I travel 2 times in a 12 month period to Big Island. And I have figured out how to visit and travel affordably. Thank you for the info. Parking is my biggest gripe.
Making Ali'i a one way street is a terrible idea. They should make Kuakini double laned heading south through Hualalai road to decrease the back up at Henry Street where everyone tries to merge last minute.
My husband occasionally watches your videos with me, and asked "why don't they drop a pin and zoom in on whatever they're sharing?" Thought that was an excellent idea for you!!
I was distracted when I wrote my original comment, so I’m just going to rewrite the whole thing now. Paid parking is a way of life here in Southern California and in Las Vegas. As a tourist, I don’t mind paying a few bucks to park. But the rates in downtown Kona are ridiculous. It would cost more to park for a couple of hours without validation in Kona than it does for me to park all day at Disneyland. A couple of hours of parking in Kona is more expensive than an entire days worth of parking in Santa Monica, Long Beach, etc. Even on Oahu, I haven’t experienced paid parking that is anywhere near what the parking lots in Kona want. When it comes to hotels, it seems to be a big island issue with exorbitant pricing. We used to go to the big island annually before Covid. In 2019 we spent about $120 a night at the Sheraton (now outrigger). In 2021 we stayed at some condos (NOT Airbnb) for about the same price. In 2022 when we were pricing trips, after Outrigger bought the Sheraton, the price had already more than doubled. It ended up being cheaper for us to go to Oahu. For the same dates, rental car, flights, etc, we spent several hundred less than if we had taken our usual trip to the big island. In 2023 it was several hundred cheaper to go to Kauai versus the big island. Same length, same time of year, rental, etc. in 2024 it ass $1,000 cheaper to go back to the Hyatt regency in Waikiki than go to Outrigger and $500 cheaper than the royal Kona. Comparing our Oahu costs from 2022 to 2024 it was roughly the same for the flight, hotel, and car. Parking, food, etc were a couple dollars more here and there. But nothing ridiculous like the pricing on the big island. Basically, last year, when we were pricing Oahu versus the big island, we spent $3400 to go to Oahu. It would have been $3900 to go to the Royal Kona or almost $4500 to stay at the outrigger like we used to. Big Island hotels are pricing themselves out of the market and that’s why big island tourism is down more than the other islands. I would LOVE to go back. Punalu’u beach is my literal favorite place in the world. But if I can go to Oahu or Kauai cheaper, why wouldn’t I? Especially when Kauai is ridiculously beautiful. Hanalei town and the whole north shore of Kauai are almost like a totally different planet. Haleiwa and the whole north shore of Oahu have a lot to offer too. It’s hard to argue which is the better value here when comparing those two to the big island
100% agree. We used to be regulars but are choosing to go elsewhere. We just can’t justify the cost anymore. And with the Canadian dollar as weak as it’s been in a long time, I expect many other Canadians will do the same.
Kailua downtown is shabby, it looks awful, run down, in need of major renovation. The Kona Inn is a fire waiting to happen. The wiring was scary in the nineties when I worked there. The Gertrudes building? The dance floor is ready to collapse and the building across from the pier with the upstairs restaurant... The steel girders holding it up are spalling badly and are very weak, I worked there in the nineties and later as well. Kailua, does anyone have any paint?
What a great video, with lots of information. Thank you for keeping us updated.
Thanks guys. Great info for those of us planning to travel there.❤
I travel 2 times in a 12 month period to Big Island. And I have figured out how to visit and travel affordably. Thank you for the info. Parking is my biggest gripe.
Happy New Year, and bless you two for all you do.❤
Making Ali'i a one way street is a terrible idea.
They should make Kuakini double laned heading south through Hualalai road to decrease the back up at Henry Street where everyone tries to merge last minute.
My husband occasionally watches your videos with me, and asked "why don't they drop a pin and zoom in on whatever they're sharing?" Thought that was an excellent idea for you!!
Show location on map!!!!
HOA insurance helped increase costs. At KCV, we saw a 600% increase in our HOA insurance policy. That caused monthly HOA dues to double
What’s the story with Anchorage sending their homeless to the islands? Hadn’t heard about that.
Send me!
I was distracted when I wrote my original comment, so I’m just going to rewrite the whole thing now.
Paid parking is a way of life here in Southern California and in Las Vegas. As a tourist, I don’t mind paying a few bucks to park. But the rates in downtown Kona are ridiculous. It would cost more to park for a couple of hours without validation in Kona than it does for me to park all day at Disneyland. A couple of hours of parking in Kona is more expensive than an entire days worth of parking in Santa Monica, Long Beach, etc. Even on Oahu, I haven’t experienced paid parking that is anywhere near what the parking lots in Kona want.
When it comes to hotels, it seems to be a big island issue with exorbitant pricing. We used to go to the big island annually before Covid. In 2019 we spent about $120 a night at the Sheraton (now outrigger). In 2021 we stayed at some condos (NOT Airbnb) for about the same price. In 2022 when we were pricing trips, after Outrigger bought the Sheraton, the price had already more than doubled. It ended up being cheaper for us to go to Oahu. For the same dates, rental car, flights, etc, we spent several hundred less than if we had taken our usual trip to the big island. In 2023 it was several hundred cheaper to go to Kauai versus the big island. Same length, same time of year, rental, etc. in 2024 it ass $1,000 cheaper to go back to the Hyatt regency in Waikiki than go to Outrigger and $500 cheaper than the royal Kona. Comparing our Oahu costs from 2022 to 2024 it was roughly the same for the flight, hotel, and car. Parking, food, etc were a couple dollars more here and there. But nothing ridiculous like the pricing on the big island.
Basically, last year, when we were pricing Oahu versus the big island, we spent $3400 to go to Oahu. It would have been $3900 to go to the Royal Kona or almost $4500 to stay at the outrigger like we used to.
Big Island hotels are pricing themselves out of the market and that’s why big island tourism is down more than the other islands. I would LOVE to go back. Punalu’u beach is my literal favorite place in the world. But if I can go to Oahu or Kauai cheaper, why wouldn’t I? Especially when Kauai is ridiculously beautiful. Hanalei town and the whole north shore of Kauai are almost like a totally different planet. Haleiwa and the whole north shore of Oahu have a lot to offer too. It’s hard to argue which is the better value here when comparing those two to the big island
100% agree. We used to be regulars but are choosing to go elsewhere. We just can’t justify the cost anymore. And with the Canadian dollar as weak as it’s been in a long time, I expect many other Canadians will do the same.
Kailua downtown is shabby, it looks awful, run down, in need of major renovation. The Kona Inn is a fire waiting to happen. The wiring was scary in the nineties when I worked there. The Gertrudes building? The dance floor is ready to collapse and the building across from the pier with the upstairs restaurant... The steel girders holding it up are spalling badly and are very weak, I worked there in the nineties and later as well. Kailua, does anyone have any paint?