Best offshore snorkeling in Hawaii?

Old Sep 21st, 2004, 01:44 PM
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Best offshore snorkeling in Hawaii?

Hi everyone,
My husband and I honeymooned in Hawaii last month and discovered the beauty and fun of snorkeling. We snorkeled Hapuna Beach on the Big Island, and on Maui we snorkeled Molokini and Lanai on a boat trip, and did offshore snorkeling at Black Rock, Kapalua, and Honolua.

We are thinking about a return trip next summer (not sure which islands) and I am wondering which island generally has the best snorkeling. We loved everywhere we went, although some were better than others. We thought Molokini was the most impressive -- does either Hanauma Bay on Oahu or Kealakula Bay/Captain Cook on the Big Island compare?

Also, Kauai was the only main island we didn't visit last month, and on Oahu we only stayed in Waikiki. Would either the North Shore of Oahu or Kauai compare with Maui in terms of offshore snorkeling? THanks so much!
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Old Sep 21st, 2004, 02:05 PM
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Can't yet comment on Hanauma, but Big Island was consistently the best for us-
(e.g. Snorkeling Boat Trip to Captain Cook Memorial, on Fairwind II or Sea Quest Raft from Keauhou-also visits Honaunau Bay-near "Place of Refuge")

North and South Shores of Kaua`i(e.g. Ke`e and Poipu) also great. Molokini is a neat, unique environment but the snorkeling was overated based on my limited experience of a single excursion there. I've heard diving can be a better experience at Molokini.
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Old Sep 21st, 2004, 03:01 PM
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Thanks John -- You always have great advice on Hawaii and its snorkeling! So, you enjoyed Kauai for snorkling? I am going back and forth on whether or try Kauai or explore Maui or the BI more.

I have heard that a lot of people found Molokini overrated, but we LOVED it. It was so clear and blue and visible, and we saw a ton of colorful fish. That's interesting that you found the BI to be the best, unfortunately, we only got to snorkel Hapuna there (although we got to swim with 4 turtles).
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Old Sep 21st, 2004, 03:19 PM
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Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island (where the Captain Cook Memorial is located) is awesome! Many agree this is the BEST on any of the Hawaiian islands... certainly better than the Kohala Coast. It's also nice because of its limited access... so it's not as crowded as I'm sure it would be otherwise. You can take a boat tour as JohnD mentioned... or you can kayak there... that's really fun too... even my 13 and 9 year olds enjoyed the kayaking.

I have heard some go to Kealakekua Bay via horeseback. Someone who used to live in the area told me you can take a 4WD over Napoopoo Rd. to Kealakekua Bay... but info. I read (can't recall where... maybe on a map?) said even a 4WD should not be taken on that road. I would have to check my Big Island Revealed book to see if they say anything about that.

Kapoho Tidepools area over in the Puna area is supposed to have some good snorkeling as well. We didn't make it there last month when we were on the BI... we'll have to go there next time!
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Old Sep 21st, 2004, 03:28 PM
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Oh, and Kauai is a beautiful place to go too. Don't miss that next time!!
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Old Sep 21st, 2004, 04:57 PM
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Keakakua Bay (Big Island) & Hanuama Bay (Oahu) are my two favorite. I realize the area has just been devastated but have you considered the Caribbean? While I love Hawaii (used to live there) the snorkeling or diving is much better in the Caribbean.
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Old Sep 21st, 2004, 07:06 PM
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During summer, Tunnels and Ke'e on north shore of Kauai.
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Old Sep 21st, 2004, 08:16 PM
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My trip report for Kauai from June 2004 talks about the awesome places we snorkeled on the north shore.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34508517

Leaving for the Big Island tomorrow to do more snorkel research!

love
roxy
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Old Sep 21st, 2004, 11:00 PM
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Two years ago we had a fantastic trip on the Fairwind boat on the Big Island at the Captain Cook memorial......I couldn't believe all that we saw there. But you are paying for going out on the boat, it isn't a shore snorkel, but I would do it again in a minute. It was nice that they had equipment and accomodated all ages there, I have encouraged my in-laws in their 70's to try it next week while there. We were staying at the Hilton on the Big Island that trip, and we even saw Sea Turtles in their man made bay that came in from the ocean. Our past two trips to Hawaii have been in Kauai. We had great snorkeling from the shore at the beach by the Beach House restaurant on the south shore, although it was crowded, and had even better experiences at Kee'e and Tunnels beach on the north shore (summer only). They are nice because you can lay on the beach and snorkel a few times the day, rather than one time on the boat, plus we saw Sea Turtles at Kee'e, and I saw a octopus at Tunnels! But I have to admit we saw more at one time at the Cook memorial in just one outing. We haven't done Maui yet, hope that will be our next trip!
Pumpy, please tell me about the Caribbean, we have a family cruise there between Christmas and New years!
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Old Sep 22nd, 2004, 03:32 AM
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Reply to Beachgirl86,
Appreciate the kind words, and would suggest you check out Kaua`i as it has great sandy beaches and incredible scenery. On our spring trip we anniversaried on Kaua`i and finished it off with a stay on the Big Island, it was so hard to leave! The day we visited Hapuna Beach it was too wavy for snorkeling and we snorkeled at neighboring beaches, but so far our best experiences have been along the south Kona coast(e.g. Kealakekua Bay).
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Old Sep 22nd, 2004, 07:57 AM
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Try

www.shorediving.com
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Old Sep 22nd, 2004, 09:24 AM
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Thanks for the link anela, might have to get some GPS.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2004, 04:30 PM
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Re: Caribbean question above: St John, USVI's Trunk Bay has great snorkeling, even an underwater trail.
Get there early a.m.
I LOVE Hawaii, so St John was an eye-opener. Another gorgeous island???!!! It's very different--quieter, fewer crowds, prettier, whiter soft sand beaches. Still...there's something about Hawaii that has me returning over and over.
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Old Oct 4th, 2004, 08:25 AM
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We just returned from the Big Island and snorkled 4 out of 10 days, which were incredible. Kapoho on the east side was really wonderful. Warm, calm, clear water & tons of fish - this is a marine reserve. I saw blue coral there this time, which I haven't seen before. On the west side, we snorkled at "Two Steps", which is right by Pu'uhonua O Honaunau or "Place of Refuge" National Historical Park. The water was clear, lots of fish and turtles and the entry was easy from a lava shelf. I have in the past snorkled at Kahalu'u Beach and seen lots and lots of fish and turtles. All three of these places on the Big Island easily have more fish & turtles than Hapuna. I have taken the Molokini snorkle trip from Maui, but IMHO, the Big Island snorkling is much better. Have a great time.
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Old Oct 4th, 2004, 10:09 AM
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Hanauma Bay - Easy transportation to/from Waikiki, but be warned that this place has completely been overrun by tourists and tour companies. Parking is crazy. Traffic. Trash. The ocean smells of sunscreen. Peas and fish food float all around you in the water. The sand isn't the best for laying out, but it's gotten as crowded as Waikiki. All that said, for some reason, the fish keep on coming back. Perhaps that is why it's so popular. You can see a lot of fish and get really close to them. But you don't feel like you are in a beautiful, exotic Hawaii bay... you feel like you are in the kiddie pool at Sea World. Advice from a local: If you can do something like Molokini, don't bother with Hanauma Bay.
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