travelergal

I am planning 11 days with 6 days BI and 5 days Kauai. I know that others have said that is not enough time. But I want to see the islands, not necessarily in depth, but get a feel for the places. I like to hike, swim close to the beach (I am not a strong swimmer) drive to see the environment. Also planning for some relaxation and lots of picture taking of nature. Are there places on either island where I might do some off the beach snorkelling as I get sea sick easily and would prefer that. Thanks

gigib

On Kauai: Ke'e Beach, Haena (Tunnels), both on the North Shore past Hanalei. Be careful of currents certain times of year.

On BI: Just south of Kona: Two Step at the Place of Refuge, Kahaluu Beach Park. Up by the Kohala resorts, Hapuna beach is excellent at the far right hand side of the bay. Easy sand entry, gorgeous beach, VERY clear water.

beachgirl86

In Kauai, we snorkeled off Ke'e Beach.

On the Big Island, we snorkeled off of Hapuna Beach several times and saw wonderful things!

cavedogg

gigib and beachgirl86 have each said that Hapuna is a great beach for snorkeling. We will be there the week of Marck 9. Is the water at Hapuna Beach rough in March or is it calm enough to experience good snorkeling? What about the water temperature?

Fritch

Winter can be rough for snorkeling. We were just in the Kona area for 4 days in Jan - we had 2 very calm days, one very rough and one choppy. Just check the water each morning and take advantage of the calm days and have back up plans for the other days. "The Big Island Revealed" indicates some places that may be calm even when other places are too rough. The challenge with shore snorkeling is that if the surf is up, it can throw you into very rough lava rock and cut you up.