After wrapping up a week of work in Los Angeles, I headed to Kona, Hawaii. I was kind of excited to already be halfway there, meaning less time in an airplane seat and less jet lag. Fortunately, I was flying mid-week, which meant fewer people and more space to stretch out! Once on board, the captain announced we would be slightly delayed taking off, for various reasons (who really knows … it’s the Los Angeles International Airport, it’s always packed!), and it was unlikely we would make up time because of the wind.
Boy was he right! Our 4 hours and 50 minutes scheduled flight took nearly 6 hours, not including the time we were sitting on the plane. I could have flown to Europe from Dayton in that time! After a very long flight, with drinks and pretzels, peanuts or cookies provided (I suppose it’s better than nothing), I made it to a very windy Hawaii.
I love the airports on islands, the way you exit the plane in the middle of the tarmac, and the Kona International Airport is an open-air facility. Because the Kona airport is small, take your time deplaning because you will wait a good 15-20 minutes before you pick up your luggage at the carousel. Once I had my luggage, it was off to pick up my rental car. A fairly painless process – each company has its own airport ground transportation to take you to their facility. Picking up my rental car was a breeze and the staff was super nice and very helpful. I was off to start my ten days in Hawaii!
Now for the return; like I mentioned before, the airport is very small, and the number of people that have to get through makes the wait time long at the ticket counter. So it may be boring, but I would recommend getting to the airport much earlier than normal, at least two hours ahead. Also, paying an airport porter to help is a necessity! A porter will assist you with everything – from ticketing, to bag tagging, agricultural check and security bag check; it’s very worth the tip you provide in the end.
Once through airport security, there are very few restaurants in the Kona airport. The evening I was leaving there was one restaurant open, with very few tables and seats at the bar; I ended up standing at the bar. Many of the smaller restaurants and convenience shops do not take credit cards, so remember to bring cash! And do NOT plan to pack fruit you purchased in the airport; there is an additional agriculture check before boarding and they will take the fruit from you. And trust me, do not even ask; they have been dealing with moody people all day. Overall, bring a book to the Kona airport, there’s not much to do, but at least the airport is all outdoors so you don’t feel like you are waiting in a terminal.
