Kona or the Kohala Coast with kids: picking your Big Island base
Written October 2026
The Big Island's west side splits into a town and a resort coast. Kailua-Kona is the town: Alii Drive along the water, the pier, the farmers market and the shave ice, with a small beach beside the pier where the water stays almost flat and the nickname is Kids' Beach. South of it at Keauhou are the pool resorts and the bay where manta rays come in at night. The Kohala Coast is 25 to 30 minutes north of the airport, black lava fields running down to white-sand bays, with sand-bottom keiki pools, kids' clubs and lagoons at the resorts, where the day stays on the property.
Where to stay on the Big Island with kids covers the whole island, Hilo and the volcano included.
Kona and Keauhou
Town at the north end, with the Kona Farmers Market and Gecko Girlz shave ice on Alii Drive, and Keauhou about 15 minutes south, where Kahaluu Beach Park has a shallow bay behind an old lava-rock breakwater with sea turtles in it.
Courtyard King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel
Kailua-Kona, at the pier
A hotel in town with its own beach, Kamakahonu, a small sheltered beach between the pier and the hotel where the water stays almost flat, with a grassy lawn behind the sand and a shack that rents snorkel gear. Ahuena Heiau, where Kamehameha I spent his last years, stands at the north edge of it, and the lobby displays a feather cloak and helmet.
There's an outdoor pool, and rooms come with two queens or a king and a sofa bed. Kona Brewing Company is about 0.25 km and the Kona Farmers Market about 0.7 km down Alii Drive.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
OUTRIGGER Kona Resort and Spa
Keauhou Bay
On the lava cliffs above Keauhou Bay, 22 acres with a lagoon-style pool and a 200-foot twisting waterslide, the largest in Kona, a wading pool for the small kids and a separate adults-only pool. There are slide races on the pool deck in the afternoon, and a family game room with pool tables, foosball and arcade stations where kids 16 and under come with an adult.
Keauhou Bay below is one of the few places in the world to snorkel with giant manta rays at night, and its beach has a sandy stretch with picnic tables and a grassy area. Kahaluu Beach Park is a few minutes away, downtown Kona a 15-minute drive, and the hotel says to allow 45 minutes to the airport.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Waterslide
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
Kona Coast Resort
Keauhou
Villas with a full kitchen and a queen sleeper sofa in every one: the one-bedroom is 1,400 square feet for four, the two-bedroom 1,700 for six with a king and two doubles or two kings, and the three-bedroom 2,376 for eight.
The Keauhou Farmers Market is about 0.3 km, and Kahaluu Beach Park, with its turtles and calm bay, about 1.1 km.
- Cribs
- No
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
Kaupulehu, 7 miles north of the airport
On a half-mile stretch of beach on the northwest Kona coast, about 7 miles north of the airport, so it's between the town and the Kohala resorts. King's Pond is a 1.8-million-gallon lava rock aquarium you swim in, home to 4,000 tropical fish and a spotted eagle ray, with the Kumu Kai Marine Center alongside.
The Keiki Pool is a free-form, sand-bottomed wading pool, the Seashell Pool is the family pool with thatched palapas, the Ocean Pool swims in the sea behind a lava rock breakwater, and the Palm Grove pool is adults only. Kids for All Seasons is a supervised program in its own building, year round.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Kids' club
- Yes
The Kohala Coast
Half an hour north of the airport, with the Waikoloa resorts sharing the Hawaii Keiki Museum and the shave ice at the Kings' Shops.
Mauna Lani, Auberge Collection
Mauna Lani, Kohala Coast
Thirty-four oceanfront acres with two protected beaches, one of them a calm, swimmable cove that sea turtles often share, and a Great Lawn running from the pools to the sand. The Keiki Pool is a foot and a half deep with a sand bottom, under shade sails next to a grassy play area, and the Holoholo Kids Crew is free for ages 5 to 12, with tidepooling, fishing and gardening.
Children 18 and under stay free in their parents' room, every restaurant has a children's menu, and cribs, high chairs, Pack 'n Plays, baby baths and Diaper Genies are lent out free. Suites run to 1,807 square feet with separate living areas, the airport is a 25- to 30-minute drive, and a free shuttle covers the resort.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
- Kids' club
- Yes
Fairmont Orchid
Pauoa Bay, Mauna Lani
A private beach and lagoon on Pauoa Bay, where the Hui Holokai Beach Ambassadors run canoe paddles, snorkel outings to the coral restoration site and a free Coral Chat by the Beach Shack. The 10,000-square-foot oceanfront pool has a family section and an adults' section, and the Keiki Dining Program runs at its restaurants.
The guest laundry is free, with self-service machines on the first and third floors of both towers, and a shuttle runs within the Mauna Lani Resort. The airport is 22.4 miles, about 29 minutes.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel
Kauna'oa Bay
On Kauna'oa Bay, a crescent of white sand, with the Beach Club lending snorkel gear, paddleboards, kayaks and body boards free to guests. Keiki Club Adventures takes ages 5 to 12 for half days Monday to Friday at the Discovery Center on the second floor of the Beachfront Wing, with lei making, hikes and treasure hunts on the bay.
The Family Pool has cabanas and the adults have their own infinity lap pool. Beachfront Wing rooms open onto the beach lawn from ground-floor patios, the Beachfront Suites connect to a second bedroom with two queens, and the Beachfront Deluxe Suites have two bedrooms. Spencer Park, a beach with small waves behind an offshore reef, is about 1.9 km, and the airport about 27 miles, 30 minutes.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Kids' club
- Yes
Hilton Waikoloa Village
Waikoloa Beach
A four-acre ocean-fed saltwater lagoon with sea turtles and tropical fish, meandering pools and waterslides, and canal boats and air-conditioned trams between the guest rooms.
The Hawaii Keiki Museum, hands-on science about the island, is about 0.9 km, and the Original Big Island Shave Ice Company at the Kings' Shops about 1 km.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Waterslide
- Yes
Waikoloa Beach Villas
Waikoloa Beach
Two- and three-bedroom condos with two or three baths, a full kitchen and a lanai, some with a gas grill, plus two pools and spas and a shared barbecue area. Anaeho'omalu Bay is a short walk for snorkeling.
Island Gourmet Markets for groceries is about 0.3 km, the shave ice at the Kings' Shops about 0.35 km and the Hawaii Keiki Museum about 0.5 km.
- Cribs
- No
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Laundry
- Yes
Kona or Kohala: how the two sides differ
Kona has a town to walk, with the market, the shave ice and the pier beach a few minutes apart, and the slide and the manta rays 15 minutes south at Keauhou. The Kona Coast Resort's villas have the kitchens.
Kohala is the resorts: sand-bottom keiki pools at Mauna Lani and Hualalai, free kids' clubs at Mauna Lani and Mauna Kea, a swimmable aquarium at Hualalai and a lagoon with turtles at the Hilton. Meals are at the resort or the Waikoloa shops, and the Waikoloa Beach Villas come with a full kitchen.
Questions
Kona or the Kohala Coast with a toddler?
Kohala, for the keiki pools: Mauna Lani's is a foot and a half deep with a sand bottom under shade sails, and Hualalai's is a sand-bottomed wading pool. In Kona, Kamakahonu beside the pier has water that stays almost flat and a lawn behind the sand, and the OUTRIGGER Kona has a wading pool next to the big one.
More in Big Island
Where to stay on the Big Island with kidsPhoto credits
Courtyard King Kamehamehas Kona Beach Hotel: W Nowicki (CC BY 3.0) · Four Seasons Resort Hualalai: Steve Jurvetson (CC BY 2.0) · Fairmont Orchid: Alan Light (CC BY 2.0) · Mauna Kea Beach Hotel: Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada (CC BY 2.0) · Hilton Waikoloa Village: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan (CC BY 2.0)