Best Hawaii Big Island Snorkeling?
January 15, 2011 5:05 AM   Subscribe

Can anyone recommend some great locations for family snorkeling on the Big Island of Hawaii?

Our family is going on a trip to the Big Island in March and are looking for some world class locales for amateur snorkeling. We would be interested in hearing about both drive up locations and also commercial snorkelling operations that take you out to otherwise inaccessible spots.

Our gold standard is the Great Barrier Reef - - we went on a commercial snorkeling boat day trip and were amazed at the quantity and quality of ocean life on view there.

Any suggestions for Hawaii that can live up to this experience would be most welcome!
posted by fairmettle to Travel & Transportation around Hawaii (6 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Where will you be staying? The bay at the Waikoloa resort area is really pretty good for snorkeling. We also enjoyed boat trips to Captain Cook. March is a wonderful time to visit the Big Island-- enjoy!
posted by BibiRose at 5:43 AM on January 15, 2011


This site is pretty useful. It has reviews by people who've been to the areas, and is usually pretty well detailed. I've used it for deciding places to snorkel when visiting Oahu, and it's always worked for me.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:04 AM on January 15, 2011


The Captain Cook Memorial is renowned as the best snorkeling spot on the Big Island. But it's about a mile from the nearest access point, either walking or, as we did, kayaking. There are boat trips there, but that does add to the expense. It's also your best bet to see large pods of spinner dolphins, so that's a plus.

More accessible is the Kapoho Tide Pools. Just drive up, find a parking spot along the road, and walk in. Lots of little nooks and crannies and the occasional thermal vent, and the tide pushes through the pools creating interesting currents. Tons of locals and their kids there, too.
posted by MrMoonPie at 6:54 AM on January 15, 2011


Last year I went to Hawaii with one aim - to snorkel EVERY day. Here are the places that filled my need on the Big Island-

- Kahalu'u Beach Park - most accessible and most popular. This is just south of Kailua-Kona so if you are staying in that area, try this.

- Punalu'u (Black Sands) Beach - Southside near Volcano. We did this as a drive by on our way to the National Park. Loved it. However, we were there in Sept. Time of year makes a huge difference on what spots are best.

- Place of Refuge (to the right of the parking lot at POR). Never did this but it receives high marks from others.

- Commercial snorkeling trip to Kealakekua Bay/Captain Cook. I have never done this (I got to got there via 4x4 many years ago) but it is considered the only ethical way to explore this area these days. This bay has been loved to death and the state has put many restictions on access (including kayaking.) This is probably the only snorkeling trip I woul pay for on the BI.

Couple other comments -

- The BI is one of my favorites but has many other things to do besides snorkeling. My personal highlights from my last trip - the volcanoes; Bamboo Restaurant in Hawi; Puako Petroglyphs; Japanese Garden in Hilo (in the rain.)

- Check out TripAdvisor.com for many many resources for your trip.
posted by eleslie at 8:03 AM on January 15, 2011


We took the Fair Wind boat to Kealakekua Bay last year. The snorkeling was pretty darned good. If you do that, grab a seat in the very front of the boat on the main deck. The ride is pretty good from there, and you stand a good chance of seeing dolphins on the trip back.
posted by dws at 12:13 PM on January 15, 2011


I have to second Kahalu'u Beach Park. It is amazing. It's on Ali'i Drive about four miles south of Kailua. You pull and there are half a zillion people in there and you think, there's no way there's any fish in there and you put your face down and OMG! It's well protected by a barrier reef and an easy snorkel and we saw an extraordinary amount of stuff including sea turtles. If I had to pick a place to have a family snorkel, this is the one.

I can personally vouch for Place of Refuge. We had a little rougher swim out on that day, but it wasn't all that bad. We had the place to ourselves and after you get out to where it drops off over 10 feet, it's well worth it. We saw a ton of turtles and plenty of fish. Also saw a very scary looking eel. Awesome.
posted by advicepig at 12:50 PM on January 15, 2011


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