Traveling Mamalahoa Highway From Kona To Na’alehu

If you want to nosh (Nosh means to grab a bite to eat or stock up on snacks and refreshments) on you’re way to or from Na’alehu, there are lots of roadside popups and shops along the way.

We have some favorites that we feel should be mentioned. Teshima's Restaurant in Honalu, is a classic Japanese American restaurant, but take note that they are closed 1 to 4. 

The Coffee Shack in Captain Cook’s is another spot with a tremendous view. They are closed on Wednesday’s and after 3PM daily. Get their ono benedict.

Super J's lau lau shop in Kaaloa is an another great place to stop. If you do we highly recommend that you get their haupia pie made with okinawan sweet potatoes. 

Down the street from there is South Kona Grindz. They have the freshest fish and chips anywhere on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Often times the local fisherfolk will hangout in the front and if asked politely they may share a few tips and pointers with those interested.

From about the Fujihara Store until Hawaiian Ocean View Estates (HOVE or Oceanview) there is not much in the way of businesses, but you will enjoy traversing through lush jungles and coffee plantations.

For a touristy kitsch stop,  a local has decorated his driveway with tiki statues. Keep an eye out after you pass the Waiea Transfer Station.

After you pass the road to the Hawaiian fishing village of Milolii, you will begin a drive through macadamia nut plantations before reaching Oceanview.

The locals call Oceanview the Wild West for its "colorful" denizens and buildings reminiscent of an old style western town.

In jest local residents are often heard saying “it is where you go in witness protection”.

After you leave HOVE, you will pass Miranda Coffee Farms. They have consistently been award winners in coffee competitions.

Finally you will pass through Waiohino, the site of the first missionary station on the Big Island.

Sadly nothing is left of the mission structure. But a large monkeypod tree thrives there and is supposed to have been planted by none other than Mark Twain.

Finally, you will enter the community of Na'alehu, in Hawaiian, meaning, volcanic ash.

Although there are no ash deposits here, the dust from the volcano often reaches us.

Originally erected to serve as The Sugar Cane Plantation, Luna’s Hale (Boss’s House) in Na’alehu, when nearly a century ago, sugar cane was the island’s predominant crop.

Hale Na’alehu has been renovated from the Luna’s House, now providing its guest with a unique blend of early traditional Hawaiian charm with the comforts and amenities that modern technology has provided to us,

The Hale Na’alehu Hawaiian BnB Vacation Home is centrally located at a southern point that is a near equal distance from both Hilo to the north west and Kona to the north east.

As you enter the community of Na’alehu from either direction you will find your destination located directly across the street from the Union 76 station, which also serves the area as a well stocked grocery store.

You will find prices that are comparable to what you’ve come to expect to from many small towns grocery stores in found anywhere in America. 。