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Waikiki Boy, Futuremaian, and CyberCity, congratulations! You've won a three-way tie on Complete Irrelevance to the OPs's question! He asked how to maximize his extended weekend in Kona and your answers were absolutely meaningless in his context!
I mean, seriously, why do that?
Osborn, look at Dreaming of Hawaii's post because she's got a good handle on it. Kona Airport is small, and Kailua-Kona itself is small, but the airport is about 7 or 8 miles from town, and there's no public transportation, so it's going to cost in the vicinity of $25 for a cab or shuttle to get you in to whatever hotel you choose. You can use cabs to get around after that, but it will be expensive. For a short visit like you have planned I'd concentrate on the most walkable areas, or maybe even rent a bike.
Ali'i Drive, down to about the Kona Inn, 75-5744 Ali'i Dr ... an old-school landmark... has a lot of shops of all kinds... t-shirts to ukuleles and Kona coffee to surfboards... and many interesting restaurants and bars, and it is quite walkable. Be forewarned, however, that everything closes down around 9 pm. There's also a shopping mall a little ways around, but it is not nearly as interesting as the older shops along Ali'i.
All the beaches, by law, are public. You many not be allowed to use the amenities of a hotel unless you are a guest, but you are entitled to be on the beach itself, and in the water. And most of them are more than happy to have you spend money in their bar or restaurant. Hang out, relax on the beach, that's the main attraction after all.
With only three days, and no car, I'd also suggest you grab a bus tour for one day, probably the second day, and get a taste of whatever part of the Big Island interests you most. There is so much available that you could not possible see and do everything even if you had a month to spend. So just pick something that appeals to you for your one-day taste. When you get off the plane, you'll walk down the stairs and across the taxiway to what looks like a series of small shacks. That's the terminal. Look around on your way to pick up your luggage and you'll see racks full of tourist information, including a couple of different thick directories of all the various attractions. Grab whatever interests you, and use it as your guide.
[quote=OpenD;28471427]Waikiki Boy, Futuremaian, and CyberCity, congratulations! You've won a three-way tie on Complete Irrelevance to the OPs's question! He asked how to maximize his extended weekend in Kona and your answers were absolutely meaningless in his context!
I mean, seriously, why do that?
Offering an alternative to an unformed plan is absolutely meaningless? The fact that 3 of us made the same suggestion indicates irrelevance? And you imply that YOUR opinion is the only one that matters.
Waikiki Boy, Futuremaian, and CyberCity, congratulations! You've won a three-way tie on Complete Irrelevance to the OPs's question! He asked how to maximize his extended weekend in Kona and your answers were absolutely meaningless in his context!
I mean, seriously, why do that?
Perhaps a quote from a long ago dead person would further your point better.
Offering an alternative to an unformed plan is absolutely meaningless?
I've quoted the entire original message below, so you can verify for yourself it was not an open ended request. It was actually fairly specific.
Quote:
The fact that 3 of us made the same suggestion indicates irrelevance?
Yep, it was a quorum of irrelevance. None of you answered the questions OP asked.
Not only that, but it was a boringly familiar and annoying pattern of response. It seems overly familiar that anytime anyone asks for information about spending some vacation time on the Big Island, several people pile in with suggestions on what to do on other islands instead. Even when a local resident asked for suggestions of place to go for a getaway weekend ON THE BIG ISLAND, there was a dogpile of non-resident people suggesting she go elsewhere. Sorry, that wasn't the question!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Osborn89419
Hello helpful forum goers! I am going on an extended weekend trip to Kona in early May and had a couple questions for the locals.
Planning on staying at the Royal Or Kona Seaside. Any suggestions between those two in the way of being able to explore Kona without a car? Or which one might be closer to a good beach?
My brother and I love to eat! What are your suggestions and recommendations for great food? Only thing I have heard about is the brewery.
Any other activities we should partake in? Remember will not have a car so has to be reachable by foot or some form of available transport such as a taxi etc.
I do hope you get enough relevant answers to be helpful, Osborn.
If I see someone who is headed to Hawaii, and I think I can offer suggestions on how they might better enjoy their vacation, I am going to offer those suggestions.
In the case of the OP, if they respond that they are locked in to Kona (prepaid trip, free/timeshare lodging, etc), then I'll readily jump in with further info about Kona. But as it stands now, I think they would do better at 20 years old, probably limited budget, and no access to a rental car, to stay in Waikiki where they could have 3 fun packed days and evenings while making use of the good public transportation system (ie The Bus).
There is nothing wrong with trying to open someone's eyes to thinking of another alternate for a vacation, if that suggestion is valid.
The OP said they were headed here in May, there is plenty of time to ask a few questions of him in an effort to BE HELPFUL!
Not only that, but it was a boringly familiar and annoying pattern of response. It seems overly familiar that anytime anyone asks for information about spending some vacation time on the Big Island, several people pile in with suggestions on what to do on other islands instead.
Really? Please find evidence of my annoying pattern of discouraging visitors. I usually make an effort to provide encouragement, even to those who want to move here (YEP! Even then!), with added consideration if there are children involved in the move.
Here is what I found odd about OpenD's response despite the lack of dead people quotes:
In the thread - is there welfare and food stamps in Oahu we got this response: (which certainly didn't answer the op's question). Quite frankly, reasonable people find the notion of going to Kona without a car to be kind of odd - no problem to answer to try to make it work - but also no problem on what the heck are you thinking - here is an alternative - oh yeah, here is the food stamp response:
Sorry for the delay in responding... I was out on the lanai having a life.
"What I can't figure out is:
1. Who has the time and motivation to keep creating all these bogus new accounts? We've had a lot of them recently.
2. Who has the resources to keep creating all these bogus new accounts? Somebody in IT most likely.
3. When a person's troll accounts talk to each other, does that qualify as multiple personality disorder?"
Well, in OD's defense I remember asking for BI hotel/inn/B&B recommendations and getting a bunch of "fly to Honolulu" replies, which were unhelpful. :awaiting slings and arrows:
I'll take a stab that OpenD's motivation is that he doesn't want to discourage someone from his home island. Fair enough. The Big Island gets about 15% of Hawaii's visitors and needs all the help it can get.
But, with no car, the best options are Waikiki - and if you don't want the Waikiki crowds - then Lahaina/Kaanapali on Maui are the best options. Of course the Four Seasons or Fairmont are good options on the BI with no car.
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Look around on your way to pick up your luggage and you'll see racks full of tourist information, including a couple of different thick directories of all the various attractions. Grab whatever interests you, and use it as your guide.
Serious food...
