Snorkeling Hawaii any input

[BeachBabe2]

Good Morning people,
Am trying to decide where to snorkel and which excursion to take from PoAm. Any and all opinions welcomed. We LOVE to snorkel and in fact are thinking of trying the Snuba outing as well. HELP..........we want to see the most fishies and underwater beauty for our buck......THANK YOU

[Ron Clark]

Originally posted by BeachBabe2:
Good Morning people,
Am trying to decide where to snorkel and which excursion to take from PoAm. Any and all opinions welcomed. We LOVE to snorkel and in fact are thinking of trying the Snuba outing as well. HELP..........we want to see the most fishies and underwater beauty for our buck......THANK YOU

If you want to see fishes and coral beds in Hawaii, you have to scuba. Snorkeling in Hawaii isn't nearly as good as it is in the Caribbean.
The islands are made by volcanos, not by sand or coral formations.

[kim lilley]

Hi Tina,
Go snorkeling on Hanuama Bay in Oahu not far from Wakiki Beach. Also the Kauai reveled book stated that Poipu beach and Lyndgate Park on Kauai is also good for calm waters and good snorkeling. This book is reaaly good for tips on things to do in Hawaii. Let me know how you liked the zipline and helicopter ride when you get back, because I may so that when I go back in May.
Have a great trip and birthday!
Cheers!
Kim

[BeachBabe2]

Thank you for the tips Kim.
As you know the options are endless........or so they seem, and the problem is with only having the one chance (this time anyway) we want to try to find the best. Deffo I will give a detailed account of ziplining!!!! I'm scared of heights and water......so what do I do to celebrate turning 50.........scare the s**t out of myself by attacking both !! lol Thanks again. Tina

[wise2u]

whoever said you had to scuba to see fish and coral in hawaii was wrong...i learned to snorkel at hanauma bay and saw tons of fish and coral in 3' of water....all the colorful fish and coral are usually in the top 50' of water and with great visability you can snorkel and see it all.

We havent cruised Hawaii but have stayed many weeks on different islands and have snorkeled most of the prime spots...for a cruiser the main problem is lack of transportation, only ohau has busses and taxis..there are tons of places to snorkel right off the beach or the side of the road...the snorkel rental places give out maps that show tons of spots for whichever island they are on...hanauma bay is the best spot for beginners on ohau (very crowded with tourists, but worth it) multiple tour companys will take you there...for maui the best spot is molokini which is one of 3 spots of its kind in the world, its a volcano top barely out of the water with the leeward side open to the ocean...most of the year it provides a sheltered area to snorkel and most every boat has a tour there...there is a steep drop wall dive for scuba people on the windy side, awesome place, just make sure the wind isnt blowing into the crater like it does sometimes in the winter months when alternate sites are better, maui gets whales in winter months. search for hawaii activities and you will find a few of the big companies that run all kinds of excursions, most offer snorkel boats on most all of the islands. I think they would cater to the cruisers and provide transportation to/from pier, but you have to check and make sure.

kauai's poipu is a nice sheltered beach, a good place if you have small kids, but snorkeling was sort of limited there...not bad, but not "the best"

[Debwina]

Hello,
I took that cruise on July 1. We love to snorkel and recomend you look over the Hawaii snorkel books by Malinowski (they are written by a husband and wife team and I can't recall their first names)...the books are really detailed and the maps are good as well. Also look over the "Revealed" books. There are any number of spots where you park the car and hop in Also, there is some night snorkeling with sting rays. We snorkeled with TONS of sea turtles in Maui just south of the Maui Prince Hotel and they have a great beach and facilities as well. We did not do any excursions through the cruise line, but rented cars and planned our own adventures. Plan ahead especially regarding meals and have a wonderful time.