North Kona- Tropical Upstairs W/ Ocean Views

Very clean property, with cooler nights & fresh air, with a central location. Do visit local Mt. Thunder Coffee farm (close by) & Greenwell Coffee (Captain Cook area). Napuna Beach State Park has a beautiful beach. If you can get a parking spot Mauna Kea Resort has an excellent beach. Great Natural Foods store by Target in Kona. Written instructions for TV use would be nice. Dogs & Cats do quiet down later in the evening. Good value

This is a terrific one bedroom rental in a quiet neighborhood above the hubbub of Kailua-Kona. The comfortable and private apartment includes a full kitchen and large bathroom with washer and dryer, and the entire space is very clean. The friendly owners live in the main house and often gave us fresh avocados and papayas that were absolutely delicious! We are both divers who like a restful retreat when we're not in the water and so this place is perfect for us. Note that the rental is accessed via an outside staircase and is a 15 minute drive to restaurants etc on Ali'i Drive.

This property was well-maintained and the photos were accurate. If anything there were more amenities than listed including beach chairs, water shoes, plentiful towels. The kitchen was well appointed and included such necessities as coffee filters and a decent corkscrew. The view of the ocean was somewhat obscured because smoke from the volcano was settling over the area. This is evidently something that happens from time to time.

The owner was helpful and pleasant. Work was being done on an adjacent building; they were considerate and did not do any noisy work while we were in the apartment. They asked when we would be out. Parking was easy and off the street.

As for local food, we can recommend several right on Alii St. in Kailua-Kona which was about a 15 min drive from the apartment. Our favorite was Boston Basil where we ate two nights. We enjoyed the live music and the view of the sunset from the second floor dining area. In addition Tante's was an excellent value with a great view of the harbor. Kona Inn was more upscale, beautiful presentations, great service, but the fish was a little undercooked. Either eat before 6 pm or get a reservation.

Our pick for the best beach was between town and the airport at a National Historic park. The geeen sea turtles come up on the beach in early evening and there are nature trails with historic ruins.Shore birds come into the rocky shallow pools.

Several boat tours leave from Kailua-Kona that look interesting, but we opted to drive the coast instead and found several wonderful beaches both on the north and south sides of the island.