Has Anyone Recently Snorkeled in Hawaii?

By Paula

Has anyone recently snorkeled in Hawaii? We are thinking of returning there after a five year hiatus. We have snorkeled on Maui, Kauai, the Big Island, and Molokai. Clearly things have changed in our absence. Does anyone have any great recent snorkeling experiences on any of the islands? We are thinking of going in the summer or fall of 2025. Thank you.

11 Comments

  1. I was on the Big Island on the Kohala Coast in May-June 2024. I had an older guidebook and a lot had changed.

    Kahalu’u Beach was my favorite, although it gets crowded (one side is for surfers). They close for coral spawning (May this year). Be sure to read the signs and speak with the Reef Guardians. Be prepared to see terrible behavior from the tourists later in the day (it’s depressing). Best is to go when they open. I got amazing pictures there.

    Kua Bay was my second favorite. Beautiful beach, snorkeling on both sides of the bay. The left side tends to be less crowded; I saw an octopus there. Turtles come in on the right side and eat there. Go early in the morning as it gets busy with swimmers.

    Ho’okena Beach had the best snorkeling close to shore. It drops off rapidly and is really deep. Go early in the morning and watch the spinner dolphins. This is a black sand beach and best pictures will be when it’s sunny out.

    Kauna’oa Beach at the Mauna Kea Resort was awful…. almost all dead coral and no fish. Depressing and a waste of time. Go to the hotel for sunset cocktails and watch the manta rays at night. I saw one eel and no fish.

    Kealakekua Bay was a waste of money – other beaches are much better. Our catamaran made two stops. The first was in very deep water to see the lava terrain. My friend got vertigo and had to go back to the boat. The second stop was at the Captain Cook statue. Super-crowded with boats and not as good as the public beaches.

    Kikaua Cove, Waialea Beach, Hapuna Beach were all just OK. Mahukona Beach is only good when the water is calm. A Bay was our local beach and the water is cloudy so pictures were not that great. But it has lots of visiting turtles and great fish and eels. I actually saw a seahorse.

    Reply
    • Aloha. I live on the Big Island and agree with your suggestions. Great current snorkel report for the island.

      Just a couple of suggestions. Please don’t harass the dolphins at Ho’okena and be respectful of the bay because it is a locals beach.

      Another couple of spots are Two Steps or Honaunau and out from the cove behind the pier downtown.

      Parking now at Honaunau unfortunately is a big issue. The snorkeling is great there and has much deeper parts. Ask or watch the locals for the safe way to enter and snorkel slightly to the left then straight out.

      Please practice aloha when you visit our island, be safe and enjoy.

      Reply
  2. Someone we met on airplane a few years back told us Captain Cook was the best place on any island to snorkel. We booked a trip with a sail and snorkel and were pretty disappointed. It was barely OK. There were lots of disrespectful people standing on the reefs, as well as folks who had rented kayaks using the reefs to stand on to get in and out of their kayaks. The damage as well as the overcrowding was pretty heart breaking.

    My wife and I are at Anini Beach in Kauai right now as I type this message. We have seen more tropical fish than we expected as well as lots of turtles. The best snorkeling for us has been at Tunnels and Hideaways Beach.

    This is our sixth trip to Hawaii in about three years. Maui and the Big Island once and Oahu and Kauai twice. We are already planning our next return trip!

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  3. We love Maui snorkeling. Our favorite there is south side snorkeling. The Ahihi reserve is wonderful as is Maluaka Beach. A lot of tours go to the latter so it’s best to go early morning. No boats allowed at the reserve so no worries there.

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  4. In October 2023 I snorkeled at several locations in Kauai (primarily in the Poipu area in the southern part of the island) as well as during a Captain J’s combo zodiac Na Pali Coast sightseeing/snorkeling tour.

    Although the tour was a lot of fun, and there is lots to see and do on Kauai, I cannot recommend any of the snorkeling sites I visited as being any more than a 2.5/10. Absolutely no comparison to my 10/10 experience in Raja Ampat which I can’t wait to return to in 2025.

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  5. I live in the Pacific Northwest, I consider the Big Island my second home because I go there as much as I can. If you are snorkeling from the beach the two best places to snorkel in my opinion are the Mauna Lani Beach Club Beach and Two Step. Aloha!

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  6. We went to Maui (and Oahu) in June 2023 and 2024 and it is one of our favorite places to snorkel. We tried Kapalua Bay and Honolua Bay in West Maui, and the waters off Polo Beach in South Maui. We have a little one who is just starting to snorkel so Kapalua Bay is our top choice—easy entry, nice beach for breaks, and lots of fish and turtles (practically guaranteed). Honolua is a bit of a hike to get to but is also an excellent spot. The waters off Polo Beach are crystal clear and a good spot if you’re in South Maui. Lanai is worth a trip—we didn’t see any turtles but did see lots of fish.

    We are planning a trip to Big Island in February and will check out some of the recommendations above!

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  7. Just back from Maui and had good snorkeling off all the south island beaches. Lots of turtles off a little point between Kamaole I and II. For beautiful coral (and plenty of fish) take a boat to Molokini. I can also recommend the northwest corner of Oahu. Empty beaches at Crozier and lots of turtles.

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  8. We have snorkeled in Maui many times. Our favorite overall is Kapalua because of the turtles. Also, if you get there early you can park in the lot and be done before the beach gets too crowded.

    This past May we went for the first time in the summer so we were able to snorkel Honolua. It was fantastic. Saw mostly what we would see at Kapalua with the addition of my first eagle ray as well as a white tipped reef shark about 25 feet away. That will get your attention.

    One thing I will say about Honolua, the guide book said to stop at the scenic overlook and check the color of the water, blue is good. It also said to skip it if it rained hard the night before. Well, we chose to ignore that hoping for another shot at the shark. We should have listened. After about 20 minutes it was obvious that it was not safe. We couldn’t see 10 feet in front of us.

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  9. Just wanted to ask if anyone has visited Hanauma Bay on Oahu recently. My first visit to Hawaii was this year, in early June. This spot was so disappointing. For starters is very regimented. You have to book online, $25 a person. The time slots sell out as you are filling in your info and you have to start over. Finally got a noonish time. You are warned there are no refunds and there may be no available parking. (?? What then?)

    You have to meet at a reception area and are required to view a safety film all of which wastes about 45 minutes. Went to rent a snorkel and was told it had to be returned by 2:45. Why? Because that’s when the park closes! Even the snorkel equipment was of poor quality.

    I was able to snorkel for about 30 minutes total. Water was a little choppy and large areas of the bay were marked off-limits with buoys. I only saw a few fish. Of course they were amazing and unlike any I had seen before in Caribbean, Cortez, or Barrier Reef. The bottom appeared to be solid gray rocks populated with urchins. I saw nothing that resembled live coral or a reef.

    Anyone else have better luck? Or is this place just a rip off?

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  10. Just back from Maui also. I live on the Big Island so it was nice to go back and help them out after the fires. By far the best snorkeling is at the south beaches. Ulua is always our favorite. Both sides of the beach are good. Left side around the point is where to see the turtles. Just look for the canoes taking snorkelers to the area. Went to Ahihi-Kinau for the first time and it is great also. A bit of a drive down there and no real beach but the snorkeling is great. I hate to admit it but the snorkeling on Maui was much better than that on the Big Island. If you are on the north side Kapalua in the cove is always good too. Enjoy.

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