Kailua-Kona is served by Kona International Airport, just to the north in the adjacent CDP of Kalaoa.

Kailua-Kona was the closest major settlement to the epicenter of the 2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake.

The community was established by King Kamehameha I to be his seat of government when he was chief of Kona before he consolidated rule of the archipelago in 1795.

Royal fishponds at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park were the hub of unified Hawaiian culture.

[3]: 58  In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the region has undergone a real estate and construction boom fueled by tourism and investment.

[4] Kailua-Kona is located at 19°39′0″N 155°59′39″W / 19.65000°N 155.99417°W / 19.65000; -155.99417 (19.649973, −155.994028),[5] along the shoreline of Kailua Bay and up the southern slope of Hualālai volcano.

[citation needed] Kailua-Kona is generally dry, with an average annual precipitation of 18.93 inches (481 mm).

Kailua-Kona is located on the leeward side of the Hualalai Volcano, sheltering the town from wind and rain.

[13] The University of Hawaiʻi held its first classes at the new Hawaii Community College Palamanui Campus in 2015.

[14][15][16] Since the early 2000s the Kona side had seen significant amounts of vog from Puʻu ʻŌʻō and Kīlauea, but that changed in May 2018 when Kilauea largely ceased its emissions.

[19] Ali'i Drive, Kailua's oceanfront downtown street, starts at Kailua-Kona Pier.

It has also been given the designation as a Hawaii Scenic Byway called the "Royal Footsteps Along the Kona Coast".

North of the pier is the Kamakahonu royal residence and Ahuʻena Heiau, and nearby now stands the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel.

Boat tours that allow tourists to watch dolphins and whales, swim with manta rays, turtles and fish in the ocean usually depart from the Kailua-Kona pier or nearby Honokohau and Keauhou harbors.