Welcome to Kailua-Kona!
Kailua-Kona, often referred to as "Kona" by the locals, is nestled at the bottom of the Hualalai Volcano. It is the main western city of the Big Island of Hawaii, though with a population of about 12,000, it is hardly a metropolis. Kona has become known for sport fishing, snorkeling, sunsets and coffee, which is cultivated on the slopes of Mount Hualalai.
Kailua, a town on the island of Hawai, is also known by its post office designation Kailua-Kona to differentiate it from Kailua located on the windward side of Oʻahu island. ("Kona" is the Hawaiian term for "leeward," and all of the Hawaiian Islands have a Kona district, though on some islands the term has fallen out of common use. Kailua-Kona is sometimes erroneously referred to by the name of the district, Kona, in which it is the largest town.) Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated town (Census Designated Place) in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaii, United States, in the North Kona District of the Island of Hawaiʻi. The population was 11,975 at the 2010 census, up from 9,870 at the 2000 census. It is the center of commerce and of the tourist industry in West Hawaiʻi. Kailua-Kona is served by Kona International Airport, located just to the north in the adjacent Kalaoa CDP. Kailua-Kona was the closest major settlement to the epicenter of the 2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake.