Hanauma Bay

[scottish2]

Hi

Had a quick question on this as someone did mention something that makes me wonder if it's worth going here.

I know when I went to Grand Caymen the close up reefs were so close to shore that it wasn't worth snorkling on any of them due to such a heavy load of tourists trampling the reef.

How really is Hanauma Bay is it worth the trip or is there maybe a better spot to go snorkling that may not be as well known? We're only there for a few days and I want the water trips to be nice not overcrowded trample experiances.

Any thoughts is this bay really that spectacular even with all the mindless snorklers (Note Snorklers as I realize those of us in the diving community I would hope have a better appriciation for our diving relm then to trample that which takes so long to grow and is one of or main reasons for diving in the first place. )

 

[DennisS]

It is a great snorkeling spot. The secret is to go early-as soon as it opens. The tourists walking around and splashing stir up the sand. It's really clear if you hit it first thing in the morning.

 

[scottish2]

Do you happen to know what time it opens or is it a 24/7 operation?

 

[DennisS]

I think it's around 7 or 8 am. It's a park and has an admission fee of about $5 for non residents. It's also closed one day during the week to "give it a rest". You don't want to go out there and find it closed.

Go out the keyslot, the snorkeling is better outside the shore reef, not outside the crater though. You can see the opening from the top of the hill.

 

[XJae]

It's a nature park with rangers.
I'm not sure of the hours.
I think it's closed on tuesdays.

It wasn't too crowded when I was there.
Although it wasn't peak season, kiddies were in school.
The reef itself wasn't the draw, it was the sealife that made the snorkling great.

It is tauted as the best snorkling in Hawaii.
Do a search on the www, there's plenty out there.

 

[scottish2]

Ok Thanks will be sure to double check with our hotel before heading out to double check that day it is closed.

 

[IslandDiversHI]

Hanauma Bay is closed on Tuesdays.

Arrive early if you want to park in the lot as it fills up, or take a bus.

Hanauma Bay does have a huge number of visitors and many people do trample the reef out of ignorance. However, the park is addressing the problem and now all visitors are required to watch a 7 minute video on the Bay and proper "reef" etiquette.

The good news is that Hanauma Bay is huge and the people that are most likely to trample the reef are least likely to get any distance from the beach. The park is a Marine Protected Area - no fishing - so it has some of the healthiest inshore populations on the island. Go for a nice long snorkel on the outside and you'll find untrampled reef and proabably run into some green sea turtles as well.

 

[Down_Down]

I was there last week, and it was pretty nice.

like they said though, it does get cloudy, and the reef itself isn't the atttaction, the fish and turtles are a great site to see, and they are very tame animals in the bay. Greatest snorkling spot I've seen so far here.

 

[jo8243]

I was there in March and idiots were standing up on the reefs, walking on the reefs, etc, and the lifeguards didn't say a thing to them. Totally abusing the place. The reefs seemed pretty tough, though.

It gets crowded there. We tried to go around 9 or 10 am and the lot was full. Instead we drove past it and went to other beaches down the mountain. There are really some incredible ones in that direction.

We came back around 2-3pm and got in no problem.

 

[DFC5343]

You may get to see the one of the hundred odd Tiger sharks cruisin' the bay. I didn't get to see one but have heard the stories. All I got was a couple of cuda and white tips in Lanai.