Kailua-Kona Travel Forum

My niece is competing in the Ironman this October. She is staying @ a resort condo in Keauhou. She suggests I look for a hotel Btween Palani Dr and the end of Alii Drive as they will be running in that area. Has anyone attended the event as a spectator that can recommend a hotel or condo that would be along this route?

I have seen 9 of the last 10 World Championship Triathalons in Kona from before the start until after the finish line closes.

You're really too late to get anything you'd normally be happy with. But, if you can afford it, call the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel. They usually have several over priced rooms available for the race "week." It's a great place to stay since it is the center of most official activities for the Triathalon.

Good luck and Aloha!

I saw the Iron Man Thriatlon in October 2005. I stayed in Hilo and drove to Kona. One thing......IF you are going to be on the Big Island during the Iron Man Triatlon and you want to rent a car .....definately book the car at least 3 months in advance !! I was glad somebody told me so I did, because there was NO rental car left on the island during the Iron Man !!

Whew. This is really short notice to find a place near Kona. You might check with the Hawaii Visitors Bureau or chamber of commerce. The Hotel King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel is the race headquarters and they usually rent all of the rooms a year in advance. It's located at Palani Road and Alii Drive. That is by the Kona city pier where the race starts and ends. It's pretty exciting to be there very early before the race starts because people from all over the world are parading around displaying their flags and colors. A announcers stand is built for just this day and stands about 2 stories high. The racers enter and leave the water here and mount their bikes among cheering fans. Bring a small plastic stool or 3 foot step lander for the start and finish to be a "head above" the crowd. There are many places downtown Kona to see the race because they changed the course a few years ago to make it more accesable to viewers. Be sure to get a map. www.westhawaiitoday.com may have it before the race.
Take a look at www.konaweb.com for general information. There is also a Ironman official website, but I think it's new this year and I don't have it yet.

Go to www.wizardpub.com and click on Big Island page for air photo's of island hotels. This includes all hotels along Alii Drive where I used to live before moving to The Pines Phase 2 a little higher up the mountain. I checked with Bali Kai Hotel and was told they are booked and assume everyone else is too.

A good source to check is the local paper West Hawaii Today, classifieds. They have a website, www.westhawaiitoday.com. They post apartment rentals, vacation rentals, all kinds of accomodations - there are often people that live along Alii Drive that have rentals only during Ironman week.