Aloha Kona Condo

08/03/2026

Pololu Valley is a short 20 minute hike down to a sacred valley with a beautiful black sand beach. Well worth the 1.5 hour drive there. We recommend doing this in the morning followed by lunch in Waimea (the Fish & Hog is our favorite restaurant on the island), and then Hapuna beach for the afternoon.

08/03/2026

South Point is a great outing on the way to Volcano NP, or as a standalone trip, well worth the 1.5 hour beautiful drive there.

08/01/2026

07/06/2026

Big waves and epic sunsets

06/25/2026

Four weeks of posts, and we've covered a lot of ground: helicopter landings at remote waterfalls, the summit of Mauna Kea at 13,796 feet, manta rays in Keauhou Bay after dark, the sea cliffs of the Hamakua Coast, and outrigger canoes on the Kohala Coast.

This is the honest shape of a week on the Big Island when you're based in Keauhou.

Our two units at Kanaloa at Kona are available for direct booking year-round.

Unit 1604: 1BR/2BA, sleeps 6 — $460/night
Unit 2505: 2BR/2BA penthouse, sleeps 6 — $490/night

Book direct at alohakonacondos.com. No service fees, direct communication with the owners, and a guest guide that reflects genuine local knowledge.

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06/23/2026

Unit 1604 sits on the second floor of Building 16 at Kanaloa at Kona, directly above this coastline.

It's a one-bedroom, two-bath unit that sleeps six — and the two-bathroom configuration matters more than people expect. One bath off the bedroom, one accessible from the living area. When you're traveling with kids or sharing with another couple, that separation makes the mornings run smoothly.

The unit is fully air-conditioned, newly renovated, and stocked with the things that make a rental actually comfortable: a proper kitchen with a coffee grinder, beach towels, umbrellas, snorkel gear, quality linens, and a welcome guide we update regularly with our current local recommendations.

The lava rock shoreline below the property is one of the more dramatic stretches of the Kona coast. The resort has direct access to it — tidal pools, open ocean, and the reliable west-facing sunsets that Keauhou is known for.

$460 per night when you book direct at alohakonacondos.com. That price doesn't change after checkout — it's the actual nightly rate, and it's what you pay.

06/18/2026

The outrigger canoe is one of the oldest watercraft in Polynesian culture — the vessel that brought the first settlers to these islands across thousands of miles of open Pacific. On the Kohala Coast today, you can paddle one.

Several resorts and outfitters along the north Kona and Kohala coast offer outrigger canoe excursions, ranging from calm bay paddles to longer open-water runs. It's a different kind of experience from a kayak or a paddleboard: the boat is stable, the rhythm of the stroke is easy to find, and the perspective from the water — low to the surface, reading the swells — is something that a snorkel trip or a boat tour doesn't replicate.

The Kohala Coast is about 40 minutes north of Keauhou on the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway. The drive itself is worth the trip: the highway runs through black lava fields along the ocean, wide and fast, with a quality of light in the morning that's particular to this part of the island.

We're happy to talk through what makes sense for your group. Start at alohakonacondos.com.

06/16/2026

Unit 2505 is a two-bedroom, two-bath penthouse on the fifth floor of Building 25 at Kanaloa at Kona. It sleeps six and books at $490 per night when you reserve directly through us.

What makes the penthouse different from other units in the complex: the elevation. At the top floor, there's nothing between you and the horizon. The lanai looks west over the Pacific, and on clear evenings you can watch the sun go down over open water.

The interior is newly renovated: full air conditioning, king bed in the primary, quality linens, a well-stocked kitchen, snorkel gear, beach chairs, and a welcome setup that means you're not standing in a parking lot waiting for a key.

Two bathrooms. Room for a family or a group of friends without anyone feeling cramped.

Book directly at alohakonacondos.com. No service fees. Direct communication with us throughout your trip.

06/13/2026

The Hamakua Coast runs along the northeastern edge of the Big Island — a 50-mile stretch of sheer sea cliffs, deep gulches, and waterfalls that drop straight into the ocean. This is the wet side of the island, the windward face, where the trade winds hit the slopes of Mauna Kea and unload their moisture.

From the air, it's striking in a way that's difficult to describe without resorting to superlatives. The cliffs are vertical. The green is almost implausibly saturated. The valleys — Waipio, Pololu — are carved so deeply they look like something from another geological era.

You can reach the coast by car, driving the Hamakua Heritage Corridor north from Hilo. Or you can see it the way this photo was taken: from a helicopter.

The drive from Keauhou to Waipio Valley overlook is roughly two hours each way — a full-day commitment, but a scenic one. We typically recommend it as a "windward day" combined with a stop in Waimea for coffee and lunch before heading back along the Kohala Coast.

Our guest guide covers the routing in detail. Available when you book at alohakonacondos.com.

06/11/2026

On most nights in Keauhou Bay — which is a short walk from Kanaloa at Kona — manta rays come to feed.

The mantas are drawn in by plankton, and the plankton are drawn in by underwater lights positioned along the seafloor by the dive operators who have been running these trips for decades. The animals arrive in the dark, sometimes a single ray, sometimes a dozen, and they barrel-roll through the water column directly beneath the snorkelers floating at the surface. Their wingspan can reach 12 to 14 feet.

It is not spooky. The mantas are filter feeders — no teeth, no interest in you whatsoever. It is, however, one of the more surreal natural encounters available in Hawaii, and it happens reliably enough that it's become a fixture of any serious Kona itinerary.

Multiple operators run the trips from Keauhou Bay. We recommend booking a few days in advance during summer, as spots fill quickly.

Snorkeling gear is already waiting for you in the unit. You just need to show up.

alohakonacondos.com