner dolphins is illegal.
Table of contents
- Activities and attractions that are specific to the Kona region.
- Farm and animal sanctuary tours
- The two local breweries
- Kona coffee farm tours
- Farmers markets
- Snorkel at Kealakekua Bay
- Experience the manta ray night snorkel or dive
- See ancient petroglyphs
- Take in history at the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park
- Hold a live seahorse at the Ocean Rider farm
- Outdoor activities that you can enjoy outside Kona.
- Check out the white-sand beaches
- Take in local plants and flowers at the Botanical Gardens
- Go Camping
- Play a round on the Kona and Kohala golf courses
- Take to the sky with a Helicopter Tour
- Get out on one of our favorite hikes
- Jump in the saddle for a horseback riding tour
- Sit down to a lūʻau or a free hula show in or near Kona
- Road trip! Drive the South Kona coffee country
- Go scuba diving along the Kona drop-off
- Snorkel the bays along the Kona coast
- Stand Up and Paddle along the scenic coast (SUP)
- Watch the spinner dolphins from the legal distance
- Ride a wave at the birthplace of Surfing
- Volunteer and give back during your stay
- Go Whale Watching (November to May)
- Zip at 40 mph and zipline through Kohala treetops
If 26 is too many to sort through, start with our shorter list of highlights for Kona.
Activities You Can Only Do on the Kona Coast
Everything in this first group is specific to the Kona coast. The two petroglyph fields are the outliers, both north of town on the way to the Kohala beaches.
- Farm and animal sanctuary tours
- The two local breweries
- Kona coffee farm tours
- Farmers markets
- Snorkel at Kealakekua Bay
- Experience the manta ray night snorkel or dive
- See ancient petroglyphs
- Take in history at the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park
- Hold a live seahorse at the Ocean Rider farm
Farm and Animal Sanctuary Tours Near Kona
In the Kona district you can find many coffee, vanilla, honey, and chocolate farms and producers that are open to visitors, most of them small operations within a half hour of town. Animal places sit alongside them, including a seahorse farm at Keahole Point and two sanctuaries, one for parrots and one for exotic animals.
Read more about the Farm Tours near Kona.
Kona’s Two Local Breweries
Kona Brewing Company
The Hawaiʻi brewery and pub on Pawai Place are independent of the mainland Kona Brewing brand that Anheuser-Busch owns, and they brew on site. The brewery tour runs 60 minutes, seven days a week between noon and 5pm, and costs $25 per person including four 4oz samples for anyone 21 or over. It’s by appointment only, the minimum age is 15, and they ask you to arrive 15 minutes early. The pub next door is open daily 11am to 9pm.
Read more about visiting the Kona Brewpub.
Ola Brew Company
Ola Brew is the newer of the two, brewing ciders and beers from locally sourced ingredients on Luhia Street, with outdoor seating in the brew yard and plenty of parking of its own. The taproom is open Monday to Thursday 11am to 9pm, Friday and Saturday until 10pm, and Sunday until 8pm. They aren’t running brewery tours or tastings at the moment, so this one is a stop for a drink and food rather than a booked experience.
Website: Ola Brew Company
Kona Coffee Farm Tours and Tastings
Coffee can only be sold as Kona coffee if it grew on the slopes of the Hualālai and Mauna Loa volcanoes inside the north and south Kona districts, which is a narrow band of hillside above this stretch of coast and nowhere else in the world. Many of the farms that run tours sit above Kailua-Kona around Hōlualoa, roughly a 23 minute drive up from the water, so a tour and a tasting fit into half a morning.
Read more about how to visit one (or more) of the many small coffee farms close to Kona in our guide on Kona coffee tasting.
Visitors take a Kona Coffee Farm Tour at the Greenwell farm. Source: here by user horspowr1001 under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license
Kona Farmers Markets, Wednesday Through Sunday
The main Kona Farmers Market runs on Aliʻi Drive in the middle of Kailua-Kona, Wednesday through Sunday, 7am to 4pm, with more than 40 vendors selling produce, flowers, crafts and Kona coffee. Several smaller markets run on other days and further up the hill.
Read more about all the Farmers Markets around Kona.
Snorkeling at Kealakekua Bay, and the Permit You Now Need
Kealakekua Bay is 33 minutes south of Kailua-Kona and holds one of the best reefs in the state, but the rules for reaching the Captain Cook monument at Kaʻawaloa have tightened. Hawaiʻi State Parks now requires a permit for any vessel crossing the bay, kayaks and paddleboards included, and landing at the Kaʻawaloa flat is prohibited outright.
That leaves three ways in: the Kaʻawaloa Trail down from the uplands, a boat trip with one of the three permitted commercial operators, or snorkeling from the rocky entry at Nāpōʻopoʻo on the south side of the bay.
Read more about visiting Kealakekua Bay.
Afternoon Sail & Snorkel at Kealakekua Bay
Sail a 50-foot catamaran to one of the best snorkeling spots on the island accessible only by boat or a two-mile kayak from Nāpōʻopoʻo. Spinner dolphins are a regular presence on the sail south, and humpback whales are sighted December through April.
from:
$125
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.
Nāpōʻopoʻo Beach is a small cobble beach in the Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park. The far point across the water on the left is Kaʻawaloa, where the Captain Cook monument stands. Image credit: Nnachappa64 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
The Manta Ray Night Snorkel and Dive at Keauhou
The boats leave from Keauhou Bay, 17 minutes down the coast from Kailua-Kona, and the trip runs about two hours. You hold onto a lit flotation board while the mantas feed on the plankton the lights draw in, sometimes within inches of you. Snorkelers and divers go out on the same boats.
Read more about the Manta Ray night dive here.
Sunset Manta Ray Night Snorkel at Keauhou Bay
Manta rays at Keauhou's Manta Village feed within inches of the lit flotation board. Sea Paradise has operated here since 1985, making them one of the longest-running operators at this location.
from:
$130
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.
A female scuba diver swims with a young male Manta ray in the Kona district / Big Island. By Steve Dunleavy from Lake Tahoe, NV, United States – Nick and Isabelle, Kona Hawaii, CC BY 2.0, Link
Waikoloa and Puakō: Two Petroglyph Fields North of Kona
Petroglyphs are images carved in stone, and they are the oldest record left on this island. Some of the ones here date back to the 16th century. Both fields sit on the Kohala coast around 35 minutes north of Kailua-Kona, cut into pāhoehoe lava, and there is no shade at either of them, so go early or late rather than at midday.
There are two petroglyph fields close to Kona:
- the Waikoloa Petroglyphs, and
- the Puakō Petroglyph Field.
Petroglyphs in the Waikoloa field. The earliest carvings here are centuries old.
Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, the Place of Refuge, 37 Minutes South
A puʻuhonua was a place of refuge: reaching one meant a broken kapu no longer cost you your life. The park preserves the Great Wall and the reconstructed Hale o Keawe, plus a coconut grove on white sand. Entry is $10 per person on foot or $20 per private vehicle, good for seven days, and the park takes cards only, no cash. The visitor center lot opens at 8:15am and the gates close 15 minutes after sunset, which is earlier than most people plan for on a 37 minute drive.
The snorkeling everyone comes for is not inside the park. It is the entry at Two Step in Hōnaunau Bay, next to the boat ramp just outside the park boundary, and the Park Service discourages snorkeling within the park itself out of respect for the site and its turtles.
Read more about visiting the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park.
The coconut grove at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, with the Great Wall and the reconstructed Hale o Keawe at the far end.
Hold a Live Seahorse at the Ocean Rider Farm
The Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm sits at Keahole Point between Kailua-Kona and the airport, and the tour ends with a seahorse wrapping its tail around your finger. A certified marine biologist leads it, it runs about an hour, and the tanks hold baby seahorses and the famously pregnant males, along with leafy and weedy sea dragons. Tours run on weekdays and fewer times a day in low season, so book rather than turning up.
Read more about the Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm tour.
Handling a seahorse at the Ocean Rider farm at Keahole Point. Image credit: the Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm
Day Trips and Outdoor Activities Within Reach of Kona
The Kona side is the dry, sunny side of the island, and most of what follows is a day’s drive from it. The beaches, the dive boats and the golf courses run up the coast toward Kohala, and the hikes and the ranch rides sit further north again, past Waimea.
Good to know: some people try to day-trip the whole island from Kona, including Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and the Maunakea summit. We don’t recommend it. Volcanoes is 2 hours 8 minutes each way on Saddle Road, which is more than four hours of driving before you have seen anything. Spend at least one night in Volcano village instead.
- Check out the white-sand beaches
- Take in local plants and flowers at the Botanical Gardens
- Go Camping
- Play a round on the Kona and Kohala golf courses
- Take to the sky with a Helicopter Tour
- Get out on one of our favorite hikes
- Jump in the saddle for a horseback riding tour
- Sit down to a lūʻau or a free hula show in or near Kona
- Road trip! Drive the South Kona coffee country
- Go scuba diving along the Kona drop-off
- Snorkel the bays along the Kona coast
- Stand Up and Paddle along the scenic coast (SUP)
- Watch the spinner dolphins from the legal distance
- Ride a wave at the birthplace of Surfing
- Volunteer and give back during your stay
- Go Whale Watching (November to May)
- Zip at 40 mph and zipline through Kohala treetops
If you only pick from one part of this list, pick the ocean: a morning snorkel before the wind comes up, or a beach day up the Kohala coast. Kona coffee is the other thing that grows here and nowhere else, and a farm tour takes half a morning.
White-Sand Beaches on the Kona and Kohala Coast
The white sand starts north of the airport and there is more of it the further up the Kohala coast you drive. Hāpuna is the biggest, and it costs non-residents $5 per person plus $10 per vehicle, with the gate open 7am to 7:30pm. Kua Bay is free and has a much smaller lot. There are black-sand beaches on this side of the island too, and a green-sand beach right down at the southern tip.
Read more about the Beaches around Kona.
Kua bay is one of our favorite white sand beaches on the Big Island.
Two Botanical Gardens, One South of Kona and One in Kohala
The Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Captain Cook, south of Kailua-Kona, grows the plants Hawaiians brought and used rather than tropical showpieces. Bishop Museum closed it in 2016 and a community non-profit reopened it in 2019. It’s open Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 4pm, closed the first Thursday of the month, and it doesn’t publish an admission price. The other garden is far north on the Kohala coast, high enough above the water to double as a whale-watching spot in winter.
Read more about Botanical Gardens near Kona.
Camping Near Kona Needs a Permit First
There are county beach parks and state campsites within reach of Kona where you can pitch a tent. Almost all of them need a permit booked in advance, county and state each through their own system, and the beach parks in particular go early for weekends.
Read more about Camping on the Big Island.
Golf on the Kona and Kohala Coast
The Big Island is known as the golf capital of the state, and most of the championship courses are strung along the Kohala resort coast, 30 to 45 minutes north of Kailua-Kona. They are cut into old lava flows. The fairways run as green ribbons with black rock either side, and there is nowhere to hide a bad drive.
Read more about Golfing on the Kona coast.
Helicopter Tours Out of Kona
A helicopter is the only way to reach the parts of this island that no road goes to: the waterfalls at the back of the Kohala and Hāmākua valleys, and the eruption at Kīlauea’s summit. Kīlauea has been erupting in episodes inside Halemaʻumaʻu crater since December 2024, more than fifty of them so far, each lasting hours to days with pauses of days or weeks in between.
Check the USGS status before you pay for a volcano flight, because between episodes there is no fountaining to see. Puʻu ʻŌʻō, the vent behind most of the older lava photos, collapsed in 2018 and has been quiet ever since.
Private Kona Sunset Helicopter Tour
The Kona coast at dusk from a private helicopter: Kua Bay's white sand from the air, lava cliffs with no road access below, and doors-on or doors-off at no extra charge.
from:
$229
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.Read more about taking a helicopter tour from Kona.
Hikes Near Kona, and the Big Ones Up North
Close to Kona the walking is short and hot: lava-field trails and the coastal paths at Kaloko-Honokōhau, with no shade on any of them. The hikes worth planning a whole day around are further north, and Pololū Valley at the end of the Kohala road is the pick of them, a steep descent to a black-sand beach and a harder climb back out.
Waipiʻo Valley is the one people ask about, and it’s currently off the table: the county emergency rule closing the valley access road prohibits pedestrians outright, so the lookout at the top is as far as visitors get.
Read more about hiking around Kona.
The cliffs north of Pololū Valley, seen from the bottom of the trail. Pololū is one of our favorite early-morning walks.
Horseback Riding on the Ranches Above the Hāmākua Coast
The rides run on working cattle ranches around Waimea and above the Hāmākua Coast, open country rather than a nose-to-tail trail, with the coastline and the peaks in view. Waipiʻo Valley rides are suspended: the county rule that closed the valley access road prohibits horseback access by name, and the operator that ran them has moved every ride up onto the ranch above the valley rim. Waimea is 53 minutes from Kailua-Kona, so this is a half-day commitment before you add the ride itself.
Learn more about horseback riding around Kona.
Waipiʻo on Horseback: Mountain-to-Ocean Ranch Ride on the Hāmākua Coast
A small group of eight rides a 500-acre working cattle ranch, mountain to ocean, with fresh fruit from the family farm along the trail. Set high above Waipiʻo Valley, with sea-cliff views to Pololū and, on a clear day, Maui.
from:
$150
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.
A group crossing the stream on a Waipiʻo valley horseback tour, photographed before the valley road closed. Rides now run on the ranch above the rim. Photo credit: Mike Neenan
Lūʻau and Free Hula Shows In and Near Kona
A lūʻau is the straightforward way to eat kālua pig and watch hula in one evening, and the Kona-side shows run at the oceanfront resorts, so the sunset comes with it. There are also free hula performances around town if you would rather not pay resort prices for the evening.
Read about all your options for a luau in Kona.
Voyagers of the Pacific Luau
An oceanfront luau on Kailua Bay where the imu ceremony is run as an audience moment and the Samoan Fire Knife Dance (Siva Afi) closes the night from center stage.
from:
$182
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.The South Kona Coffee Country Drive
Our favorite drive out of Kailua-Kona climbs onto the old Māmalahoa Highway and runs south through coffee country, past mill buildings and roadside farm stands, with the water well below on your right. Take the highway back and it’s a loop rather than an out-and-back, and it drops you at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau at the far end.
Read more about Scenic drives on the Big Island.
Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park sits at the south end of the coffee country drive, and makes a good place to stop and turn around.
Scuba Diving on the Kona Coast
The Kona coast sits in the lee of the island, so the water is calm and clear most mornings and the reef drops off close to shore, which is why the boats here run short trips rather than long crossings. Two-tank morning charters out of Honokōhau Harbor are the standard product, and the same operators run the manta dive after dark.
Mind the surface interval before you go up: the flying-after-diving guidance is 12 hours after a single no-decompression dive and 18 after several, and Saddle Road and the Maunakea summit both take you to real altitude.
Read more about Scuba Diving on the Kona coast.
2-Tank Morning Dive on the Kona Coast
Explore world renowned Hawaiian reefs, lava tubes, and more! Not certified? No problem! Go for an introductory dive under the direct supervision of one of our world class instructors!
from:
$169
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.Snorkeling Spots Along the Kona Coast
Snorkel in the morning. This coast is glass until the wind fills in around the middle of the day, and by afternoon the same bay can be too churned up to see much. Kahaluʻu Beach Park is the easy one, 14 minutes south of town, a shallow reef where the honu graze and the busiest snorkel spot on the coast. Two Step at Hōnaunau is the better reef and the harder entry, off a lava ledge rather than a beach.
Read more about Snorkeling on the Kona coast.
Two Step sits in Hōnaunau Bay just outside the national park. The entry is off the lava ledge on the right of this view.
Stand-Up Paddleboarding (SUP) in Kona
Stand up paddling, hoe heʻe nalu in Hawaiian, started in these islands, and the sheltered water off Kailua-Kona is a forgiving place to try it. Kona has board rentals and lessons available, and the flat morning water is the window: past midday the chop makes staying upright much harder work.
Read more about SUP close to Kona.
Spinner Dolphins: Watch From 50 Yards, Not From the Water
Spinner dolphins rest through the daytime in the bays along this coast. That daytime rest is what the swimming ban protects. Under a NOAA rule in force since September 2021 it is against federal law to approach within 50 yards of a wild spinner dolphin in Hawaiian waters, by any means, swimming included. The bays where boats used to drop people in are the ones the dolphins use to sleep off a night of hunting.
You can still watch them, from a boat keeping its distance or from shore early in the day. Bring a long lens rather than a mask.
Read more about swimming with dolphins.
Spinner dolphins off the Kona coast. Federal law keeps you 50 yards back, by any means. Credit: Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau (IHVB) / Julie Hotz
Surf Lessons at Kahaluʻu Bay
Surfing was invented in these islands, and Kahaluʻu Bay, 14 minutes south of Kailua-Kona, is where the Kona schools take beginners. The same bay is the busiest snorkel spot on the coast, so the break sits outside the swimmers and the lineup can be crowded on a good morning.
Read more about surfing on the Kona coast.
Surf Lessons in Kona at Kahaluʻu Bay
Two-hour surf lessons at Kahaluʻu Bay, one of the more forgiving breaks on the Kona coast. CPR-certified instructors work in the water alongside you, timing waves and helping you catch them
from:
$139
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.
Kahaluʻu Bay south of Kona in the morning. Snorkelers fill the inside of the bay and the surf break sits out past them, where the white water starts.
Volunteering: Reef, Trail and Forest Work You Can Join
Several groups on this island run sessions that visitors can join for a morning: reef education at Kahaluʻu Bay and native planting in the uplands, plus trail work in the parks. Most run on a fixed day of the week and want you to sign up ahead, and a few of them take you into country that is closed to everyone else.
Read more about the volunteering opportunities on the Big Island.
Whale Watching, November Through May
Humpbacks are in Hawaiian waters from November through May, and the Kona coast puts you over water shallow enough that they come in close. NOAA holds boats and people to 100 yards from a humpback, so a good captain cuts the engine and lets the whales decide how near they come. If you are picking dates around it, mid-February to mid-March is the tightest part of the peak.
Read more about whale watching on the Kona Coast.
Whale Watching Cruise from Kona
2.5 hour Whale Watching Excursion with free snacks, guaranteed whale sightings (or come again!), an on-board marine life naturalist, and underwater hydrophones so you can hear the whales sing.
from:
$140
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.Ziplining in the Kohala Forest
The nearest zipline course to Kona is up in the Kohala forest at the north end of the island, and the standard trip pairs the lines with a swim under a waterfall. Check the limits before you book: riders must be at least 8 years old and weigh between 70 and 270 lbs, they weigh you at check-in, and you need to be able to walk over uneven ground and swim. It runs 8 to 9 hours, so treat it as a full day rather than a morning out.
Kohala Zip & Dip (zipline + waterfall swim)
Five ziplines, two sky bridges, and Hawaiʻi's only tree-mounted spiral staircase, then a guided walk to a private waterfall pool you swim in. Nine guests maximum, lunch included.
from:
$295
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.Read more about Ziplining in Kona.
Twin ziplines with Kohala Ziplines.