10 FREE Things To Do In and Near Kona, Hawaii

It’s no secret that the Big Island of Hawaii has a ton to offer! The main area of Kona, where most travelers visit, is no different. From diving with manta rays to going on a whale watching tour, Kona is packed full of incredible adventures. But there’s also plenty of free things to do in Kona as well!

In this post, I’ll cover the top 10 free things there are to do in and around the Kona area. I’ll also give a brief introduction into where to stay in the Kona area and whether or not you need a car.

Hawaii can be very expensive, but there’s plenty of opportunities to save some money while still experiencing the best activities. So keep reading if you are planning a trip to Kona and wondering what free things there are to do!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link or book through an affiliate program, I receive a small commission at no cost to you!

Where to Stay in Kona, Hawaii

Before we get into the list of free things to do in Kona, let’s touch on where to stay in Kona! The Kona coast is the most popular area to stay on the Big Island.

There are actually several different areas that fall within the larger Kona area. The main part of Kona is the historic Kailua-Kona district, which is located about 15 minutes south of the Kona airport. Here, you’ll find popular hotels like the Royal Kona Resort, King Kamehameha Beach Hotel, and the Club Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Resort Kona.

As you head north outside of historic Kailua-Kona, you’ll find the more luxurious resorts on the island, like the famous Four Seasons Hualalai. Even further north, you’ll find yourself outside of the Kona area on the Kohala Coast, near resorts like the Hilton Waikoloa Village and Mauna Lani.

South of historic Kailua-Kona will take you to the beautiful cultural area Keauhou. Here, you will find the Outrigger Kona Resort, plus many vacation rentals and condos! This is a good place to stay if you are looking for more budget-friendly accommodations.

For more info about the different areas of the Big Island, make sure to check out my guide on Where to Stay on the Big Island!

Renting a Car on the Big Island

If you’ve never been to the Big Island, you might not realize just how big it is! With over 4,000 square miles of land area, you’ve got a lot of ground to cover when visiting. Although this list of free things to do is limited to just the Kona area, I still highly recommend getting a rental car. Even these activities are spread out from each other.

Rental cars are very reasonable on the Big Island, as long as you book in advance!  I highly recommend using RentalCars.com. They allow you to compare prices across all of the major rental car companies. Plus, they have a great cancellation policy (typically free cancellation up to 48 hours in advance). Oh, and they price match!

The 10 Very Best Free Things to Do in Kona, Hawaii

1. Visit a Kona Coffee Farm

Arguably the best free thing to do in Kona is visiting a Kona coffee farm! The southwest side of the Big Island is home to a unique strip of land named the Kona Coffee Belt, where conditions from volcanic activity are perfect for growing coffee! 

Even if you don’t like coffee, a trip to a coffee farm is still a fun thing to do for all ages. Some farms, like Greenwell Farms, offer free coffee farm tours. At Greenwell, you’ll get to learn about the entire coffee making process, from harvesting the coffee “cherries” to roasting the beans!

The best part? You can taste all their coffee flavors before and after the tour for free! Plus, Kona coffee is the perfect souvenir to bring home to your family and friends.

2. Walk Around Historic Kailua-Kona Village

One of my favorite things we did while visiting Kona was just walking around the historic downtown area. If you stay at the Royal Kona Resort or the King Kamehameha Beach Hotel, you’ll be able to walk along the seaside road (Aliʻi Drive) and explore a variety of restaurants, shops, and more. We spent most of our evenings strolling along the water while eating ice cream or shaved ice and watching the sun go down.

In addition to places to eat and drink, Kailua-Kona is home to some important cultural sites. In fact, this area has a strong history and was once a retreat for Hawaiian royalty! King Kamehameha the First even lived in this area towards the end of his life.

Within the area, you’ll find Huliheʻe Palace, a Victorian-era home that once housed Hawaiian royalty in the summer. Now, the palace is a museum where you can learn about Hawaiian history. It’s a very cool place to check out while walking around downtown Kona.

3. Snorkel at Two Step Beach + Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park

If you are visiting the Big Island, you absolutely need to get in the ocean and see the incredible underwater landscape that await! One of the best parts about the Big Island is that there is beautiful snorkeling right off the beach. This means if you have your own snorkel equipment, snorkeling on the Big Island can be totally free!

One of the best places to snorkel on the Big Island is at Two Step Beach At Honaunau Bay. This spot is located about 40 minutes south of the historic Kailua Kona district and is a great snorkel spot for beginners and pros alike. Plus, it’s totally free to visit!

The name “Two Step” comes from the formation of the lava rock at a specific spot along the Bay. There are areas in the Bay where the water is only 6-10 feet deep, or you can swim further out into deeper water if you’re comfortable.

Like many other popular areas on the Big Island, Honaunau Bay is a historically significant cultural site to the Hawaiian people. Two Step Beach is located right next to Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park.

Here, you can go on a self-guided walking tour and visit Royal Grounds once reserved for the chiefdom of Kona. Both of these activities are some of the best free things to do on the Big Island!

4. Hike to and Snorkel at Captain Cook Monument

Speaking of snorkeling, another great spot on the Big Island in south Kona is the Captain Cook monument. The monument is located about 20 minutes south of Kailua-Kona off Highway 11. The monument is within Kealakekua Bay, the Big Island’s only underwater state park. The bay is home to tons of marine life, like dolphins, turtles, and manta rays!

Most people visit the monument via a snorkel tour or by kayaking across Kealakekua Bay. In fact, I have a whole detailed guide that covers how to kayak to the monument. However, this option isn’t free, so it doesn’t make the list!

Instead, you can also hike down to the monument. The trail is called Ka’Awaloa and is a 3.7 mile out-and-back trail. The journey to the monument is all downhill on a mix of dirt, gravel and lava rock in partial shade.

Most people recommend closed-toed shoes for the hike, and while they say the hike down isn’t bad, you’ll have to hike all the way back up after snorkeling, which can be challenging! However, it is only the free way to visit the monument 🙂

Either way, snorkeling at Captain Cook is worth the strenuous hike or cost of a kayak tour. The underwater landscape here was stunning, and we saw so many tropical fish!

5. Visit a black or green sand beach

One of the most unique (and free) things to do in Hawaii is visit a black sand beach. Luckily, because the Big Island is so young, most of its beaches are still volcanic. This means there’s a few different black sand beaches to choose from!

The most popular black sand beach on the Big Island is Punaluʻu. This beach is one of the most picturesque places I’ve ever been, with tall green palm trees and Hawaiian sea turtles lounging along the sand. Punaluʻu isn’t technically in Kona, but I still wanted to mention it here, as it’s worth the drive!

If you are looking for a black sand beach closer to Kona, you can check out Makole’a. It is also free to visit and located just north of the Kona International Airport. It is definitely much less popular than Punaluʻu, so you might have the whole place to yourself!

Now that we’ve covered black sand beaches.. Did you know there is also a GREEN sand beach on the Big Island? The green sand beach, Papakolea, is also free but requires a bit more effort to get to. The road leading to Papakolea is illegal to drive on, so you have to complete a 2.5 mile hike to get there.

Considering it’s one of only four green sand beaches in the entire world, it’s probably worth a visit! Wondering what makes the sand green? You can read more about it here!

6. Lounge on a white sand beach

Okay, I know you didn’t come to Hawaii to just lay on the beach! Or… maybe you did?!

Either way, the Big Island is home to some incredible beaches, and they truly are one of the best free things to do in Kona! Due to the climate pattern in Kona, most days are dry and sunny, making it the perfect place to lounge on the beach.

Aside from the black and green sand beaches, Kona is home to some stunning white sand beaches. Arguably one of the most beautiful beaches on the island is Manini’owalu Beach at Kua Bay. Located just 20 minutes north of Kona, Kua Bay is exactly what you picture a Hawaiian beach to look like. There’s soft, white sand, black lava rock, and stunning blue water.

Another great beach in the Kona area is White Sands Beach. We loved sitting here on our first full day in Hawaii with some iced coffee watching the boogie boarders. White Sands is also known as Magic Sands Beach because the ocean sometimes makes the sand disappear!

Last but not least are Kikaua Point Beach Park and Kukio Beach. Thanks to Hawaiian law, all beaches are accessible to the public. So even though this beach is located within a golf resort, it’s still free to access! These spots are both beautiful, with places to snorkel and lounge on the sand.

7. Watch the sunset

Another awesome and free thing to do in Kona is watching the sunset. The Kona area faces the west, so you’ll be blessed with some killer sunsets during your trip to the Big Island. The best part? No money required!

We tried to sit and watch the sunset every night when we were in Kona. The first few nights we watched it right from our hotel, the Royal Kona Resort. They have a huge, outdoor bar that overlooks the ocean. It’s the perfect place to watch the sunset, and I recommend checking it out even if you are not staying there.

Another fabulous place to watch the sunset is from Huggo’s on the Rocks. This outdoor lounge and restaurant is located right next to the Royal Kona Resort in downtown Kailua-Kona. There are actually two different restaurants: Huggo’s, the more upscale side, and On The Rocks, the more casual side. Both are great spots to grab a mai tai and watch the sunset in Kona!

8. Visit the Southernmost Point of the USA

You may have heard of the Southernmost Point in Key West, but have you heard of the Southernmost Point of Hawaii? Introducing Ka Lae, or South Point. This is the true southernmost point in the United States (Key West is the southernmost point in the contiguous USA!).

Ka Lae is actually about 1.5 hours south of Kona, but you can include it on a day trip when you visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Punalu’u Beach! Here, you can admire the stunning Hawaiian coastline and ocean waves. People also cliff jump here! If you decide to do this, please pay attention to where others are jumping and know the risks you face.

9. Visit Kona Brewing Company

Another fun and free thing to do in Kona is visit the Kona Brewing Company. Located right in the heart of Kailua-Kona, the brewery is a family-friendly restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. The brewpub in Kona opened in 1998, and they have now expanded to other parts of the Big Island, plus other Hawaiian islands!

Although it’s free to enter, I highly recommend splurging to try some Kona beers! If you are a fan of Kona beer, this is a great spot to visit, as you can try “backyard batches”, aka beers you won’t find in any store! I had a yummy lemongrass beer while there, but they have tons of other options.

10. Stargaze at Mauna Kea

Last but not least, one of the most epic things to do in Kona is to visit the top of Mauna Kea at sunset and stay to stargaze after. Mauna Kea is one of five volcanoes on the Big Island. It’s also the TALLEST volcano in the world, if you measure from the base of the volcano on the ocean floor (33,000 feet!).

It’s completely free to make the drive up to Mauna Kea. First, you’ll drive to the Visitor Information Station (VIS) at 9,200 feet. Here, you can get acclimated to the elevation and check in with park rangers before continuing on to the summit. If you choose to go up to the summit, it’s important to know that you must have a dependable, 4WD vehicle with low-range. In addition, people with specific health conditions and children under 13 years old should not travel to the summit.

You can watch the sunset at the summit or at the VIS, but you cannot stay at the summit past dark. Once it gets dark, you can stay around the VIS and wait for the sky to get dark. This is one of the best places to see the stars on the Big Island! There are also guided tours if you would rather go with an expert, but it is a bit pricey!

BONUS: Free Things to Do in Hilo, Hawaii

Although this blog post is about the free things to do in Kona area, I also wanted to touch on the free things to do in Hilo. You may or may not have heard of Hilo. It’s the main town on the east side of the island, whereas Kona is the main town on the west side!

If you’re planning a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, I highly recommend staying on both the Kona and Hilo side. Why? These areas are vastly different and both have so much to offer!

As you can see from this post, the Kona side is full of beautiful beaches, sunny weather, snorkel spots, and more. The Hilo side, however, is known for its lush landscapes, waterfalls, and tropical flora! Plus, there is a ton to see along the drive from Kona to Hilo.

Rainbow Falls

One of the top things to do in Hilo is visit Rainbow Falls. One of the best waterfalls on the Big Island, Rainbow Falls is super easy to get to and completely free! It’s located right off the road just 5 minutes outside of downtown Hilo.

Rainbow Falls are truly stunning, especially if you get to see the iconic rainbow the falls are named after. People have seen the rainbow at all times during the day, but you’re most likely to see it on a sunny morning.

Hit the Farmers Market

Visiting the Hilo Farmers Market is a wonderful, free, and local experience on the east side of the island! The market is open every day from 7am-3pm and features locally grown food, tropical flowers, handmade jewelry, and more.

There are also “Big” Market days on Wednesdays and Saturdays with even more vendors! This will give you a chance to interact with locals and support the community.

Explore the Beach Parks

Another great free activity to do in Hilo is visit one of the beach parks. Hilo has a few different beach parks, including Carlsmith Beach Park and Richardson Ocean Park.

Carlsmith Ocean Park is located just outside of downtown Hilo and is the perfect spot to spend an afternoon. Completely free to visit, the ocean park has grassy, shaded areas, plus spots where you can dip right into the sea!

The water is protected from the ocean waves by a long reef, keeping the waters calm. It’s basically a giant saltwater swimming pool. We saw lots of fish and a couple of sea turtles swimming around here as well! It’s open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday.

Richardson Ocean Park is another great, free spot to visit on the Hilo side of the island. The park is open between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and tends to get very busy on the weekends. You are very likely to see sea turtles here, plus plenty of other tropical fish, and maybe even a Hawaiian monk seal if you are lucky! It’s also one of the best snorkel spots on the Big Island.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are plenty of incredible things to do in Kona for free. From hitting the beach to going on a coffee farm tour, you can fill your Big Island itinerary without breaking the bank!

I do recommend splurging on a few iconic activities, like swimming with manta rays or visiting Volcanoes National Park. However, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on activities to have an incredible vacation!

Don’t forget to pin this post for future planning!