where can we snorkel safely in winter?
 

Planning a trip sometime in Jan., Feb., or March but really want to be able to snorkel as much as possible. Any recommended areas would be appreciated... or should we really wait til April to be sure we get to do this? Once we had to cancel the Barrier Reef part of an Australia trip because weather made snorkeling impossible (in fact, it flooded and the local town was evacuated!) so we'd hate to miss it in Hawaii , too. We're open to any of the islands. Thanks for your help.

There is always some areas in Hawaii that are safe to snorkel.

On Oahu:

The north shore is safe in the summer months, but not in the winter.

South shores are safe in the winter and generally safe in the summer.

Haunama Bay is safe year round.

Other Hawaiian islands are similar that they have areas safe year round and some areas that are not safe in the winter (or summer).

All of the islands have coves that are safe.

The Caribbean is perfect for snorkeling and warm in the winter. We had some great snorkeling on the cliffs in Negril in Jamaica. Not so sure what else is there on other islands. The snorkeling in the Keys would require a wet suit but Looe Key is really terrific as are some of the shallow reefs. And you can snorkel at the Dry Tortugas.

We did a lot of snorkeling on Maui in the month of Feb. We liked Kapalua Bay, Black Rock off Kaanapali Beach and Napili Bay, among others. Here's a website of snorkeling locations on Maui: http://www.mauidiveshop.com/snorkeltrips/locations.htm

I absolutly second Kapalua Bay and Napili. Beautiful places to snorkle, especially Kapalua Bay.

La Perouse Bay, south Maui, is awesome.