Snorkeling on Maui?

[california-bighorn]

We usually stay at the Valley Isle on Lower Honoapillani Road and for snorkeling we always go to Kapulua Beach. There is free parking with restrooms and showers here. Merriman's restaurant is on the east end of the beach and is a good place to hangout for sunset. There are always plenty of people to chat with and so many turtles here. It has never been over crowded when I am there. This is also a good place to park to walk the coastal trail.

I like to do a snorkel loop around the bay. Its all good.

Bill

Kapalua Bay is a great location for snorkeling or just some time at the beach. As mentioned parking is limited and you need to get there EARLY or later in the day. We scuba dive and snorkel here several times every year. I do a lot of underwater photography here because of the diversity and number of reef fish, eels and turtles. The bay is shallow making it great for snorkeling. Then we return in the evening for the sunsets. There are often a couple of weddings going on in the evening. The middle of the bay is mostly sand with little life, but, there are reefs (with healthy coral) all around the sides of the bay. You will see colorful reef fish once you are waist deep. There are usually several turtle sightings. It is usually very calm. From the parking lot there are bathrooms and outdoor showers by the sidewalk to the beach and additional showers down by the beach. At the far end of the beach there is a rental shack where you can rent lots of fun stuff. Last year we rented the stand up paddleboards and had a blast until the legs felt a little rubbery. The only caution I would offer at this location (in addition to the usual water safeguards) is often there is a current on the left side of the bay out toward the reef. The waves break over the reef then the water needs to exit around the reef creating a current. You will see the waves breaking over the reef in that area. Just be aware you don't venture out too far on this side of the bay. We will be back in September and I can't wait!!!!

 

[california-bighorn]

Going to try to load some pics from last year taken in Kapalua Bay.

 

[JulieAB]

Our first trip to La Perouse Bay finally convinced Patti to get Booties. You walk across lava rock to get to the water. No problem with a good set of Booties. Patti had on her normal flip flops. So when she got to the water she sat down and then tossed her flip flops as far as she could on the rocks to make sure any waves did not wash them a way. Then I had to retrieve them for her when we were done. Now she has and wears Booties. They are also great for walking and swimming in waterfalls pools, which quite often have sharp rocks such as Hanakapiai Falls on Kauai or any of the numerous waterfalls on the Road to Hana.

Do you have a link to the booties? I couldn't find anything obvious. We tried water shoes our first trip and too much sand got in. The last trip we got Tilos sand socks which worked fairly well for fins and lava rock, but I'm not sure how long they would last since the bottom was still fairly thin. I didn't like walking from the car in them, so we still wore our flip flops and then changed to the socks at the sand.

 

[geist1223]

Do you have a link to the booties? I couldn't find anything obvious. We tried water shoes our first trip and too much sand got in. The last trip we got Tilos sand socks which worked fairly well for fins and lava rock, but I'm not sure how long they would last since the bottom was still fairly thin. I didn't like walking from the car in them, so we still wore our flip flops and then changed to the socks at the sand.

Go to any Dive Shop.