Quick answer: The luaus near Kona are the two in Kailua-Kona, Island Breeze at the King Kamehameha hotel and Voyagers of the Pacific at the Royal Kona Resort, Haleo at Keauhou ten minutes south, and the bigger resort shows up on the Kohala Coast about an hour north. For a first trip with kids, book one of the Kailua-Kona two, because you can walk back to town afterward. Book several weeks ahead and expect a dinner show rather than a local party.
Guests ask us about luaus more than almost anything except coffee, and they usually ask it slightly apologetically, as though it is a touristy thing to want. It is a touristy thing to want. It is also, done once, a good evening, and for a lot of families it is the night everybody remembers. So here is the honest version from people who live in Kealakekua and have sat through most of them.
What a luau near Kona actually is
A modern commercial luau is a dinner show on a resort lawn. You arrive around five, get a lei and a drink, wander past craft tables, watch the pig come out of the imu, eat a buffet, and then watch an hour of Polynesian dance that usually ends with a Samoan fire knife act. It is professionally done and it is genuinely entertaining. It is not a community gathering, and nobody who lives on the Big Island goes to one unless they have visitors.
Two things worth knowing up front. The food is buffet food. It is fine, sometimes better than fine, and it is not the best meal you will eat on this island by a distance. And the fire knife dance everyone photographs is Samoan rather than Hawaiian, which the better shows tell you themselves, because the evening is a tour of Polynesia rather than of Hawaii alone.
The luaus near Kona, one by one
Island Breeze Luau, Kailua-Kona
On the grounds of the Courtyard King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel, right at the north end of Aliʻi Drive. This is the one we send most first timers to, for one reason above all others: it sits on Kamakahonu, the small bay where Kamehameha I lived out his final years, so the setting carries real weight rather than being a lawn with torches on it. It is also the easiest to get to and the easiest to leave, since you are in the middle of Kailua-Kona and can walk to the car or to a bar afterward.
Voyagers of the Pacific, Royal Kona Resort
Further down Aliʻi Drive at the Royal Kona Resort, on a lawn above the lava shelf, so you get open ocean and, if your timing is right, the sunset behind the stage. The show travels through Hawaiʻi, Samoa, Tahiti and Aotearoa. Same part of town as Island Breeze and a similar price, so pick on the setting you prefer, oceanfront lava or the historic bay.
Haleo Luau, Sheraton Kona at Keauhou Bay
About ten minutes south of Kailua-Kona at Keauhou, which is where Kamehameha III was born. The show is built around that story rather than being a general revue, and it is the one that leans hardest into Hawaiian history. If you have somebody in the group who finds dinner shows a bit much, this is the one most likely to win them over. Keauhou is also an easy drive from Kealakekua, about twenty five minutes, which matters if you are staying down our way.
The Kohala Coast shows, about an hour north
Gathering of the Kings at the Fairmont Orchid and the Legends of Hawaiʻi luau at the Hilton Waikoloa Village are the big production numbers, and they are the ones to pick if what you want is the full show with the biggest cast and the most staging. A couple of the other Waikoloa properties run their own as well, so check what is on the week you are here.
The catch is the drive. From Kailua-Kona the Kohala resorts are around forty minutes. From Kealakekua or Captain Cook you are looking at an hour to an hour and fifteen each way, and you will be coming home down Māmalahoa Highway in the dark after a couple of mai tais, which is not our favorite way to end a night. We wrote about that road and the rest of the tradeoffs in Kealakekua lodging versus Kona hotels.
Which one to book, by who you are traveling with
First trip, with kids. Island Breeze in Kailua-Kona. Short drive, early start, and the children can get up and move around without anybody minding. Pair it with an easy morning, because five in the afternoon is late for a small child who has been in the water all day. Our things to do with kids guide has the rest of that week.
Two of you, one big night out. Haleo at Keauhou for the story, or Voyagers for the sunset. Honestly though, if it is just the two of you and you only have one big evening in the budget, we would spend it on dinner somewhere very good instead. There is a list on our Kona Town eat and drink page.
A group or a multi generation family. One of the Kohala Coast shows, on a night when you were already going to be up north for the beaches. Make a day of it rather than driving up specially. The beaches to build that day around are in best beaches near Kona and on our Kohala Coast page.
What it costs and how far ahead to book
Budget on the order of one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars a head for an adult once tax and fees are in, less for children, more for premium or front row seating. Prices move every season, so treat that as a range to plan against and check the current number before you commit.
Book several weeks out, and further in winter and over the holidays. Most of these run only a few nights a week and the good tables go first. Nights and schedules change seasonally, so confirm the day as well as the date. If you are visiting in the first half of October, check the race calendar before you book anything at all in Kailua-Kona, because the town fills up completely for Ironman week.
A few practical things. Wear something you do not mind sitting on grass in, bring a light layer because the evening cools off, arrive when doors open rather than when dinner starts so you get the craft tables and the imu, and decide early who is driving. Seating is usually long shared tables, so if you want to sit as one group, say so when you book.
If you would rather skip the luau
Plenty of our guests do, and there are better ways to spend the money if what you actually want is Hawaiian culture rather than a show.
Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, twenty five minutes down the hill from Kealakekua, runs ranger talks and cultural demonstrations at no cost beyond the park entry, and an hour there will teach you more than an evening of dancing will. The shopping centers at Waikoloa often run free hula in the early evening, which is worth checking if you are up that way. And if you are here in November, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival fills the whole coffee belt with events for a week and a half, which is about as local as visitor facing things get here.
And if it is the food you are after rather than the show, Kaʻaloa’s Super J’s in Captain Cook makes the laulau and kālua pig that the buffet versions are imitating. It is lunch, it is a small family operation, and they close when they sell out, so go early or do not go. More of where we actually eat is on our South Kona eat and drink page.
Luau questions we get asked
Is there a luau in Kealakekua or South Kona? No. Every luau near Kona is at a resort, and the resorts are in Kailua-Kona, Keauhou and up on the Kohala Coast. Staying in Kealakekua means a drive either way, twenty five minutes to Keauhou, half an hour to Kailua-Kona, or an hour plus to Waikoloa.
Which luau is best for kids? Island Breeze in Kailua-Kona, mostly for the logistics. It starts early, it is a short drive from almost anywhere on this coast, the lawn gives children room to move, and you can be back at the house by nine. The Kohala Coast shows are bigger, and the drive home with tired children is long.
How far ahead should you book a luau? Several weeks in the quieter months and longer between December and March. They run only a few nights a week and they sell out. Book the luau after you have booked the house and the rental car, both of which go sooner, which we cover in how far ahead to book a Big Island vacation rental.
Is a luau worth the money? Once, on a first trip, especially with children, yes. Go in expecting a well made dinner show rather than a window into daily life here and you will enjoy it. If you have been to one before, the same money spent on a boat trip into Kealakekua Bay or the manta ray night snorkel will give you a better evening.
What should you wear to a luau? Whatever you would wear to a casual outdoor dinner. An aloha shirt or a sundress is perfect and nobody will look twice if you turn up in shorts. Bring a light layer, because the evening cools off once the sun is down, and wear shoes you can walk on grass in.
Where to stay for a luau night
If a luau is on your list, the easiest version of the evening is staying in town. Casa Aloha is our one bedroom in Kailua-Kona with a pool, a short walk from Aliʻi Drive, so you can go to Island Breeze or Voyagers and walk home afterward with nobody having to drive. For couples who would rather be up the hill, Casa Grateful in Kealakekua has the covered lanai and the ocean view, and for families and groups Casa Gratitude in Kealakekua has three bedrooms and a kitchen and living room to match. Both are half an hour from the Kailua-Kona luaus, which is an easy enough drive in daylight and a slower one coming home.
You can see all three homes and current dates here, read about who we are, or get in touch and we will tell you which luau we would book for your group. More island planning is on our blog.
Luau photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense, public domain. It was taken on Oʻahu rather than on the Big Island.