Thread: Kona big Island surf info

I have a trip to the big Island coming up soon. I will be there for a wedding, so it is not a surf trip per se. I will only have two days to devote to surf, but I would still like to get some. We will be staying at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, and I am wondering a few things:

1) Because this is not a surf trip, and I won't have a lot of surf time, I would rather not bring a board. It would be nice to find a surf shop in Kona that rents boards. In Haliewa, I know of a shop the rents real boards, not the learning variety, so I would like to find a place in Kona that has an assortment of fish/shortboards to rent.

2) South swell breaks. I know about Banyans, but what are some other places I should look at? Preferrably spots that are close to Waikoloa, and easy to access. Like I said, this will not be a surf trip per se, but I will have some time to get in the water, and would really like to find a spot that picks up southern hemi energy.

3) Public transportation. Have any of you guys used the buses on the big island? I have used the Oahu buses, but I have never been to Kona, so I don't know what the lay out is. As this is not a surf trip, it would be nice to avoid renting a car, since most of our time will be consumed with wedding stuff.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I think I rented from these guys:
http://www.konaboys.com/surf/surf-board-rentals/
may have been somewhere else. Wannasurf has a decent list of spots:
http://wannasurf.com/spot/North_Amer...and/index.html
when I went in july there really wasn't jack on the Kona side all the goods were on the north. If you want to surf, I'd rent a car. Even if not there's good snorkelling

Much appreciated HC. That is exactly the sort of shop I needed.

It does look like I may need a car, unfortunately. I guess I will see how much swell is in the forecast when I get there.

Hugh's right, you'll want a car, if only for the day or so you'll be able to surf. The Bus isn't what it is on Oahu.
There are a few great spots near Waikoloa, but this time of year you'll probably have to get south of Kona to pick up anything coming up from the southern hemi.

I spent a summer living on various beaches around kona surfing every day and working at the four seasons. You'll want a car 100%. You could have an awesome south swell that has tons of stuff firing or it could be flat. I always liked Pine Trees because it was a 30 minute walk unless you had a 4x4 so it was less crowded and always seemed to have south swell where other places were flatish. But there was a possibility of a development going up right there which could have ruined that spot and that was 5 or so years ago. Beautiful island.

old airport just n of town for simple access and big beach with a s exposure.