Wow! What an amazing vacation we had at Kailua-Kona, at the Na Hale, Keaukou townhouse complex, and at unit G-6 owned and hosted by Christina. She was a fantastic host as she was always available. When (elderly) grandma felt she needed more blankets, Christina went out of her way to purchase new ones and drop them off. And as an Island resident, she recommended a couple beach locations that visitors simply would not know of, and/or easy to overlook. These were incredible places and really added to our vacation experience. This townhouse is well stocked with beach towels, and the garage has many beach toys and float noodles, which are really handy for snorkeling, as allows you to hang motionless over spots and watch and study underwater life without having to tread water. This townhouse has great wifi, is spacious and very well maintained with all the conveniences of washer/dryer, dishwasher, etc. and each bedroom has its own attached bathroom, with fantastic showers and ample hot water to wash off salt and sand after long days beachcombing, swimming, snorkeling, etc. The central air conditioner works really, really well, and appreciated as outside air can be somewhat humid at times. And oh… there is a really nice pool with adjacent kiddie pool, hot tub and gym available. It was great to go there in the evening hours. As a gym-rat back home, I appreciated access to free weights and exercise machines to work out stiffness from walking and swimming and sunning all day. Walking distance up the hill are local restaurants, and a wonderful grocery store. Saturday morning there was a small farmers market in parking lot. We bought fresh papaya, and strawberry-bananas.
I’ll share one rec’d beach to go to here that I learned of from our Airbnb host Christina. If you want to experience green sea turtles, and amazing snorkeling and an incredible sand beach, with nearby restrooms and showers to boot, drive to Kukio beach. Go to, Kaupulehu Drive, Kailua-Kona (turn off from Queen Ka'ahumanu Hwy), and when drive up to guard booth, request a pass to the public beach. They will direct you from there. After parking in at well shaded parking lot, grab your gear for a short walk upon a boardwalk to the beach. On the way, will pass by gorgeous scenery of a few salt water ponds and trees. Turn left when arrive at beach, walk down to where you want to be and set up, sit down and breath it all in. Very few people here, even on the weekend. Ample fish often can be seen swimming in the surf just a few feet from the shore, and if you are patient green sea turtles are very likely to amble by, usually very close to shore, gnawing on moss and sea grass growing on nearby submerged lava rock. We swam/snorkeled with several turtles (do not touch or interfere) and they paid us no mind, and took many fantastic pics and videos; it was incredible fun.
However a hop snd skip down the road (almost walking distance) from the Airbnb where we were staying is Kahalu’u Beach Park. It is a wonderful snorkel area, and you will not be disappointed. Showers and restrooms avail and it’s well maintained. A lifeguard is on duty here to boot. It can get a little crowded, but do not let that keep you away. Everyone is kind, polite and courteous. We felt very comfortable leaving our towels and beach shoes behind on a table (unattended) - lots of folks do this. And wow… There is plenty of sea and amazing variety of fish to see. We also saw a turtle here. Two Step beach is another prime snorkel location. The coral and sea life is phenomenal. One may even get lucky and see wild dolphins here.
As a side note… If you really want to step it up for an over the top mind-blowing amazing experience, suggest you contact Hang Loose boat tours (https://www.hawaiitourboat.com), we booked through TripAdvisor and sign up for a Night Manta Ray adventure. It was an experience of a lifetime to be floating in the water with these large incredible gentle giants. You are holding onto a floating platform, stretched out straight looking down, so even if cannot swim well or at all, no worries. Just need to be comfortable in the water is all, and you’ll be fine. Our boat was manned by captain Jacob and Adam, and they were awesome hosts,and always felt safe on this tour.