Snorkeling in Hawaii

[mumom95]

Ok, I am just a year away from our big vacation to Hawaii and I'm working on getting as much info as possible.

We are going to visit Pearl Harbor, Maui and either the big island or Kaui (maybe a day trip to the one we don't stay on)

One of the things we want to do is snorkel. Any suggestions on places to snorkel in Hawaii and companies to book through?

 

[DizBelle]

Hands down - Pacific Whale Foundation for a trip to Molokini Crater.

 

[cm8]

Ok, I am just a year away from our big vacation to Hawaii and I'm working on getting as much info as possible.

We are going to visit Pearl Harbor, Maui and either the big island or Kaui (maybe a day trip to the one we don't stay on)

One of the things we want to do is snorkel. Any suggestions on places to snorkel in Hawaii and companies to book through?[/QUOTE


Hanauma Bay on O'ahu! It is very pretty and you will not regret it! Kauai is very pretty and romantic!

 

[beachbunny]

Definitely Hanauma Bay on Oahu. It's a wildlife sanctuary and you get to snorkel with thousands of fish. You swim out from shore. It's also cheap as you only need to pay park admission.

Molokini is a boat ride from Maui. You dive into the water from the boat. It's not cheap because you have to pay the boat operator. Lots of fish and lots of moray eels.

 

[moburg]

Hands down - Pacific Whale Foundation for a trip to Molokini Crater.

I wish the winds had allowed us to go to Molokini Crater the day we went out. I've heard amazing things about snorkeling there though. We'll try again on our next trip, perhaps in 10 years or so.

 

[mrsv98]

Hands down - Pacific Whale Foundation for a trip to Molokini Crater.

Molikini is fab! We also had a great time just snorkeling off the beach at Kaanapali.

 

[mumom95]

Thanks everyone!! Keep the places coming.

Anything else people have done/seen in Hawaii that they highly recommend. We are a family of 4, the kids will be 10 and 11 at the time.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Kaapalua Bay (I may have spelled that wrong), is great for snorkeling on Maui, that was the very first place I ever snorkeled as a kid and it is awesome. We have never used a company we just bring our own stuff and go to good beaches.

We just went to the big Island in October and did wonderful snorkeling at a beach at Mauna Lani I think it was called. We rented a condo near there. The Big Island had amazing beaches.

Check out Trip Advisor for good beaches and companies.

 

[DawnCt1]

Molikini is fab! We also had a great time just snorkeling off the beach at Kaanapali.

Yup! Right at Black Rock in front of the Sheraton Hotel. On the Big Island, rent a kayak and paddle to Captain Cook's monument across Keleakakua Bay. You can rent two person and one person kayaks near Kailua-Kona. Call and reserve. Its not a hard paddle. We did it when the kids were younger. http://www.letsgo-hawaii.com/captcook/

 

[Deb in IA]

We were on Oahu for a week last summer.

I really liked the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is up on the North Shore. If you drive up there, stop for a Shave Ice.

Also, the Dole Pineapple Plantation is in the center of the island. It has a pineapple maze that our kids loved.

Go to a luau. We did the one at Paradise Cove, and highly recommend it.

Finally, go to Bishop Museum. They recently did a big renovation of Hawaiian Hall, and it is pretty spectular. There is a lot of history about the royal families in Hawaii, a planetarium and a model of a real volcano.

 

[jfoofj]

I vote for the black rock by the Sheraton too! It was awesome. We stayed right on Kanapaali beach, it rocked.

 

[luvflorida]

Definitely Hanauma Bay on Oahu. It's a wildlife sanctuary and you get to snorkel with thousands of fish. You swim out from shore. It's also cheap as you only need to pay park admission.

We snorkeled at Hanauma Bay and it was great! I didn't even have to walk very far into the water to see fish. There were a ton of them and they were not at all shy around people!

Two suggestions for Hanauma Bay: Get there early because it can get crowded quickly. We got there early in the morning and left early afternoon. Try to go on a day that is sunny and little wind. The day we went was a bit windy and the choppy water hindered visibility. I still saw an incredible amount of fish, though!

 

[wvjules]

I disagree with Hanauma Bay. It is so used by the public that the coral is grey and dingy. Not to mention that it is crowded, crowded and more crowded.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Okay, experts, if you had a time-share week, and therefore spent most of your time on one of the Islands, with maybe a day-trip to another... Where would you choose. I am looking for what nature has to offer, not necessarily over-developed over-crowded 'tourist' destinations.

Kauai looks fabulous! Verdant, steep mountains and cliffs. I am looking at one resort at Poipu Point.

I LOVE more Caribbean type white/light sand beaches, mostly clear water... What would you recommend for that?

 

[crz4mm2]

I wish the winds had allowed us to go to Molokini Crater the day we went out. I've heard amazing things about snorkeling there though. We'll try again on our next trip, perhaps in 10 years or so.

Same thing happened to us.

 

[Katieinwonderland]

On the Big Island, rent a kayak and paddle to Captain Cook's monument across Keleakakua Bay. You can rent two person and one person kayaks near Kailua-Kona. Call and reserve. Its not a hard paddle. We did it when the kids were younger. http://www.letsgo-hawaii.com/captcook/

This was going to be my suggestion! This was the most incredible place to snorkel, we didn't want to leave. If you do want to use a company, we went with Captain Zodiac (you can just google them) and they were great. We also saw spinner dolphins on our way out to the bay, it was awesome!

I disagree with Hanauma Bay. It is so used by the public that the coral is grey and dingy. Not to mention that it is crowded, crowded and more crowded.

I totally agree. This area seemed so spoiled to me - there were tons of fish, but the coral was all brown, nothing like the incredible pinks and oranges we saw at Kealakekua Bay. There are much more pristine areas to go to.

The number one thing we did in Hawaii was to take a helicopter tour on Kauai with Jack Harter Helicopters. They offer tours where they have removed the doors of the choppers, so it's open. Not for the faint hearted, but one of my once in a lifetime moments.

I have a million pictures of Hawaii too, let me know if you'd like to see any!

 

[luvflorida]

I disagree with Hanauma Bay. It is so used by the public that the coral is grey and dingy. Not to mention that it is crowded, crowded and more crowded.

I totally agree. This area seemed so spoiled to me - there were tons of fish, but the coral was all brown, nothing like the incredible pinks and oranges we saw at Kealakekua Bay. There are much more pristine areas to go to.

I know the other islands are less crowded and there are many beautiful places to snorkel, but as far as Oahu, we enjoyed our time at Hanauma Bay. Yes, it does it get crowded and that's why I mentioned going early and leaving early. We went early in the morning and practically had the beach/water all to ourselves. Not at all crowded. We saw many, many beautiful fish. Now, if we visit Hawaii again, we'd like to visit some of the other islands and snorkeling places.

 

[mumom95]

This is all great, I'm taking notes.

I've read other people that said a helicopter ride over Kaui was amazing, it's something we are considering.

A Luau is on the list of things to do for sure. I think we are also going to swim with the dolphins. My dh wants to hang glide (that will be just him), we all want to snorkel, maybe even a couple of times. Helicopter ride over Kaui might be on the list too!!


One more question. If you had to pick between the Big Island or Kaui, which would you pick? Like I said we are for sure doing Pearl Harbor and Maui, but can't decide between the other two. We could shorten our time at Maui and then do both the other ones, but I wanted to avoid having to pack and repack every couple of days. So, what do you recommend with our family of 4.

 

[kathymc]

Our best snorkel trips were with Fairwinds on the Big Island to Kealakakua Bay and with Trilogy in Maui at Honolua Bay. I've been on several trips to the Napali cost and while scenery is georgeous, and the boat ride is nice, the snorkeling was never that great.

If you are fairly comfortable there are plenty of spots to walk right in especially Black Rock and Kapalua Bay (Maui) and the loveliest beach I've ever seen in Kaui, Ke'e.

If you do a helicopter - definately choose Kauai. The big island is just so different than the others, very stark, but very cool especially if there is lava to be seen. Kaui is our favorite because it is so green and laid back but I would go back to the big island in a heart beat as well. Maui is much more commercialized but it also has tons of options. Dont worry, you'll be back and can check out what you dont see then!

Definately check out trip advisor, lots of great info

 

[Judy from Boise]

Does he want to hang glide or parasail? There is nice parasailing on Maui.