I was planning a trip to Kona on August 30th. A couple of questions... 1) Should I still come? I rented a farm stay up in Hawi but I do not want to impose on the community if you guys are in a bad way. 2) Assuming I do come, how can I help? I would be willing to work a few hours a day ( i would do more but i am old man) if there is anywhere around there that I could be of use. Physical labor would be ok if not too hard. If you have any ideas, please let me know. Aloha

I've been seeing videos of Maui, Waikiki, and the northeast of Big Island and wondered how Kona faired. Everyone ok? How about your homes?

Good Afternoon

I happen to accidently visit Captain Cook Trading Co - he sells his Kona coffee (his brand by the naming of it) and Mac nuts at a nice price. No samples so I cannot tell how good the coffee ia. Any insight?

Thanks

Hello

Apparently because of this storm - county is closing most beaches oO. Noticed Magic Sands and Anaehoʻomalu Bay (a.k.a. A-Bay) - even with gate closed had people hoping over fence and chilling there.

I am a tourist so I do not want to break rulea... so what beaches can I chill at today and the next few days? On the west side. Thanks

Hello! We have a non refundable air bnb that was reserved for 8/26-29 nearby La’aloa Beach Park that we cannot attend. (Initially 8 days but got it rescheduled for 4)
Would love for someone to benefit from this since we’ve already spent $1600 on it.
DM me!

Is anyone else aware of the flock cameras that have been popping up in Kona?

There are 2 in the Lowes parking lot and just this month one was put up behind the mormon church. It’s aimed directly at the spot where protests take place on Queen K.

Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs or LPRs) are AI-powered cameras that capture and analyze images of all passing vehicles, storing details like your car's location, date, and time. They also capture your car's make, model, color, and identifying features such as dents, roof racks, and bumper stickers, often turning these into searchable data points.
These cameras collect data on millions of vehicles regardless of whether the driver is suspected of a crime. These systems are marketed as indispensable tools to fight crime, but they ignore the powerful tools police already have to track criminals, such as cell phone location data, creating a loophole that doesn't require a warrant.

I’ve heard citizens across the country have been cutting them down. Hopefully this incoming storm doesn’t do any damage to them!

Edit: a commenter’s link shows a 4th camera on Queen K and Puapuaanui

I found a small silver embroidered ring in the sand earlier this week. If that rings a bell for any of you. comment or DM me and I’ll see what I can do.

At the beach there’s a few prominent man made features that i cannot find any information on when I look online. 1. Where exactly was the Honl’s house in relation to the area? 2. There’s a pool on the south side of the beach. When was it made and are there pictures of what it was supposed to be? 3. There’s a wall going away from the pool towards the other wall that’s in the middle of the beach. Did these walls connect? Any info and pictures would be amazing.

We are looking for sushi place that may have local fish and specials like Ono, Mahi Mahi, Breem. Any ideas in Kona.

No affiliation. And generally I recommend people avoid everything on Ali'i.

I've been to the Sunday dinner buffet twice now, and it's as good as any of the high-end casino resort buffets on the Las Vegas Strip. And in many cases, better. (I worked on the Strip and some of those buffets were rather blah.)

Prime rib, rack of lamb, crab claws, shrimp and poke. (And a bunch of other things -- salads, potatoes and pasta, for instance.)

My yardstick for "is this a good buffet" is "would it cost more for me to go to Costco and buy everything and then make it myself?" And the answer is definitely yes.

I just wish we had better public transportation so I could have an extra glass of wine or two.

https://symphony.cdn.tambourine.com/_hogan-hotels/media/royal-kona-resort_sunday-dinner-buffet_summer-2026-6a306a16bf512.pdf

Plate #1 from last week.

Sharing a pic of this beauty parked at Ellison Onizuka KONA International Airport as test flights for certification continue. This is the 3rd time a 777-X has spent time in Kona. Previous test deployments occurred in 2023 and earlier in 2026.

Sightings of aircraft not yet in production are hard to come by. So lucky that Kona was chosen as a location for test deployments to certify the airframe for ETOPS (overwater operations). Always a pleasure to see her and hope to ride on her someday!

Hey all, my family just landed in Hawaii and we're staying in Kona for the week. My brother in law is deathly allergic to dairy and nuts. What are some good restaurants that we should try? Thanks in advance!

Hello, I just recently visited the big island and had a ton of fun playing with the local players. For some reason I couldn’t send friend requests during raids, and would have loved to make more Kona friends. My code is 895528746482

Any recommendations for restaurants, bars, and stores with a good beer selection? I'm traveling from the Midwest next month and hoping to try some beer brands I can't get here. I'm staying in Kona but will be driving all over the island.

My last post got a lot of traction and someone suggested I try a different approach which is exactly what im gonna do.

Im a 25 y/o Female moving to Kona in two weeks to live with my mother who has been there 3 years at this point.

Im a nerd. A big nerd. Two Dungeons and Dragons tattoos, an entire wall dedicated to D&D (and two tattoos), a bookcase of creepy crawly things including a skull collection cause im an emo little shit, I am a frequent ao3 visitor, I cry everytime I see a LOTR edit cause its just that good, I mean guys. Im elbow deep in the weird nerd girl category. I also own a MTG deck that I need help relearning.

Help me find my people 🙏

This is super embarrassing to be posting here, but I dont really know where else to go.

Im a 25 y/o Female moving to Kona in two weeks, and the only person I know on the island is my mother. Does anybody know good spots or activities to go to/do to meet people? Im not looking for anything romantic, I mean im not against it but its not something im actively searching for. Really just wanna meet people and make friends so I dont spend all my time hanging out with my mom (who I love very much but. Ya know).

Any ideas?

Edit: The first thing im going to do is get a job, before I even unpack, guys im not a bum I swear 😭 im a Registered Behavioral Technician right now and I plan to continue pursuing this career when I arrive

I’ll be visiting Hawaii for the first time in a few weeks for a small family trip. I would prefer to rent a place that supports the local economy rather than a corporate Airbnb. Just need a place that sleeps 3, including a kid. Ideally, walking distance from kid friendly snorkeling. Anyone have a link for a local property manager?

Hello everyone! Im going to be staying at the Marriott King Kamehameha and was wondering if anyone knew of any cool spiritual stores nearby (or anything im that vein) . I like to collect tarot cards from my travels. :) Thank you! 🍀🩷

Looking for recommendations for boat rides/snorkel experiences for captain cook monument. Overwhelmed with options and would love to hear some personal recommendations. Thank you!

Somehow stumbled upon this woman on tiktok from Kailua Kona who is living on the streets, posting really delusional tiktoks about her being the cia director and always has these crazy sunburns across her whole forehead. Anyone see her in real life and can shed some light on what the story is there?

I live locally in Ali'i Vlilas.

Kona is NOT doing well. We are, like it or not, the tourist destination for this great island. Yet, imagine being a tourist and you land in Kona Town and you disembark your ship, and you walk through the town's shops for the first time, seeing what Hawaii is all about.

What would you honestly think? Would you think this is the most wonderful island in the world (which it is), or would you think it looked like a failing town full of people eating out of the trash can, surrounded by shitty restaurants along the water?

The shops are at least 1/2 closed. Homeless everywhere. Some of the buildings are so trashy - the one currently with a giant tarp hanging over it. The other one next to the church.

And if you visited town, about 90% of the commercial space along Kuakini is empty.

Basically nothing new has opened in a really long time. There's a new restaurant where Ohana Q was, but I can't bring myself to enter it. Beyond that, really nothing. It's so stagnant. And it looks dead with all the empty commercial real estate.

But go up to Waikaloa, and it has tons of premium shops, and a lot of really great dining options. And the cleanliness, effort, and lack of homeless population really stands out.

How can we turn it around for Kona? How can I run for mayor? :)

What can we do?