Puʻuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park
South Kona Coast
This awesome park is an ancient place of refuge – or puʻuhonua, a sanctuary where kapu (taboo)-breakers could have their lives spared. A half-mile walking…
Must-see attractions in South Kona Coast
South Kona Coast
This modest, charcoal-colored beach is backed by a steep green hillside. When calm, the bay's waters are good for swimming, kayaking and snorkeling …
Kona Coffee Living History Farm
South Kona Coast
Many coffee-farm tours are perfunctory 15-minute affairs. This tour, run by the Kona Historical Society, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute, is…
South Kona Coast
The top sight in Miloliʻi is about a mile's walk south of the town itself. Honomalino Bay is simply gorgeous; with sand the color of all Big Island…
South Kona Coast
A pulpit with a view, gravestones cradled by tropical blooms and a little chapel with floor-to-ceiling 'outsider art' make this church a picturesque side…
Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park
South Kona Coast
Beautiful, historic Kealakekua Bay is scalloped out of the mountains, a deep-blue half moon set against a low lava point to the north, tall reddish pali …
South Kona Coast
Just south of Kealakekua Bay, Keʻei Beach is an attractive cove that's mostly too rough and rocky for swimming, except for a very narrow sandy stretch at…
South Kona Coast
The first building you see when entering Honalo from the north resembles a cross between a low-slung red barn, a white-roofed villa and a Japanese shrine…
South Kona Coast
Just south of the park’s central village area, an oceanfront palm-tree grove holds one of South Kona’s choicest picnic areas. Parking, picnic tables and…
South Kona Coast
'The temple on the point of the cove,' located a few hundred yards past the main park entrance, was built around 1650 and contains the bones of 23 chiefs…
South Kona Coast
Above Kealakekua Bay, the 'sacred cliffs of Keoua' were named for a chief and rival of Kamehameha I. Several high, inaccessible caves in these cliffs…
South Kona Coast
This 150-acre family farm, established in 1850, is run by fourth-generation Greenwells and is one of Kona’s oldest and best-known coffee plantations. It…
South Kona Coast
Leading up to Hale o Keawe Heiau is the Great Wall, separating the royal grounds from the puʻuhonua (place of sanctuary). Built around 1550, this stone…
Society for Kona's Education & Art
South Kona Coast
SKEA is a hotbed of activity, with pilates, Polynesian dance, tai chi and Japanese-ink-painting classes, art shows and poetry readings; check the online…
South Kona Coast
Housed in one of Kona's oldest buildings, this museum is a taste of 19th-century Hawaiʻi. Built in 1875 and meticulously restored, it has educational…
South Kona Coast
Not quite pebbles, the smoky stones of this nonsandy beach at the bottom of the Kona Paradise subdivision range from gumdrop- to palm-size. It's a popular…
South Kona Coast
On its southern side, Kealakekua Bay is rocky and exposed to regular northwest swells, so swimming and snorkeling conditions are poor. That said, Manini…
South Kona Coast
This tall white obelisk in Kaʻawaloa Cove is visible from a mile away at Kealakekua Bay. It marks the spot where Captain Cook was killed in an armed…
Paleaku Gardens Peace Sanctuary
South Kona Coast
Near the church on Painted Church Rd, these tranquil 7-acre gardens contain shrines to the world’s major religions and a staggeringly impressive ‘Galaxy…
South Kona Coast
At this roadside gift shop and tiny historical museum, genial staff will let you in on all the secrets of beekeeping, then give you a peek inside a living…
South Kona Coast
Veer right at the base of Napoʻopoʻo Rd to reach this broad stone platform temple dedicated to war god Ku that was Kealakekua's religious center. In front…
South Kona Coast
If you have young kids, head north a mile or so from Honalo and enjoy shady Higashihara Park. Its unique Hawaii-themed wooden play structure is both…
South Kona Coast
Once this was the royal canoe landing; now it's a tongue of sand that hooks into the waters (wave to those snorkelers at Two-Step just across the way) and…
South Kona Coast
This county beach park is pocked with tide pools. On weekends in particular, locals are pretty protective of this park, and facilities are limited to…
