Kamaole II & III beaches; nice but,,,

by Gary
(Gig Harbor, WA, USA)

My wife and I stayed near, and snorkeled K3 in October of 2009 and 2010. As others have mentioned, the water clarity is not a good as Molokini, but I'm curious as to what time(s) of year may provide the best snorkeling conditions on the west and southwest Maui beaches. Water clarity, wind/surf/surge conditions, water temp are the factors that can make the difference between a heavenly experience, and nearly drowning before barely pulling yourself, shivering and exhausted onto the beach after swimming back through the rough 10' waves that so quickly moved you out and away from the shore.

No, that didn't happen to me, but I saw those conditions develop, and had a couple people comment on how they found themselves much further out than they anticipated (but never saw a lifeguard).

Of course I wouldn't care about when those optimal conditions exist if I didn't like it well enough to plan to return. I'm not going to post any photos because of the cloudy water, but I have a few that I can recognize a few things in.

In Oct '10 I swam closely a few times with a few quite large turtles, and also with a swarm of stingrays. Rays move fast, and can go from a seemingly comfortably safe distance - to all around you -faster than you can imagine!!! Pretty awesome, and kinda scary too.

The beaches are quite nice with clean, fine, soft sand, are not crowded, and the adjacent park has several showers, clean restrooms, picnic tables, etc. There are lifeguards also. K2 is closer the the street, and there is a small plaza across the street with a swim/snorkel shop, Denny's restaurant, convenience store, bakery, bus-stop, etc.