A Luau experience by Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. Back to all Big Island tours.
Tour Summary: The best food we've had at a Big Island luau, with sunset views over Kauna'oa Bay from the oceanfront lawn of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel
The full cast closes the show after dark. The stage lighting and costumes are a step up from most Big Island luaus. 
Hula at the Mauna Kea Luau traces Polynesian migration. Each dance covers a different island and era, with the bay as the stage backdrop. Guests are welcomed with a mai tai before the imu ceremony begins. The imu ceremony opens the evening. Staff lift the kalua pig and hot rocks out of the underground oven by hand before the buffet opens. The buffet runs Hawaiian and Polynesian plates plus grilled items. Kalua pig and ahi poke are the items most often named in reviews. The fire knife finale closes the show as darkness falls over the bay. The buffet includes ahi poke, kalua pig, lomi lomi salmon, poi, and island sweet bread. Live music runs throughout the evening, covering traditional Hawaiian songs between dance performances. A plated dinner from the buffet line. The kalua pig and ahi poke are the two items most consistently named in reviews. The hula performance traces Polynesian migration. The ocean backdrop is part of the show, which is why the lawn faces west. Premium ticket holders are called to the buffet first. The white shell lei included with premium seating is the more visible upgrade.
5 Tour Highlights:
- Held on the only true oceanfront lawn of any Big Island luau, with the stage facing west over Kaunaʻoa Bay
- Imu ceremony: staff lift the kalua pig from the underground oven by hand before the buffet opens
- Hawaiian buffet including ahi poke, kalua pig, lomi lomi salmon, poi, and island sweet bread
- Hula performance tracing Polynesian migration through dance and music, with a fire knife finale at full dark
- One of the longest continuously running luaus on the island, on the same stretch of beach since 1965
Important: Children ages 5 to 12 qualify for child pricing;
Tour Information:
| Price: | Adult | Youth |
|---|---|---|
| (excluding taxes & fees) | $256 | $180 |
Price note: Premium seating runs $289.63 for adults (13+), $213.24 for ages 5 to 12, and is free for keiki ages 0 to 4. The upgrade adds a shell lei on arrival and first call to the buffet.
Tour Provider: Mauna Kea Beach Hotel
Activity: Luau
Tour start time: 4:45 PM
Duration: 2.5 hours
Departure from: Mauna Kea Beach Hotel
Pick-up available? No
Included: Welcome mai tai on arrival. Hawaiian buffet dinner with multiple Hawaiian, Polynesian, and grilled plates. Complimentary valet parking (tip customary)
Cancellations: Customers will receive a full refund less booking fees for notice of cancellation 24 hours prior to scheduled seating.
Read more: about luau in our Big Island luau guide.
# Read more about this tour
The Mauna Kea Luau runs on the oceanfront lawn of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, the only Big Island luau staged on a true oceanfront lawn rather than an inland hotel garden or hillside terrace. The tables face Kaunaʻoa Bay. The stage faces west. The show begins as the sun drops toward the water.
What reviewers come back to most isn’t the food or the dancing. It’s the setting. The sunset over the bay gets mentioned independently in dozens of write-ups, often in the same sentence as some version of “we didn’t expect it to matter this much.” The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel has been hosting the luau on the same stretch of Kaunaʻoa Bay since the resort opened in 1965, which makes it one of the longest continuously running luaus on the island and explains why the lawn sits where it sits. It predates the planning rules that would push a venue like this further back from the water today.
Buffet, ceremony, and where the show actually lands
The evening follows the traditional structure: a welcome mai tai on arrival, the imu ceremony, a Hawaiian buffet, and a performance covering Polynesian migration through hula and music. The imu ceremony is the most photographable pre-show moment. Staff lift hot rocks out of the underground oven by hand and the kalua pig comes up wrapped in ti leaves. The buffet that follows includes ahi poke, kalua pig, lomi lomi salmon, island sweet bread, poi, fresh pineapple and papaya, and a rotating set of additional plates. Of the Big Island luaus we’ve attended, the food here is the strongest. The ahi poke and the kalua pig both hold up against the volume of a large buffet, which isn’t always the case.
The buffet includes ahi poke, kalua pig, teriyaki short ribs, and a full spread of Hawaiian sides.
The performance is shorter than guests expect: roughly 30 minutes of staged hula and music inside a 3-hour evening, with the fire knife finale running last as full darkness sets in. Cameras and video are not allowed during the performance itself, only before and after. The lawn is open for walking before the ceremony starts and the view across the bay at dusk is the part the photos can’t quite capture.
Hawaiian buffet spread at the Mauna Kea Luau
Premium versus general admission, and what you actually get
The luau sells two tiers. Premium adds a small white shell lei on arrival and a first call to the buffet. The chair you sit in isn’t meaningfully different. If you’re booking primarily for the food and not the lei, general admission is the more honest price point. The single most recurring practical complaint in reviews has nothing to do with the show: it’s that the two check-in lines aren’t always clearly signed at arrival, and guests end up in the wrong queue. Confirm which line your tier uses before joining.
Logistics: timing, parking, what to wear
The luau gates open at 4:45 PM on Tuesdays and Fridays, with Wednesdays added in some weeks. Confirm the date you’re booking. Arrive at 4:45, not later. Reviewers who showed up at 5:00 ran into the queue confusion. Valet parking is complimentary and runs efficiently (a tip is customary). Dress code is Aloha attire. A light layer is worth bringing. The Kohala Coast wind picks up after sunset and the lawn sits directly above the water with no shelter. For guests staying in Kailua-Kona, the drive is 40 to 50 minutes north.
This is the better pick for visitors staying anywhere on the Kohala Coast who want the most-photographed luau setting on the island without a long evening drive. It’s a less obvious pick for travelers who prioritize the production scale of a Polynesian Cultural Center-style show; the Mauna Kea Luau leans into the place, the food, and the ceremony rather than into the spectacle.
# [Video] Watch a 5 minute guest video about the Mauna Kea Luau
# About Mauna Kea Beach Hotel
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel was Laurance Rockefeller’s first Hawaiʻi property when it opened in 1965, built specifically on Kaunaʻoa Bay for the view. The luau has run on the oceanfront lawn since the hotel’s first season, which makes it one of the longest continuously operating luaus in the state.
We list it because nothing else on the Big Island matches the setting, and because the kitchen treats the buffet as a hotel-restaurant operation rather than a banquet warmer line. That distinction shows up on the plate, and it’s the reason we point Kohala Coast guests here when they ask for the luau pick.
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Booking through this page costs you nothing extra and is made directly with Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. We earn a commission from the operator, not from you, and it is what pays for the research that keeps lovebigisland.com free and free of paid placement. We only list operators we would send a friend to. Details on our affiliate links are here.