Kona Beaches

[Scrufsmom]

This is the only day we are having a diffilcult time trying to figure out what to do. What beaches are cloese to the pier withiin walking distances that we might get too? Is there a hotel close by with water activities that we can take advantage of? Will we have to take some type of transportation to get to a beach if not within walkiing distance? Please offer advice.

 

Thanks

[flipflops62]

The King Kamehameha Hotel has a small beach right where the tender lets you off. It's not much, I wouldn't bother. Kona is a nice town to explore by foot, then you could just lounge around on the ship. Or.......rent a car, drive a bit north to the Kohala coast. Get the car from Thrifty at the King Kam Hotel. We got a good rate on line, something like $54.

[riofriotex]

Copied from another thread:

 

We had canceled our snorkeling excursion b/c some in our party had a tough time w/motion sickness on the one we took from Maui to Molokini Crater, so we had a pretty free day...didn't know what to do, but there's a visitor's center right next to the place where you tender, and they have good ideas. We ended up going to a place called the Beach Shack (I think!) in a shopping center right across from the pier and paying $10 each for round trip shuttle to Kahalu'u Beach where the snorkeling was surprisingly amazing - many, many more & varied fish than we had going to Molokini Crater a few days before, and you just walk out into it (reef shoes recommended - the Beach Shack also rents all the gear you need for pretty reasonable price if you don't have your own - we did, so I don't know the price offhand). There were also turtles, so that was a bonus & a snack bar where you could get food for lunch & shave ice for snacks. We had the option of being dropped @ White Sands beach, but it was overcrowded & the kids on the boogie boards looked a little reckless to us). We stayed there until the last shuttle left at 3:00 in the afternoon & got back to the pier in time to make a last run to Hilo Hatties before catching the tender back.

[Budget Queen]

It would be great, if posters, could write about their drive up snorkle adventures. The above, Kahalu'u Beach, sound great. Any easy directions to get there? North/south?

 

I went to Place of Refuge area, and had excellent snorkling. :)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

The King Kamehameha Hotel has a small beach right where the tender lets you off. It's not much, I wouldn't bother. Kona is a nice town to explore by foot, then you could just lounge around on the ship. Or.......rent a car, drive a bit north to the Kohala coast. Get the car from Thrifty at the King Kam Hotel. We got a good rate on line, something like $54.

 

I have heard conflicting reports about the car rentals at the King Kam Hotel. Someone said that they do not have one day only rentals?:confused: It sounds convenient, and I do not want to worry about going a far distance from the ship to get a car rental.

 

I was considering doing a ship's excursion due to the tendering situation, but I think I would prefer to go it alone at this port.

[FloatYourBoatSince2003]

It would be great, if posters, could write about their drive up snorkle adventures. The above, Kahalu'u Beach, sound great. Any easy directions to get there? North/south?

 

I went to Place of Refuge area, and had excellent snorkling. :)

 

I'd like to hear about this as well... I had planned on doing a boat/snorkel tour but we too are plagued with sea-sick-prone companions and I'm thinking a day at a beach nearby(eg. Kahalu'u Beach) and some drinks and eats near the ship would make a nice day too.

 

I'm having trouble finding information about the shuttle (company, pickup location, etc.) I've found the Keauhou Trolley (open air, cheap http://www.keauhouresort.com/pdfs/trolley-schedule.pdf ) but looking at the schedule it seems to stop for 5 min at every stop so it would take forever to get to Kahalu'u Beach! I'd like to find out more about the paid shuttle mentioned earlier.

 

Suggestions for a nice open-air beachfront place to sip on a Mai Tai would also be appreciated!

 

thanks

[kapoho2]

A wonderful open air place to sip a Mai Tai would be the Kona Inn. It is just a short stroll down the main drag along the water from the tender pier. Along the way are many shops and several of Kona's historical sites....a palace and a church. From the Kona Inn you will be able to get a great photo of the ship. And, the Mai Tais are perfect.

 

Kahalu'u is a great place for snorkeling with the turtles. I don't have any info about the shuttle, but I have seen it. It will say Kahalu'u on the side. It runs from the pier to the beach. Kahalu'u is straight south down Ali'i Drive from the tender pier. It is probably about 5 miles. There is no need to get on the highway. Just make a right out of the King Kam hotel onto Ali'i Drive. It is one of several small beaches you will pass. Parking can be tight, but not impossible. You will see a covered pavillion type structure and there are lifeguards at this beach. I believe there is a sign identifying the beach.

[FloatYourBoatSince2003]

Thanks for the Mai Tai and shop suggestions.

 

We're hoping not to bother with a car at this port since our itinerary will probably be pretty simple.

 

The shuttles are confusing me. I know the Keauhou Trolley is about $1 per person/free with shopping but I'm more wondering about the other paid shuttle $10 (riofriotex) - hoping it doesn't take over an hour to get to Kahalu'u Beach given that it's not far away...

[riofriotex]

The shuttles are confusing me. I know the Keauhou Trolley is about $1 per person/free with shopping but I'm more wondering about the other paid shuttle $10 (riofriotex) - hoping it doesn't take over an hour to get to Kahalu'u Beach given that it's not far away...

 

Sorry, I can't help you with this - I was just copying a post from TXDZ in the "What to do in Kona?" thread nearby.

[riofriotex]

I have heard conflicting reports about the car rentals at the King Kam Hotel. Someone said that they do not have one day only rentals?:confused: It sounds convenient, and I do not want to worry about going a far distance from the ship to get a car rental.

 

On May 26, 2010, I picked up my Thrifty minivan at the King Kam probably around 9 AM and returned it around 2:30 PM. On the Thrifty website it shows this location is only open until noon, I think, but what they tell you to do is to return the keys at the hotel's main desk. I found this to be the easiest of all my Thrifty rentals, albeit the most expensive.

[flipflops62]

You absolutely can do a one day rental at the King Kam. That's what we did. It was cheaper than our Hertz rental disaster in Oahu. Check the web site. They do close at noon as poster mentioned. That was not a problem as you park the car in the (guarded) lot, write down the space #, and turn everything in to the hotel check in desk.

Our one day Hertz rental in Oahu worked the return much the same way.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

How far in advance do you need to reserve the car at King Kam? We cruise in May.

[riofriotex]

How far in advance do you need to reserve the car at King Kam? We cruise in May.

 

I booked a minivan on April 24, 2010 for the May 22, 2010 cruise. YMMV. I'd go ahead and do it now, there's no cost and you can always cancel later.

[CSloan]

riofriotex - that was good info you copied/pasted. Do you know what thread it was on?

 

Thanks

[flipflops62]

We reserved ours about 3-4 months in advance.

[riofriotex]

riofriotex - that was good info you copied/pasted. Do you know what thread it was on?

 

Thanks

 

What to do in Kona

[TXDZ]

It would be great, if posters, could write about their drive up snorkle adventures. The above, Kahalu'u Beach, sound great. Any easy directions to get there? North/south?

 

I went to Place of Refuge area, and had excellent snorkling. :)

 

I don't know for sure, but I'd say Kahalu'u was north of the tender port-heading right, past the Kona Inn. Too far to walk, though...I searched and found this site for the shuttle we took:

http://www.islandrv.com/snorkel.htm

The Beach Shack is in the shopping center to the right across the street from the tender port. Walk there, buy your shuttle ticket & rent whatever gear you need, then walk back to the tender port to catch the shuttle (it's marked). You can buy the snorkel/shuttle package, which includes snorkel gear rental & round trip transportation to the beach for $20 per person (the shuttle runs about every 30 minutes b/t the tender port & the beaches), or just pay $10 pp for the shuttle if you have your own gear. Very convenient. The shuttles do get full at certain parts of the day w/many cruise passengers, and sometimes you have to wait, but for the price, it's worth it. It's not a huge beach - and I never would have thought to stop there just driving by, but the snorkeling area is quite sizeable, and we were only able to explore a fraction of it in the time we were there (we only had about 2 hours).

 

Hope this helps!

[FloatYourBoatSince2003]

Thanks TXDX! A few of us have been trying to figure this out...

 

Do you remember how long the ride took?

 

I think we'll look into finding these guys or taking a cab - we'll have our own gear with us.

[TXDZ]

Thanks TXDX! A few of us have been trying to figure this out...

 

Do you remember how long the ride took?

 

I think we'll look into finding these guys or taking a cab - we'll have our own gear with us.

 

The drive was short - 10-15 minutes...the driver was fun to talk to on the way back (the shuttle only had about 7 people on it by then b/c everyone else had caught the previous van).

 

If you decide to take a cab, rest assured there will be one waiting to take you back at the end of the day (3:00), there were several waiting and trying to convince those of us waiting for the return shuttle to go with them instead (I might have considered it if I hadn't already paid for the round trip...also, no idea how much more expensive the cab is than the shuttle...).

[susanrobert]

We just sailed the PoAm 7/31-8/7. I tried to rent a car from King Kam but they were sold out. We didn't like the beach right at the pier--too small and bathrooms were very smelly :eek:. The shuttle to Kahalulu is $10pp. We ended up taking a cab for $20 total each way (there were 4 of us). If there are a few going it might be worth it to inquire about the cab. You also save time waiting for the shuttles. We gave our driver a time to come back and get us and he was right on time. Even if he wasn't there were other taxis waiting.

 

When we first got to the beach I was kind of disappointed. It was really crowded and not very appealling. However, the snorkeling is excellent and a huge turtle came right up to my son and was swimming around right with him.

 

Hope this helps

[riofriotex]

I don't know for sure, but I'd say Kahalu'u was north of the tender port-heading right, past the Kona Inn.!

 

Actually, it's about five miles south of the tender pier, but you do head right and pass the Kona Inn.

[TXDZ]

Actually, it's about five miles south of the tender pier, but you do head right and pass the Kona Inn.

 

Cool...I generally have a great sense of direction but it was cloudy (no sun) and I wasn't driving so I wasn't sure!

[FloatYourBoatSince2003]

The shuttle to Kahalulu is $10pp. We ended up taking a cab for $20 total each way (there were 4 of us). If there are a few going it might be worth it to inquire about the cab. You also save time waiting for the shuttles. We gave our driver a time to come back and get us and he was right on time. Even if he wasn't there were other taxis waiting.

 

 

Thanks! Exactly what I needed to know...