We list our 3 favorite snorkeling spots on the Big Island to help you make the best of your time in Hawaiʻi. We think that if you put on your snorkeling gear and start swimming around the Big Island, you [a] will never get bored, but [b] will be busy for a long, long time.
Because you probably don’t have enough time to explore all snorkeling spots on the Big Island we list the 3 best spots (based on their abundance of marine life and easy accessibility), below.
Table of contents
- Kahaluu Beach Park (5 miles / 16 minutes south of Kona)
- Kealakekua Bay (a.k.a. Captain Cook, 17 miles / 34 minutes south of Kona)
- Honaunau Bay (a.k.a Two Step, 21 miles / 43 minutes south of Kona)
Table of Contents
- Kahaluu Beach Park (5 miles / 16 minutes south of Kona)
- Kealakekua Bay (a.k.a. Captain Cook, 17 miles / 34 minutes south of Kona)
- Honaunau Bay (a.k.a Two Step, 21 miles / 43 minutes south of Kona)
You can find more places to snorkel in our list of 14 snorkeling spots close to Kona or, if you are (also) going to our other islands, in our guides to snorkeling on Oʻahu, snorkeling on Maui, and Kauaʻi snorkeling spots.
If you want to find out more about snorkeling safety and the best places to rent (or buy!) your snorkeling gear on Hawaii, check out our Big Island snorkeling guide. Also, if you have not done so already, please take 8 minutes and have a look at this informative video about Hawaiian Reef etiquette.
Another very exciting snorkeling adventure – at night – on the Big Island that you might want to consider is the Manta Ray Night Dive. Imagine floating in the dark ocean holding only a flashlight, looking down on giant Manta rays (up to 12 ft wide) swirling below you while they feed on plankton!!
Kahaluʻu Beach Park, Kailua Kona
An unremarkable beach park close to Kona hides one of the best places to snorkel on the Big Island.
The easily accessible, sheltered, and shallow bay is home to one of the highest concentrations of fishes on Hawaii. At low tide there are plenty of tide pools to explore that are teeming with tropical fish. Kahaluʻu Bay is a great place for people that are new to snorkeling.
Kahaluʻu Beach Park is on of the best snorkeling spots on the Big Island. By trickofthelight – original, CC BY 2.0.
Kahaluʻu Beach is also famous for its Honu (green sea turtles). On any given day you’ll be able to see quite a few of them feeding on seaweed and sunning themselves on the warm rocks.
Good to keep in mind: there are many surfers at this beach. Make sure to stay on the south (left when looking towards the ocean) side of the beach while snorkeling.
its proximity to Kona makes this beach park an ideal place for a last-minute snorkel. Getting there and back from downtown Kona plus an hour of leisure snorkeling will only take about two hours!
We like this spot so much that we have written a whole guide on it! Read more on our website about snorkeling in Kahalu’u bay.
Practicalities and directions
Kahaluʻu beach park is located off of Aliʻi Drive, about 4.5 miles south of downtown Kailua-Kona. There are restrooms, showers, picnic tables, and two large pavilions present, and this i one of the few beaches with a lifeguard on duty.
The parking lot fills up quickly so the earlier you go the better.
Kahaluʻu beach park is one of the best places to go snorkeling on the Big Island. Close to Kona just off Aliʻi drive. Image credit: google maps
Kealakekua Bay, 17 miles south of Kona
Kealakekua bay is an underwater marine sanctuary where you can find many colorful exotic fish and often also dolphins and sea turtles. To get here you have to drive approximately 13 miles south from Kona along Highway 11 and then follow the Nāpōʻopoʻo Road to the end.
The bay is also know as “Captain Cook”, after a 27-foot tall monument commemorating the death of the British explorer Captain Cook at this bay on February 14th, 1779.
Napoʻopoʻo Beach is a small rocky beach in the Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park. Image credit: Nnachappa64 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
The center of the bay is deep and you can often find a pod of spinner dolphins playing around here. There are plenty of good spots for snorkeling in the bay, but the best snorkeling spot is on the opposite side of the bay from the parking area, close to the captain Cook monument.
Getting to the other side of the bay on your own is difficult, and there are 3 sensible ways to get to the snorkeling spot: hiking, renting a kayak, or with a boat (snorkeling) tour. You can read more about these 3 ways (and LOTS of other interesting information about the bay and things to do in its vicinity) in our guide to Kealakekua Bay or keep reading for a short summary below.
Kealakekua bay is a 1-mile wide bay close to the town of Captain Cook on the Big Island. The best snorkeling is on the north (left on the picture) side of the bay. Image credit: google maps
1: Hike to the Captain Cook monument (3.8 miles round trip):
The hike down into Kealakekua bay to the Capt. Cook monument is a challenging hike. The distance is 1.9 miles from your car to the water entry points, and over that distance you’ll lose 1300′ (400 meters) in elevation. After you are done snorkeling you have to make up for that elevation again. To make matters more interesting: almost all of the trail is exposed to full sun. Bring a hat, sunscreen, plenty off water, and comfortable, close-toed, shoes.
If you are interested in making the hike you should have a look at the great description on the bigislandhikes website for further planning.
2: Boat Tours to Kealakekua bay
There are several tour operators that will take you on a snorkeling cruise to visit the bay. These cruises take between 3 hours and half a day and often provide snorkeling gear, snacks and refreshments, as well as cultural, natural and historical information relevant to Kealakekua bay.
Tours operators that follow the Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawai’i (more info) guidelines are e.g. Sea Paradise and fair-wind (both departing from Keauhou Bay).
Afternoon Sail & Snorkel Tour to Kealakekua Bay
Sail to one of the best snorkeling spots on the island past the scenic Kona coastline with a spacious 50 foot catamaran from Keauhou to Kealakekua Bay. Notoriously difficult to reach over land, this is one of the best snorkeling spots on the island with pristine clear blue waters and a vibrant reef.
from:
$125
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.Private Snorkeling charters to Kealakekua Bay
If you are with a group of typically 6 or more people it can be worth it to consider taking a private charter rather than to join a larger snorkeling tour. The advantage of a private charter are to near-complete freedom you have about your itinerary and of course the privacy. A disadvantage is that these charters work out to a higher per person price if you don’t fill the boat.
A private charter we recommend is the one organized by Torpedo Tours, check out the following page to read a few reasons why:
Private 38ft Boat Snorkeling Charter / Cruise
Excellent for families and friend groups, this 4 hour private charter on a 38ft boat takes you anywhere along the Kona coast you want!
from:
$1500
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.3: Rent a Kayak
Kayaking from the boat landing to the statue takes between 15 and 25 minutes (one way). Take plenty of water, sunscreen, and don’t forget your snorkeling gear!
The local ecosystem in Kealakekua Bay is suffering under its own popularity, and the Division of State Parks now issues mandatory permits. You are not required to get your own permit when renting a kayak if the vessel possesses a valid permit for transiting the bay. This can be done either by joining a guided Kayak tour or by renting a kayak yourself.
Guided Kayak Tours: Only three companies have been issued permits by the Division of State Parks to lead guided commercial Kayak Tours to the Captain Cook Monument (last verified January 2022, source). These are:
Renting a kayak yourself: If you want to make the trip yourself you can find people offering kayak rentals on the side of Hwy 11 and the road down to the bay (route 160). The list of permitted vendors changes often so please make sure to ask whomever you choose if they have a current commercial use permit. As of June 2019 it is mandatory for the permitted vessels to have the State Parks issued decals affixed to both sides of kayak bows so please also check for that to ensure that you support only permitted businesses.
Honaunau Bay (Two Step) – the City of Refuge, 22 miles south of Kona
The famous snorkeling spot at Honaunau bay is called Paeʻa, and is also know as “Two Step”.
Honaunau Bay is often referred to as the “City of Refuge”, after the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historic Park (also know as – you guessed it – the City of Refuge). The Travel Channel named Honaunau Bay one of “America’s Best Beaches 2004”. A big reason for this is that due to a very advantageous layout of the bay, the water is almost always calm and the waters have exceptional visibility most of the year.
This spot is often rated the second best place on the Big Island for snorkeling after Captain Cook. The waters are usually clear and the average depth is about 20ft. Often you can see pods of dolphins swimming close to shore. There is a very easy place to enter the water called Paeʻa or “Two Step”. It is at the end of a finger of lava and easy to find because you will see lots of people getting in and out of the water.
Two step (Paeʻa) in Honaunau Bay is one of the best places to snorkel on the Big Island of Hawaii. Two step is named after two steps in the lava rocks that allow access to the ocean.
The north (right) and south (left) side of the bay are very different because of their difference in depths. We recommend swimming to both so you get the complete picture of the bay. The left-hand side is the shallower side and tends to be where you can see most turtles. The depth there averages between 10 and 25 feet. The right-hand side starts out shallow and slowly descends to depths over 30 feet, and then again quickly to well over 100 feet. This deeper part of the bay is where the spinner dolphins like to hang out.
Two step (center-left, in the distance) is located right next to the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park (right) on the Big Island
Directions
To get to the city of refuge, drive 23 miles south of Kona over highway 11. There is no dedicated parking lot so you have to leave your car along the road. Because of this, and because the sky will often become cloudy later in the day, mornings are the best time to snorkel here. If you can make it early, we recommend that you get in the water no later than 10 A.M. There are no concession stands or showers. Remember to bring your own food and water. There are port-a-potty restrooms available.
Two step is the name of the entrance to the water just left of the center of this image. This is one of the best snorkeling spots of the Big Island. Image credit: google maps.
Related: best snorkeling spots on our neighbor islands
If the Big Island is not the only island you are visiting on your vacation (fingers crossed!) you might be interested in our collections of top snorkeling spots on Maui, Kauaʻi, and Oʻahu: