Skip to content
BusinessesGrow
Kealakekua Bay, Captain Cook, HI

Photo: Nnachappa64, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorOutdoor AdventureHistory BuffFree

Kealakekua Bay

End of Napoopoo Rd at Napoopoo, Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park · Captain Cook, HI

Why you should go…

Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island's Kona coast is a Marine Life Conservation District where you can snorkel but not fish, and Hawaiian spinner dolphins often rest here in the morning. Captain James Cook arrived in 1779 and was killed on its shore; a white monument at Ka'awaloa marks the site, reached by the steep Ka'awaloa Trail or a permitted guided kayak tour. At Napoopoo stands Hikiau Heiau, a sacred temple platform you are asked not to climb onto.

  • #snorkeling
  • #kayaking
  • #captain cook monument
  • #marine sanctuary
  • #state historical park

Good to know

General sport & outdoor guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Weather calls the shots

    Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.

  • Shoes, water, sun cover

    The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.

  • Parking and launches fill early

    On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.

  • Daylight shrinks in shoulder season

    Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Kealakekua Bay, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park

    Under $25

    Walk the Royal Grounds and a centuries-old place of refuge guarded by carved wooden kiʻi on the Kona coast.

    3.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Outdoor Adventure

    Hāpuna Beach State Recreation Area

    Under $25

    Swim, bodysurf and picnic on one of the few white-sand beaches along the Big Island's west coast, south of Kawaihae.

    36 mi awayMore like this

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Mauna Kea

    Free

    Stop at the visitor station at 9,200 feet, then take a four-wheel drive road to Hawaii's highest summit and its observatories.

    38 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Kīlauea

    $25–$50

    See one of Earth's most active volcanoes and its summit caldera inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

    41 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

    $25–$50

    Drive and hike around Kīlauea's summit caldera, then follow Chain of Craters Road down to the sea.

    43 mi awayMore like this