Captain Cook Snorkel - Big Island Hawaii

by I like turtles
(Midwest)

The coral and fish, breathtaking. Totally agree with the post about the negative energy surrounding the dock where locals talk you into renting kayaks from them. I totally felt like they were trying to hard to "sell" the experience. They even mentioned that the snorkeling is world class due to "conservation,"
yet they were clearly letting as many people go as possible. They seemed to be more interested in exploiting it for personal gain than protecting the habitat that makes the island so great. What a load of poppycock. We had no idea you needed a permit and there were limited number of kayaks allowed per day, all of which makes sense when you get there. The rocks near the shore break are devoid of any life due to people pulling up kayaks and walking all over the place. Also we found a pop can on the rocks (which we brought back and threw away). My husband also said he saw a Budweiser can in the water!! In the 1.5 hours we were there, there were probably 20 kayaks taken in and out. Why not just patrol this area off the shore and make people do it the right way, either by permit or boat?