Kona Aggressor - getting there? where to hang out?

[Alexandra]

I am going to be going on the Kona Aggressor in March 2015 and just noticed that they do not include airport transfers in their price. Apparently, it's only about a 20 mins ride from the KOA airport to the pier downtown Kailua but how much does that cost?

Also, we are going to land right before lunch and won't be able to board the Aggressor till late afternoon --- any suggestions on where we can have lunch and hang out for 6 hours?

thanks!
Alexandra

 

[Scubanoobi]

I assume you'll have all your dive gear and suitcases with you. That kind of limits what you can do in Kona, find a good restaurant and have a loooong meal

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I'm not sure if hotels allow this (if you are not a guest), but it might be worth asking The King Kamehameha hotel if you could check in your bags with the hotel's front desk for a few hours? Maybe they would do it for a fee??

They are located right at the pier in downtown Kailua-Kona... King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel in Hawaii

If they would allow that, you can catch a cab from the airport, drop off your luggage, then walk around Kona town for a few hours.

Best wishes.

 

[diversteve]

$25 one way.

Taxi Cabs ? Official Website for all Hawaii Airports

Also from: http://www.aggressor.com/upload/KONAKBYG.pdf

The yacht will dock Saturday afternoon at the Kailua Pier between 5:30-6:00 p.m. to greet passengers. For guests arriving prior to the 5:30 PM boarding time, (it is recommended you arrive as close to this time as possible), you can have the taxi driver take you to the Kailua pier to drop off your luggage. You will need to call the Captain at +1-808-937-0975 who will have a crew member meet you at the end of the pier to take your luggage to the yacht so you can shop and sightsee until boarding time.

Kona Brewing Co. has a big outdoor patio space. Kona Brewing Company | Just another place with sand between its toes - about a 1/4 mi from the pier NE. Splasher's is so close you'll see the Aggressor at the pier. Splashers Grill - Bars and Restaurants in Kailua-Kona Hawaii cycle through their website header photos - the couple is looking directly at the pier. There's at least a dozen other restaurants/bars along the Kona waterfront south from the Pier, Bubba Gumps, an Outback, coffee shops etc.

If you forgot anything, there's a shopping center with a KTA superstore - I'd call it under 1/2 mile north on Palani - the street that runs north from the pier. Across the highway another quarter mile or so is Walmart. If you need some dive gear, Jack's Diving Locker is on the south end of Kona on Alii Dr. It's about 1/2 mile along the waterfront. Open till 8 on Sat. http://www.jacksdivinglocker.com/contact/

 

[Hawkwood]

As diversteve shows, its pretty easy.

Folks do not have to depart the Aggressor until the morning when you arrive. They spend the day resupplying and you can just drop your bags off with them at the dock and kill time at Splashers. That's what we did!

Contacted the captain and arranged the time to drop off the bags and then went to Splashers to watch them get ready for us.

We had the whole damn boat to ourselves.

 

[diversteve]

damn...all those Canadians and only 3 beers...

 

[Hawkwood]

That was probably hour four... That being said, the Aggressor did start to run low on some "provisions", before the week was over.