Partner Content | Photo: Turtle at Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau
On the west side of Hawai‘i Island, Kailua-Kona stands out for giving visitors options for nightlife as well as daytime fun. The coast around Kona — as both the town and the region are widely known — also provides enticing adventures before and after the sun goes down.
By day, kayakers and catamarans bob in the clear waters of Kealakekua Bay, a premier snorkeling site thanks to its abundant coral reefs teeming with brilliantly hued fish. Three companies are permitted to lead kayaking tours to the scenic, cliff-lined bay, part of a state historical park that includes an ancient stone temple (heiau), hidden burial sites and the Captain Cook Monument, noting where the British explorer was killed in skirmish with Native Hawaiians in 1779.
Aloha Kayak Co., owned by a Native Hawaiian family, offers twice-daily 3.5-hour kayak tours with snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay and a landing at Ka‘awaloa Flats, site of the Captain Cook Monument. Limited to just 12 people, and conveniently departing from the south, the tours fill up quickly. Aloha Kayak also departs from Keauhou Bay for a 4-mile paddling tour that visits sea caves created by lava tubes and includes snorkeling and — for the daring — cliff jumping into the ocean. During both tours guides share stories about the Hawaiian culture and history associated with the area, such as the birth of King Kamehameha III at Keauhou Bay and the battlefield graveyard above the sea caves of Kuamo‘o Bay.
Keauhou Bay is also renowned for near-nightly visits by manta rays (hahalua in Hawaiian), one of a handful of spots in Hawai‘i (and the world) that can make that claim. These enormous black-and-white creatures, with wingspans up to 28 feet, spiral and somersault as they feed on plankton attracted by lights shining in the water. While the secret of their regular appearanecs has long been out, Aloha Kayak Co.’s evening tours provide a nimble way to find the best viewing and snorkeling spot on any particular night, with less than a quarter-mile of paddling required. Just keep in mind that these underwater gentle giants are wild, with only “patience and plankton” to lure them, as Aloha Kayak’s websites notes.
You can also spy mantas from the Manta Center and illuminated shoreline around Outrigger Kona Resort and Spa, overlooking Keauhou Bay. The resort offers manta education talks in its Manta Center and can books guests on evening manta snorkeling tours aboard the Kini Kini, a 40-foot Hawaiian sailing canoe, and the 30-foot Nainoa.
