Big Island
Experimented with Southwest Airlines to Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport. The only drawback was the flight required a layover at Oakland International Airport. I haven't been inside Oakland Airport in about 18 months right before the pandemic struck. It was still under construction last time so I assume the eateries I saw this time around are all relatively new. Hard to tell because the airport is partially closed due to the decline in air travel.
With no food available on flight, it was really important that I had snacks especially for the over water segment. I opted to get a sandwich from Peet's Coffee. I don't know if it is normal for Peet's to have pasta but the Oakland location has pasta in addition to sandwiches.
After landing at Kona Airport, COVID screening was required. Luckily, it was a quick swab and a texted results a few hours later. I suppose if it was positive, they'd send someone to make sure quarantine is enforced. I was also happy that my healthcare provider resumed COVID testing so that I didn't have to do an outside vendor to provide test results to board the Oakland to Kona flight. Now that this is the third visit to Hawaii during the pandemic, I'm well versed in the SafeTravels website. We shall see if there is a need for a vaccine passport, speculation is in September.
LODGING
Originally, I was only going to stay at Kings Land HGVC but my flights changed enough that I opted to bookend the trip with overnight stays at Courtyard King Kamehameha's Kona Beach hotel and Westin Hapuna Beach Resort.
I ended up liking the sequence of hotel venues on this trip as it gave me a spectrum of experiences. The late arrival into Kona convinced me to stay nearby and enjoy downtown Kona before heading north to Waikoloa. In addition, rental cars have become a nationwide shortage felt very acutely in Kona. If I didn't find a rental in Kona, I would need to go over to Hilo by either getting someone to drive me over or borrowing a car for the day. I wasn't able to find alot of rentals available until I came across carrental8. It seems to be a car rental consolidator vendor and I was able to get a car provided by Alamo. Before I found this rental, I did find some local rental car/car dealership that were renting vehicles as well. Alamo ended up being the cheapest although I was not given a full size vehicle as booked. After returning back from the trip, carrental8 notified Alamo about the discrepancy and I did receive a refund on the difference in car size. It was a pleasant surprise as I wasn't expecting much.
Uber and Lyft are not really drawing any locals to rideshare. Make sure you have access to taxis if trying to get around if you aren't renting cars.
Courtyard King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel - I don't know if this hotel has always been a Courtyard but it was recently refreshed on the inside. I was surprised on the size of this hotel and it could have easily be a Marriott brand. Maybe it was too small for a Marriott but it was definitely bigger than most Courtyards I've seen. There is a small attached mall to the hotel housing ABC, Ululani's Shave Ice, and Menehune Coffee amongst other retailers. There is also a small convention space and beach access as well as pool. There is a historical fishing village next to the hotel which makes the beach cove even more private feeling. I also used my upgrade certificates on this trip and that got me a second floor ocean facing room. I wasn't terrible impressed with the view but I did like the balcony as many restaurants were still doing takeout only business.
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| Courtyard King Kamehameha King Room |
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| Courtyard King Kamehameha Room view |
Kings Land HGVC - I've stayed here so many times now I'm not even bothering with pictures. I was able to get the larger two bedroom suite on this trip. Building 22/23 have units that run on the smaller side. Even though I didn't need a two bedroom, the deal on points were so good that it was cheaper to have the two bedroom than the one bedroom. The kitchen is also bigger and the space was helpful in loading up provisions from Costco.
Westin Hapuna Beach Resort - I've finally made it to the other resort near Mauna Kea. As an extension of my last trip, I wanted to stay at the Westin now that the construction was more complete and to compare to the Mauna Kea Resort. Overall, when I think about the TripAdvisor reviews, I don't agree with the negative commentary for the Westin. The 'upgrade' at the Westin was a far better accommodation than the Courtyard. Because the hotel rests on the cliffs, the top floor is really the same level as the hotel entrance and the first floor (nine floors) is beach level. With the pandemic, no one was handing leis upon arrival but it was in the room setup. I liked the touch. The balcony is also a plus for me as it was definitely designed for you to sit and enjoy the view. Hapuna Beach is pretty strong, so you have to be a fan of body surfing or stick with the pool. Overall, it is probably one of my more favorite hotels on Big Island now.
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| Westin Hapuna Beach King Room |
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| Westin Hapuna Beach King View |
ACTIVITIES
49 Black Sand Beach - the public beach is in an enclosed community at the Mauna Lani resort. Normally, I head over before 9 am because it seems if the beach reaches capacity, the guard doesn't let anyone else in for the rest of the day. I tried to go a few times in the week to get my snorkeling fix.
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Kehena Beach - located in the town of Pahoa off the 137, this black sand beach is very nice. Very popular with tourists and locals, the ocean is rough and I didn't try snorkeling. Be forewarned, folks like to go native and enjoy some native herbs as well. It is a bit of a climb at the end to get down from the cliff to the beach. This area was inaccessible for awhile due to the volcano activity. Now that things have calmed down, the new shelf has created this beach.
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| Kehena Beach |
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| Kehena Beach |
Holualoa Kona Coffee Company - coffee farms were harder to find open to the public and Holualoa is a new farm that I have not been. Next door is an ATV (aloha adventures) farm as well and I would be interested in trying next time I'm back.
Kona Joe Coffee - The farm is no longer open to the public but they did open a tasting room closer to main highway. I was told they were going to convert the retail and tasting room to a DIY brew bench. Coffee prices have skyrocketed and Kona Joe is definitely capitalizing on it.
Greenwell Farms - the old faithful of all coffee farms in Kona, I was able to get some coffee without too much of a price increase.
Kona Mountain Coffee - I've always passed this retail/coffee store from the airport and there used to be a store at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. This time around, in search of Kona Peaberry beans, I decided to stop in and check it out. I wasn't ready to get a coffee drink but am intrigued that they have coffee jelly inside their coffee. Conceptually, it reminds me of some Vietnamese desserts with grass jelly so I'll have to stop next time and enjoy a cup.
Original Donkey Balls - The store is operating at limited capacity and I wonder if they will be able to survive the pandemic.
Keiko's Donkey Balls - Unlike Original Donkey Balls, Keiko's seem to be operating better with fully stocked items. Despite being in the Kona plaza where half the businesses are gone or closed, the store was inviting enough for me to wander in. The proprietor was friendly and even mentioned that his store was the original but he didn't trademark it so there are a few donkey ball stores on the island. They also carry Surfin Ass Coffee.
Mrs. Barry's Kona Cookies - another place I regret never stopping before, the cookies are delicious and likely very bad for you. The dipped cookies may be a bit overwhelming but if you're a chocolate fiend, this might hit the spot for you. I liked the coconut cookies and regular shortbread. A couple of dozen were killed off this week.
Waimea Town Market - In search of Steve's Akaka Farms jams, I was able to locate them at this farmer's market on the days I can get to them. Normally, I go on Sundays to the South Kona Fruit Stand market or Hilo but it wasn't meant to be. So I scooted over real quick before my flight to get some jams and tried a Cheese Please Hawaii (grilled cheese food truck) grilled cheese sandwich too.
Zippy's - For a friend, I went to the only location on the island in Hilo to pick up some chili. Unfortunately, they didn't have any frozen packs so I opted to take the barrel (which is a better deal). Good thing I'm prepared to bring back frozen foods. Had I known the barrel is one bag of chili, I would have told the staff to not bother cutting the bag.
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| Zippy's Barrel Chili and Big Island Candies goodies |
Big Island Candies - With the price differential less between bagged and boxed cookies, I wonder if I should visit the Ala Moana store instead of trekking over to Hilo. Although I do enjoy going to Hilo....
DINING
Fish Hopper Seafood & Steaks - One of the few restaurants that were open late, taking walk-ins, and serving dinner. I didn't realize that there are two of these restaurants, the other located in Monterey, CA. So I ordered a few appetizers including clam chowder because I enjoy central coast California clam chowder. Overall, the food was good but expensive. It seems to be the new normal and I have had to readjust my idea of what is a good value price versus expensive these days.
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| Mai Tai and Lava Flow from Fish Hopper |
808 Grindz Cafe - picked up some pancakes, omelets, and loco moco. They aren't doing dine-in so you are better off calling and placing an order. The restaurant was a short walk from the hotel and the balcony was roomy enough to have breakfast outside.
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| 808 Grindz Loco Moco and Garlic Chicken |
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| 808 Grindz Cafe omelet and mac nut pancakes |
Menehune Coffee Shop - As a breakfast amenity, I was given free coffee at Menehune Coffee so I was able to get a light snack and coffee. I also picked up some bags of Kona coffee.
Pau Hana Poke - Stopped by this shop near Costco to pick up some poke and li hung mui gummies. I wanted to remind myself what poke at local shops tasted like since I've been doing alot of Foodland poke. The spicy tuna was my favorite.
Umeke's Restaurants - I was trying to find a local coffee shop but ended up stopping at Umeke's for poke as a consolation prize. They relocated from an older place and the restaurant space is huge. It reminded me of Broke Da Mouth and its expansion. Unlike Broke, Umeke's doesn't seem to be downsizing back. Poke was good but nothing spectacular.
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| Mix of pokes from Umeke's and Pau Hana with Costco Spinach Salad sides of chicken and rice |
Broke Da Mouth Grindz at 74-5565 Luhia St Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 - On this trip, ordered a catering tray of chicken rather than entrees. Since most restaurants are take-out only, I was using the kitchen in the timeshare to make sides/starches. They aren't open on Sundays so if you want to pre-order for Monday pick up, do so by Saturday.
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| Broke Da Mouth Spicy Chicken Medium Catering Tray |
Pahoa Fresh Fish - on the way back from the beach located at 15-2670 Pahoa Village Road, Pahoa, HI 96778, I was detoured from visiting a grocery store to pick up some fish and chips. One of the best fish and chips I've had in awhile and relatively priced well.
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| Pahoa Fish and Chips (ono and salmon) |
I Want Ice Cream - in the same plaza as Pahoa Fresh Fish at 15-2660 Pahoa Village Road, Pahoa, HI 96778. I went over to kill some time waiting for the fish and ordered a milkshake. The shop sold Roselani branded ice cream and I'm always a fan of mac nut ice cream or ube ice cream.
Original Big Island Shave Ice Company - located inside the Queen's Shops in Waikoloa (250 Waikoloa Beach Dr, Waikoloa Village, HI 96738) next to Roy's. I've been looking forward to trying a stationary shave ice shop in Waikoloa and it didn't disappoint. I was sad that Ululani's wasn't open yet but this was better. They also make a mean banana cake.
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| OBISIC shave ice |
Roy's Waikoloa Grill & Bar - So excited to see Roy's reopen that I forgot my free souffle coupon which defeated the purpose of going. I'm hoping they get enough business to expand their menu beyond the main entrees.
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| Roy's Loco Moco |
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| Roy's Seasonal Dessert |
McDonald's - Taro pie season!
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