The hip little enclave of Hawi is only about an hour's drive north of Kailua-Kona, but this tiny town (population 938) is worlds away from its sunny coastal neighbor. Tucked among the rolling, upcountry pasturelands of North Kohala and away from the miles of ancient lava fields baking in the west Hawaii sun, it's just plain cooler here — literally and (no offense to Kona!) figuratively.
Believed to be the area of King Kamehameha I's birth (the exact site is unknown), Hawi today serves as a magnet for all sorts of fun and funky enterprises, as epitomized by its two main gathering places, The Coffee Mill (808-889-5577) and As Hawi Turns. Modeled after a Parisian sidewalk café, The Coffee Mill is nonetheless pure Island-style — a place to get a bite, sit and chat and watch the day's events unfold. As Hawi Turns is an eclectic shopping experience, featuring everything from straw hats and ball gowns to kimonos and sarongs
Just up the road, you'll find an even rarer treat: The Kohala Book Shop (808-889-6400) is home to one of the largest commercial collections of Hawaiian and Pacific books, prints, maps and miscellaneous items of interest in the United States ... a fact that sounds unbelievable until realizing much of the shop's collection was once owned by the now-defunct Tusitala Bookstore on Oahu, formerly the premiere used-book store in the Islands.
To get to Hawi from Kailua-Kona or the resorts of the Kona-Kohala Coast, simply take the coastal Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway north — which, for its transition from coastal environment to upper mountain regions, is well worth the drive on its own. Once there, a number of tour companies also offer trips into the surrounding regions, among them ATV Outfitters Hawaii and Flum'in Da Ditch.
Book activities before you go
Stu Dawrs
