Aloha from our family
I grew up on this coast.
I'm Keoki, and I was born and raised right here in Kona. This island made me — the water, the coffee land up the hill, the smell of plumeria after the rain. So I don't hand you this place lightly. It means something to me.
Here's the part I love: years ago, before any of this, I used to deliver pizzas to this very building. I'd pull into Casa de Emdeko with a hot box in my hands, walk these same breezeways, hear the same surf against the rocks, and think — man, what a place this would be to call home. Life has a funny way of circling back. Now I own this unit, and I get to hand you the keys.
These days my girlfriend Emily and I are building a life together, blending one big family into one home. Between us we've got six kids — my daughters Zoe and Claire, and Emily's four, Cassie, Clark, Brent, and Daniel — and right now we're merging our two households, one box at a time. Home base is on the mainland, but Hawaiʻi is where my roots are, and it keeps pulling us back: both my girls are in college in the University of Hawaiʻi system now. So when we fly to Kona, we're flying home to them too.
That's what Kona Casa is to us — the anchor. The place our whole big, blended, busy crew comes back to. And for the next little while, it's yours. Everything in this book is what I'd tell you if we were sitting on the lanai with a cold drink, watching the sun go down: the restaurants I actually eat at, the beach I send my own family to, the volcano I never get tired of. Not a brochure — my Kona. Make yourself at home. You're in the right place.
Aloha — Keoki & Emily
The essentials
The Casa
Two bedrooms, two baths, and the ocean right there. Everything you need to settle in fast, so you can get to the good part.
Finding us & parking: I made you a quick video showing exactly how to get in and where to park — watch it here. There's no assigned parking; grab any open spot in the complex. You're oceanfront, with two pools on property — the saltwater one right on the sea is my favorite — a full kitchen, A/C throughout, in-unit washer & dryer, a covered lanai with a grill and an outdoor shower to rinse the salt off, and easy beach access for a morning swim.
House, simply
- No smoking, anywhere on the property — including the lanai.
- No pets, so our guests with allergies can breathe easy.
- Quiet hours after 10 PM — sound carries over the water, and neighbors are close.
- Reef-safe sunscreen only — it's actually the law here (more on that below).
- Lock up when you head out.
On your way out (11 AM)
- Start the dishwasher and leave the kitchen roughly how you found it.
- Trash & recycling to the bins — I'll point you to them in your arrival text.
- Used towels in the tub; no need to strip the beds.
- Windows & lanai door shut, A/C off, lights off.
- Lock the door behind you. That's it — safe travels.
What guests say — 5.0 stars, and we're proud of it
"The balcony/lanai overlooking the saltwater pool is killer! Watching the waves break over the wall during high tide was awesome. The condo is spacious and wonderfully updated."
"Keoki's place was amazing. The sunsets were amazing. Trust me — if you need a wonderful place to stay, this is it!!"
"Awesome location, really quiet and beautiful. Town is only a mile away, with lots to do."
The table
Where I Eat
Ask me my number-one restaurant and I honestly can't pick — it goes back and forth between two. So I'll give you both, and a handful more I'd vouch for with my name on them.
Huggo's
Keoki's pickPerched right out on the rocks over the water — you can hear the surf under your table. This is the romantic one, the anniversary one, the watch-the-sun-drop-into-the-Pacific one.
One thing: this is the real Huggo's, the fine-dining side. There's a younger, casual bar next door called Huggo's on the Rocks — fun, but not what I'm sending you here for. It's the way this place is perched on the rocks that gets me every time.
Order: the teriyaki steak they've made for nearly fifty years, or whatever came off the boat that day. Open daily 4–9. Reserve for sunset.
Kona Inn
Keoki's pickOpen-air, right on Kailua Bay, one of the great sunset lawns in Hawaiʻi. My other number one — and it comes down to one dish.
The Ahi Stacker. It's seared ahi stacked with crab cakes and this aïoli that I could eat every single day. I'm not exaggerating — it's one of my favorite things on the whole island. Get it. Thank me later.
Order: the Ahi Stacker, a Mai Tai, a sunset seat. Dinner 5–9, happy hour 2–5.
Lava Lava Beach Club
Keoki's pickWhere else can you have a cocktail served with your feet actually in the sand? Tables sit right on the beach at Anaeho'omalu Bay.
Time it for the evening — live music starts at 5:30 and there's hula at sunset. Toes in the sand, mai tai in hand, sky on fire. That's the whole Hawaiʻi thing right there.
Order: ahi nachos or sizzling shrimp to start, then the fresh catch.
Da Poke Shack
The best poke in Kona, no debate. They run their own fishing boat, so the ahi is about as fresh as it gets. Grab a bowl, take it to the water.
Order: whatever's freshest on the board. Open 10–4 or until they sell out — and they sell out.
Merriman's
Worth the drive up into the cool green ranch country. Peter Merriman more or less invented Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine, and nearly everything on the plate was grown or raised within a few miles. A proper special-occasion dinner.
Order: the wok-charred ahi. Reserve ahead.
Rays on the Bay
Dinner with a trick up its sleeve: the resort shines lights on the water and the manta rays come gliding in below the lanai. Sunset cocktails, then the show. (They're wild, so no promises — but when it happens, it's magic.)
Ask for: a table on the rail near the manta lights.
And for the in-between: Daylight Mind for oceanfront breakfast & Kona coffee, Broke Da Mouth Grindz for local comfort food (garlic furikake chicken), Kona Brewing Co. for pizza and a Longboard, and Scandinavian Shave Ice downtown to cool off.
Off the property
What I Do
The Big Island is exactly that — big. You could visit ten times and keep finding new things. Here's where I actually spend my days, starting with the two I never skip.
Keoki's pick — never gets old
The Volcano
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, about two hours southeast, and I go back again and again. Kīlauea has been especially alive lately — erupting in dramatic lava-fountain episodes, then pausing, then going again. If she's putting on a show while you're here, drop everything and go; standing near a live eruption is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Always check nps.gov/havo and USGS for the day's status before you drive up — it changes by the hour, and catching it at night is unforgettable. Bring a warm layer; it's cool and high up there.
Fair Wind at Kealakekua
Keoki's pickMy favorite way to get in the water. The Fair Wind boat takes you to Kealakekua Bay and the Captain Cook Monument — a protected reserve with some of the clearest water and healthiest coral in the state. Breakfast, lunch, gear, and water slides off the boat.
Book the morning trip early — it sells out days, sometimes weeks, ahead. It's that good.
Manta Ray Night Snorkel
One of the most otherworldly things you'll ever do. After dark you float holding a lighted board; the lights draw plankton, and giant manta rays — wingspans up to fifteen feet — come barrel-rolling right beneath you. Kona is one of the only places on earth you can do this.
Mauna Kea & the Stars
Drive up to the Visitor Station at 9,200 feet for sunset above the clouds and a free after-dark star program — some of the clearest night sky on the planet. Dress genuinely warm. The summit needs 4WD and caution; a guided tour is the easy way.
Kona Coffee Country
The coffee belt runs the slope just above you. Tour a farm, walk the orchard, taste it fresh off the roaster. Greenwell Farms has been at it since 1850 and the tour's free; Heavenly Hawaiian and Hula Daddy up in artsy Holualoa are worth the wander too.
A Real Luau
For the classic night out: Island Breeze, oceanfront at the old King Kamehameha hotel, has been Kona's favorite for years — royal court by canoe, the imu ceremony, buffet, and fire dancing to close it out. Voyagers of the Pacific is the other reliable one.
Pololū Valley
Drive to the very end of the northern road and the island just drops away into a green valley and a black-sand beach. The lookout alone is worth it; if you're up for a short steep hike, walk down to the sand. Go before 9 for a parking spot.
Sand & water
My Beaches
The Big Island's beaches are different — black lava, white sand, the odd green or salt-and-pepper cove. Here's where I go, and what each one is for.
Hāpuna
Keoki's pickIf you've never been to the Big Island and you want the Hawaiʻi beach — the wide, soft, postcard one everyone pictures — go to Hāpuna. It's the one that won't let you down. Longest white-sand beach on the island, and it looks like the beaches people fly to Maui for.
Get there earlyish — there's a small parking and entry fee, and it fills up on weekends. Best swimming is summer; winter brings bigger surf.
Kua Bay
The prettiest little white-sand cove on this coast — brilliant sand against black lava cliffs. My pick for a sunset swim. Calm in summer; it can get a punchy shore break in winter, so read the water.
Kahalu'u
The easiest snorkel on the Kona side, and where I'd start beginners and kids. A protected cove full of fish and green sea turtles, with lifeguards and parking right there. Go before 9 while the water's clear.
Two Step
For the best snorkeling of your trip. No sand — you slip in off two natural lava steps into turquoise water, coral, and often dolphins. Right next to the Place of Refuge, so make a morning of both.
Island wisdom
Good to Know
A few things every local wishes visitors knew — they'll keep you safe, keep the reef alive, and save you a headache.
Sunscreen — it's the law
The Big Island only allows mineral sunscreen (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide). The usual drugstore stuff with oxybenzone can't even be sold here — it kills the reef. Bring reef-safe mineral sunscreen, pack it in your checked bag, and reapply often. Our sun is no joke.
Respect the ocean
The most important page in this book. Never turn your back on the surf, swim where there are lifeguards, and if a current pulls you, swim parallel to shore, don't fight it. That "rock" underwater is living coral — float over it, don't stand on it. When in doubt, don't go out.
Vog
Some days you'll notice a soft haze — that's "vog," volcanic haze from Kīlauea that drifts to our side on certain winds. Usually harmless and it clears, but if you're asthmatic, take it easy on the heavy days.
Getting around
You'll want the rental car — things are spread out. Rough drives from here: the volcano ~2 hours, Hilo ~1.5, Waimea ~45 minutes. Fill the tank before any long trip. Toss a light jacket in the car for upcountry, the volcano, and Mauna Kea — it's genuinely cold up high.
Stocking up
Costco and KTA Super Stores (a local institution over 100 years old) are your grocery runs — KTA has great fresh local fish. Hit the Kona farmers market downtown for papaya, apple bananas, and avocados the size of your hand.
In the kitchen — induction cooktop
The stove is a flat-glass induction cooktop. It heats crazy fast, but only magnetic cookware works on it — if a magnet sticks to the bottom of a pan, you're good. Everything already in the kitchen works fine; just keep it in mind if you bring your own. And don't worry if nothing lights up until a proper pan is sitting on the ring — it's not broken, that's just how induction works. Wipe the glass gently once it's cool.
How to spend your days
Short trip? Do a volcano day, a Kona beach-and-snorkel day, and the manta rays at night, capped with a sunset dinner. More time? Add the Fair Wind cruise, a coffee-farm morning, a Hāpuna day, a luau, and the Mauna Kea stars. You won't get to all of it — that's what next time is for.
We've got you
If You Need Us
Anything at all — a question, a hiccup, a "how do I work the grill" — reach out. Real people, quick to answer. For any life-safety emergency, always call 911 first.
From our home to yours
Mahalo
Thank you for staying at Kona Casa — for treating our little place on the water like your own. This island gave me everything, and getting to share it with you is the whole point. Swim, eat well, chase a sunset, catch the volcano if she's awake.
Come back and see us.
A hui hou — Keoki & Emily