Not sure where to stay

coming to hawaii in July,august for 9 nights. Searched alot for houses and condos, not sure if we should stay north of kona or south. Adventous group, like to hike, explore, snorkel. Really would like to hear the waves at night. Budget is for a place for 9 for no more than 700.00 per night. Also not sure what the issue of vog is, is this a problem all over the island? Looked at mauna lani as they have a lot of amenities. Unsure if a condo is the way or a house. Could use some advice.

Joni

Not sure where to stay

The Mauna Lani condo option is a very good option. Well-located for beach as well as hiking/valley/heiau/waterfall adventures. Pretty decent snorkeling around the hotel, and pretty good snorkeling nearby at Puako. I don%26#39;t know about hearing the waves, IME most condos that are truly oceanfront on the island aren%26#39;t very nice although they have great views, probably because of maintenance issues and because they%26#39;re older complexes since more recent environmental laws have caused newer condos to be setback from the ocean. But many like Kolea and the Mauna Lani are oceanview.

It%26#39;s impossible to know what the vog situation will be like from day to day, let alone in July. But in general its better the further north you go, and has not, at least recently, been nearly as noticeable in the Mauna Lani and Waikoloa beach resort areas (where Kolea is).

Not sure where to stay

Hali%26#39;i Kai in Waikoloa Beach Resort has oceanfront condos, but the maximum occupancy would be 8.

for the past several days Vog has covered the entire island with very reduced visability....

With 9 you will need 2 seperate 2 beds 6 limit per condo... 3 bed 8... These are hard and fast safety laws...not the managments ruels, You might contact your faiths churches here and see if they can help ( There are many Adventist Churches)

%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Budget is for a place for 9 for no more than 700.00 per night.

I wish I could be more encouraging. Less than a $100 pp per night and right by the ocean north of Kona, it%26#39;s hard to imagine. The houses and condos up there are so nice ... let me ask, have you found anything?

Sounds like your first job is to find rentals that work for your budget, then if you have something in mind people can tell you what the place is like.

Starting place -- the various rental agencies, vrbo, craigslist.

House or condo -- you won%26#39;t find a condo for nine, so you need at least two condos. You can probably find a house for nine; the question is, do you all want to share and will the house cost as much or more than two condos? North of Kailua-Kona, very likely a house will be expensive, all multi-million dollar construction.

South of Kona, rural area, prices are lower and quality is variable. Also lots of houses in Kailua-Kona and Keauhou areas ... again, price will be your first filter.

Dan, izzy didn%26#39;t say Adventist; I%26#39;m pretty sure Adventous was a typo for ';adventurous.'; But I see how you could read it that way.

That is a typo, sorry guys, thanks for all the advice!

For $700 per night you should be able to get TWO 2 bedroom condos, that would fit the 9 people in your party. As mentioned above, try Halii Kai for oceanfront and other Waikoloa Beach Resort condos might be a little cheaper. Most of the condos in Mauna Lani are quite a bit higher, even though they are mostly over 20 years old now. But you are right they do have some great amenities.

The Vog right now is pretty terrible, and there%26#39;s just no way to tell if it will be gone then. The farther north you are up the coast, though the better your chances of avoiding it. (My advice - avoid Kona and anything south)

Good luck!

We just got back and stayed in a house for 8 that allowed us to have nine. It was really nice, in an excellent location and should meet your budget.

There are enough beds for 8 but if you have kids or someone doesn%26#39;t mind sleeping on the couch it should work. (just charge them less)

It was called the Kokua Hale.

http://www.hrc-kona.com/kokua/

It was super close (just across the private road) to a keiki beach and the kids LOVED it!

If you have any more questions about it let me know.