St. Peter by the Sea
Kahalu‘u, Kona, Hawaii
January 7, 2026Today, our cruise ship dropped anchor in Kailua-Kona. We will be here just for the day, the last tender boat taking passengers back to the ship at 4:30 PM. We’ve been to Kona before and it has to be our favorite Hawaiian town. On our previous trip, riding the 201 trolley up and down Alii Drive, we’ve passed this little church perched right on the water but we never really stopped to check it out. I’d have been too drained from the hot sun for spontaneous stops along the way to and from where we stayed at the Royal Kona Resort and our target destination which was usually the Keahou shopping center where the 201 would drop us off to catch the connecting bus to Captain Cook or we’d just walk around the strip mall and window shop at Longs.
Today, I vowed it will be different; we will do a pilgrimage to that little church by the sea … and we did.
St. Peter by the Sea in Kahaluu, a tiny picturesque church that sits on Ku’emanu, a sacred Hawaiian surfing heiau, a temple or hallowed site. It was originally built in 1880 across from La’aloa Beach Park but was transported by use of donkeys to its current location in 1912. Due to its proximity to the ocean, it has been pushed off its foundation by hurricanes ravaging the island, but it has been continuously rebuilt through the years.
The waters around it is popular with surfers. There was a group of sports photographers behind the building, but they were respectful and considerate enough to remain hidden from view by pilgrims like us who were not necessarily there for the surfing scene.
It does not seem like regular mass is celebrated in the church. It’s probably used mostly for special events like weddings and such. It operates under the direction of the St. Michael the Archangel parish, a few miles away back in the Kailua-Kona port, which we already visited the previous time we were here.