page_title: Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
section_title: Attractions and events
hierarchical_section_title: Kailua-Kona, Hawaii / Attractions and events
caption_attribution_description: English: Panoramic view of Ali'i Drive in central Kailua-Kona in January 2007
context_page_description: Kailua, also known by its post office designation Kailua-Kona to differentiate it from Kailua located on the windward side of Oʻahu island, and sometimes referred to as Kona in everyday speech, is an unincorporated city in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaii, United States, in the North Kona District of the Island of Hawaiʻi. The population was 11,975 at the 2010 census, up from 9,870 at the 2000 census. It is the center of commerce and of the tourist industry on West Hawaiʻi. The city is served by Kona International Airport, located just to the north in the adjacent Kalaoa CDP. Kailua-Kona was the closest major settlement to the epicenter of the 2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake.
context_section_description: Kailua-Kona is the start and finish of the annual Ironman World Championship triathlon, the annual Kona Coffee Festival, and the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament.
  Kona coffee is the variety of Coffea arabica cultivated on the slopes of Hualālai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts.  The Kona Historical Society manages two coffee related historical sites: the Kona Coffee Living History Farm and the H.N. Greenwell Store Museum just south of Kailua-Kona.
  Ali'i Drive, Kailua's oceanfront downtown street, starts at Kailua-Kona Pier. It has also been given the designation as a Hawaii Scenic Byway called the "Royal Footsteps Along the Kona Coast". This byway features archaeological sites that have survived for hundreds of years.
  North of the pier is the Kamakahonu royal residence and Ahuʻena Heiau, and nearby now stands the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. Another royal residence is Huliheʻe Palace, used by members of the Hawaiian royal family until 1914. The Historic Kona Inn and other shops are on the street.
  Churches on the drive include Mokuaikaua Church, Hawaiʻi's first Christian church built in 1820, Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, and Living Stones Church, a historical structure built after Mokuaikaua and used as a Christian Missionary landing location in the 1800-1900. Parks include La'aloa Bay (also known as Magic Sands or White Sands Beach) and Kahaluʻu Bay, which is a popular snorkeling location.
  Boat tours which allow tourists to swim with dolphins, watch whales, and fish in the ocean usually depart from Honokohau Harbor.
caption: Ali'i Drive along Kailua Bay
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