Never been to Kona in October but I will this year. Wondering how is the temperature/humidity at night? With all the heat waves happening - no idea how it’s impacting Hawaii - is AC becoming more of a required thing in Kona?
I have been quite happy without AC in Kona.
But I am from Arizona.
And I am comfortable sleeping without blankets (or sheets) and am not bothered by a breeze or the whirring sound of a fan.
Probably depends on your heat tolerance. I spent one night without AC there and will never do that again if I can help it.
Never been to Kona in October but I will this year. Wondering how is the temperature/humidity at night? With all the heat waves happening - no idea how it’s impacting Hawaii - is AC becoming more of a required thing in Kona?
So my homestay doesn’t use AC. When I stayed there as a pro in 2013 it was a little bit of adjustment the first night, often times 86-89 at night when going to bed, but they were out in the lava fields off the ocean a bit. After that short adjustment, I actually slept really well with the windows open. I’m a pretty big AC snob and sleep at around 68. As a non-athlete I found it a little tougher. Last time I was there in 2018 I think I took the ice pack out of the freezer the first 2-3 nights but again in general slept a lot better in Hawaii than probably anywhere I have been. Just something crisp about Hawaii outside of the VOG. I believe there were quite a few pros from Australia who don’t use AC. I think Crowie was one initially but eventually switched to AC at some point. Someone can correct me if I am wrong.
Also depends where in Kona you are staying, I was up the volcano a bit (directly east of the airport) and the evenings cool off significantly more up there. I don’t think my place had A/C and I didn’t have any issues.
I need to sleep in a cold room at home but found not having air in Kona wasn’t a huge issue. We got in the habit of hitting the pool late in the evening and that made sleeping doable.
Get the AC. Sleep is at a premium pre and post race. I find it uncomfortably hot there ex AC
Also depends where in Kona you are staying, I was up the volcano a bit (directly east of the airport) and the evenings cool off significantly more up there. I don’t think my place had A/C and I didn’t have any issues.
I stayed in the same general area about half way up, No A/C. I was fine, my obese sister and brother-in-law were miserable…
I always had a room with AC a couple of nights before and after racing Kona, but on multiple trips during race week when I wasn’t racing but was training a lot I slept on balconies with no issues. I also didn’t have a problem sleeping in rooms right on the ocean without AC, although having the windows open made it hard to sleep later than 6 because of the noise on Alii Dr.
Trying to sleep the night after the race may be tough without AC because the body is still revved up, although sometimes when recovering from dehydration issues after races I’ve been shivering or felt cold despite the outside temp.
Have fun!
Heat waves?
Been to Kona several times to race and the only time my place didn’t have AC, I slept like absolute garbage the whole week and had my worst race of the lot. YMMV.
Get the AC. Sleep is at a premium pre and post race. I find it uncomfortably hot there ex AC
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I was there in February 15 years ago and the heat/ humidity made for insuferable sleeping. Bad bet IMO to save a few bucks.
Also depends where in Kona you are staying, I was up the volcano a bit (directly east of the airport) and the evenings cool off significantly more up there. I don’t think my place had A/C and I didn’t have any issues.
This.
You want heat adaptation but restful sleep is also critical.
Either chose location and/or use AC judiciously.
You don’t want to wake up race morning with a cold….
Thank you guys! Lots of great inputs here I appreciate it. I ended up booking a condo with AC on Ali drive.
Either chose location and/or use AC judiciously.
You don’t want to wake up race morning with a cold….
You actually don’t get colds from being… cold 
But yeah, AC all the way, worse case just don’t use it if you’re fine without.
I was there in 2015 for race and as usual it was hot and humid. I would recommend if you want to be comfortable and make stay more enjoyable but not required.
The year I went, the apartment I stayed in had air conditioning but I left it off in the week before the race so I could get used to the humidity and hot temperatures. Had my best-ever race.
I was a first timer in 2019 for Kona. I had similar thoughts as you and ended up getting the AC. Extremely pleased with the decision especially post race. I would suggest it!
Agree with the AC. I have low heat tolerance as it is being from the “snow states” originally, but even living in the dusty warmer western US I still need the AC & haven’t acclimated. It’s the tropics, the kind where you shower, walk down to Lava Java & feel like you need another shower. Go with the AC, and sleep well, be comfortable when you can. A hot room at night will just dehydrate you faster too I’d think. Personally, you can have Kona–nothing that awesome about it but the coffee and schwag.
Our place at kona reefs had one in the living room area, so we left our bedroom doors open and it was just enough. I wouldn’t say it was crucial, but I was glad to be able to cool the room off a little. There was also a nice breeze coming off of the bay. Good luck!