Many of the mainland flights land before our check-in time. This is the perfect opportunity to head down to Kona for lunch (if you're flight is really early) or shop for your vacation supplies. For any of these recommendations we suggest you check their current hours on the web. Keep in mind that groceries and sundries generally cost more than on the mainland, and that the state of Hawaii has banned the use of plastic bags. Hale O' Honu'ea provides a supply of reusable cloth grocery bags for use during your stay or grocery stores sell them at the counter (hey - sometimes they make nice souvenirs), or provide paper bags.

The townhouse is also stocked with a starter supply of sundries like paper towels, toilet paper and dishwashing machine tablets and some basic spices in the pantry. We also provide full size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bar soap, hand soap, laundry detergent, Oxiclean, and all your sheets and towels needs.

Personally we LOVE going to the many local farmers markets for our groceries (but that's another blog post for you to check out).

Maybe you want to pick up some pineapples and coffee for your stay? Here's what we have to suggest for the supermarkets and big box stores:

Costco Kona 4.7 miles south of KOA Airport: 73-5600 Maiau Street Kailua-Kona (808) 331-4800 From KOA Airport: Turn right on to HI-19 / Queen K Highway (drive 3 miles). Turn LEFT onto Haina-Lani St (drive 0.12 miles). Turn RIGHT onto Kanalani St (drive 0.46 miles). LEFT onto Lawehana St. Costco on the right.

Ok, so this is the obvious one. Whether you need reef-safe sunblock (soon to be required in Hawaii), 6 Maui grown pineapples, or a dozen gift cans of macadamia nuts, Costco has it. In our experience this is the lowest cost place to pick up milk at the start of your stay and refuel your rental car at the end of your trip. It has your usual Costco inventory plus local foods and producers, particularly closer to the winter holidays when they have gift packs that are easy to take back to the mainland for your friends and family who couldn't come to paradise with you.

Foodland Farms Gourmet Market in the Shops at Mauna Lani 1 808-887-6101 (at the roundabout after you enter Mauna Lani Resort, about 1/2 mile from Hale O' Honu'ea): This is a Hawaii chain grocery store that you'll see throughout the islands. The one right in Mauna Lani is a smaller resort-sized grocery store but the prices are the same as found outside of the resort. Great for picking up a few items for breakfast, lunch or a quick deli dinner if you're landing late and don't have the energy for a restaurant, or those limited groceries that you want because you plan to eat out for most of your stay, or those few items you forgot to get elsewhere. Hot and cold food deli counter, fresh baked goods, prepared foods, fresh groceries and dry goods, beer, wine. Just like at Safeway, many items are marked with a yellow tag Maka’i discounted price for which you need to have a Foodland Maka’i card; you can sign up for your own discount card or we leave a discount card in Hale O' Honu'ea for you to use, or we provide the discount code in your check-in instructions.

KTA Superstore in Waikoloa Village (10-15 minutes drive from Hale O' Honu'ea) 68-3196 Paniolo Avenue, Waikoloa Village, 808-883-1088 (Drive mauka from the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter/Waikoloa traffic light). This is the closest large supermarket to Mauna Lani Resort, and offers full services including a pharmacy. Like Foodland, this is a Hawaiian grocery store chain, so prices are consistent around the island (with their advertised flyer sales and such).

Waimea town: 25 minutes from Hale O' Honu'ea, here you will find a Foodland supermarket, KTA supermarket, Longs pharmacy, Starbucks, Ace Hardware, gas stations, plus many local favorite restaurants and more. We'll include another post about Waimea alone as there is so much to say about it!

Kona and Hilo: Both towns have mainland mainstays as well as KTA and Foodland. If you need to stop at Walmart, Target, Lowes/Home Depot, you'll find the big box stores in the two largest communities on the Big Island. We'll include posts about both towns.

Concierge Shopping Service by Kohala Tradewinds: We work with the wonderful team at Kohala Tradewinds who can stock Hale O' Honu'ea with your requested supply list before your arrival (some of our late night arrival guests like to use this service). Or if someone in your family has restrictive dietary needs that you're not sure can be met at our local grocery stores, you can ship a box of supplies to Kohala Tradewinds and they will put it in the townhouse before your arrival. Either option is a fee service that you arrange directly with Kohala Tradewinds, we will provide you with their contact information.