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Is snorkeling at Hanauma Bay on Oahu worth the effort.

mjkaplan

mjkaplan

TUG Review Crew
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Location
Chatsworth, CA
Resorts Owned
Lawrence Welk Resort, San Diego, CA
Marriott's Desert Springs Villas II , Palm Desert, CA
We will be staying at the Marriott Ko'Olina in January and I am wondering if the snokeling at Hanauma is fantastic and worth the effort. I know we will need to leave the resort pretty early the get to Hanauma Bay early enough to be sure to get into the parking lot.

I would greatly appreciate any advice form those that have been there.

Thank you very much,

Mike
 
It is an amazing bay, I would definitely go!

One tip....we went about 3:00 pm and was able to drive in and park no problem.
 
Yes!

I enjoyed myself thoroughly there. There is plenty of sea life to see and on land you will enjoy a beautiful crescent beach lined with palm trees.
 
I liked it for the crescent beach setting, but the snorkeling itself is not great. The snorkel spots on the Big Island are much better.
 
I think this is determined by the amount of experience you have snorkeling. There are many areas in Hawaii that offer equally spectacular underwater views but do not offer the sandy cresent shaped beach or the extremely easily entry in and out of the water as does Hanauma Bay.
 
Just beyond Hanauma Bay there is Kaupo Beach Park. A small sandy beach, a beautiful pier and great snorkeling. Hardly anyone was there when we went and the snorkeling was awesome. Just an idea in case you want to try somewhere else, or parking at Hanauma is too tough.
 
Another thing to consider is how high the cliffs are around the bay, creating a mid to late afternoon shadow over the water which makes the bay an especially poor snorkeling experience. We got there too late one morning to get into the parking lot so we went about our business and came back around 2:30pm. Parking was easy . . . and we found out why. People know to get there early and enjoy the high sun.

The other thing about this bay (and typically any other high tourist area for snorkeling), a lot of people just don't understand about not standing on the coral. Even though they make you watch a video that reinforces the message, you'll see people standing up all over the place, damaging and even killing the coral. The snorkeling was pretty easy there (entry, etc) but in my opinion not the best available. If you buy the book Oahu Revealed, you'll have tips of several places where you can park and snorkel in some rather obsure and beautiful places.
 
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It is a must see. However, if you have not been snorkeling before, it might be more trouble than it is worth. The thing to do is to stop in the parking lot and take pictures, go through the park service building that provides information about the park and walk down to the beach.

Driving around the east side of the island is the nicest part of the island. After Honolulu, continue to drive around the island and stop at Hanauma Bay, continue north and stop by the beach by Waimalano (turn right at MacDonalds and go to the end of the road). Park on the side of the road and walk on the beach for a few minutes.

Continue around the island and go to H-3 and get back home.
 
We did go to Hanuama but were a bit disapointed. The coral was not in very good shape because of the post above. The tide must have been low because there were times we had to be really careful to clear the coral. Earlier in the week, they had closed the bay because of a small tidal wave. When the surf was drawn out just before the wave came in (6-8ft) the coral was exposed. It is a beautiful spot but we found better snorkeling in bay #2 near Ko Olina and on the north shore at Sharks Cove. It is protected by a sea wall and really enjoyable.

I agree with going early. I had heard that the water gets cloudy later in the day from the amount of visitors.
 
No to Haunama Bay

I have been going there from 1958 to about 1995. Each time I went the coral was more damaged. Although efforts are going on to improve conditions it really needs closed for 30-50 years and hten opened on a resticted basis,
Toomnay uninformed people destroy the coral the source of sea lfe.
 
Another vote for "no". We didn't have a problem parking (actually in retrospect wish we would have) but we only wanted to be there a couple of hours to check out what was supposed to be fantastic snorkeling. It is a hassle to get down to the beach if you have kids and are carrying many items, as we were. Having to wait to watch the film was also a time stealer, and then getting down there only to find that there was little if any fish to see was highly disappointing. It was as crowded as a Southern California beach there...was not worth the time or effort. A much, much, much prettier beach to go to was the military beach which is only open to the public on weekends (the name escapes me at the moment). That was by far the best thing about Oahu, at least on our trip there.
 
mepiccolo said:
A much, much, much prettier beach to go to was the military beach which is only open to the public on weekends (the name escapes me at the moment). That was by far the best thing about Oahu, at least on our trip there.
Click to expand...

Bellow Beach Park. I don't know if it is open to the public on the weekend any longer, but it might be. If you can find someone with military ID, you can go anytime.

The Waimanalo Beach Park that I wrote about above is just like Bellows.
 
I did not think if was worth. Other islands has a lot better snorkling and easier to get to.

We went mid morning and no place to park. We ended up parking further down the road and hike back to the park. Long line to watch the video. Took us almost an hour before we got to the beach. Snorkel was not great. Would not recommend unless this is the only opportunity you have to snorkel on your trip.
 
Since you're staying at KoOlina you might consider snorkeling from one of the many dive and sail boats (Kai Oli Oli, KoOlina Cat,etc.) Also, north of the Ihilani are two natural lagoons between Paradise Cove and the hotel. One is a berthing lagoon. Also, off Electric Beach you can swim with the dolphins. This is also provided via the dive boats.
FWIW I think Hanauma Bay is grossly over rated as a snorkel site. It's very shallow and very overcrowded.
 
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