Going to Hawaii for the first time, need advice

S

streetjudge79

Active member
I'm planning a trip for about 10 days to Hawaii. I haven't been on a plane since I was 15 (i'm 37 now), Scared to death of planes but Hawaii is one place I want to see before I die and young enough to snorkel. Any suggestions on great hotels on a beach,snorkling spots, etc? I'm leaving from Miami most likely , how long of a flight is it?
I'm thinking of doing a cruise through all the islands instead of staying that long in one hotel. I'll probably stay two days before the cruise. Any advice or photos of snorkling there would be great! Thanks
Steve
 
What island are you thinking of hitting? I was a liveaboard dive yacht captain for Aggressor fleet out there in Kona, HI for 6 months. There are a number of great spot on the main island that I would highly recommend. If you are looking for day trips and such you can't go wrong with most of the day runners that run out of hotels. If you would like specific names of companies for day charter or liveaboards let me know I would be happy to provide. I mainly dove from Kona Pier to the South end lava flows. So many caves, coves, inlets, lava tubes, depending on the year Whales, dolphin mating, nightly manta feedings along with macro endemic species like no other.
 
Well, I'm not sure where I'm going yet, probably the main island if I don't do the cruise thing. I'm looking for good beach spots that I can snorkel and see moorish idols, tangs, etc. Do you know of any good hotels on the beach that aren't an arm and a leg?
 
If you are up for it rent a car, plan to bring a sleeping bag and you should be set. Drive thru the lava flows and you will find a number of beach coves where you can snorkel from. You can't go wrong. Get a map which show the various bays and bring your mask and snorkel. They will all have tons of tangs and idols for you to watch. One of my favorites is Manukia Bay. All the hotels are pretty expensive but once you get there things become easy going. Just get a room for the first few nights to assure you have something and then start asking around. I forget how to spell but it is call the Kama Inna and it is the local discount given. Talk to anyone and they will point you in the right direction. I have had locals open there doors and even allow me to camp on their property. Any time I was on shore I would just hit the road.
 
I just got back from a week in Oahu and I got a number of days and a bunch of hours of snorkeling in. I did a little at Shark's Cove on the North Shore and a lot at Hanauma Bay. I saw a bunch of Moorish Idols on the North Shore, but a bunch of Green Sea Turtles, 2ft+ Parrotfish, Snowflake Eel, bunch of tangs, and a large octopus.
 
Looks like the wife and I decided on Oahu for 10 days. Dave Legacy, did you take any underwater pics? I'd love to see!
Also any advice on where to stay, etc?
Thanks
Steve
 
The flight is about 8-10 hours from LA to Hawaii - Add in your connecting flights on the mainland, and you're usually looking at around 13-16 total hours of flight time.
 
actually as soon as the plane takes off from LAX to Honolulu is 6 hrs not counting the delay in LA and about 6 to 7 hrs from Florida to LA
 
just got back from Maui, 13 nights. Maui has superb shore snorkeling, turtles on almost each snorkel. You basically see everything.
 
LA to hawaii is 4 hours maybe 5. "local" in hawaiian is kama'aina. sometimes they ask you for your ID to prove it so if you showed them a florida license you would look bad.
 
The best way to find snorkeling spots in Maui or Oahu is to get the books Maui Revealed and Oahu Revealed. There is so much to do on those two islands that I personally would not waste any time on a cruise, but I am not a cruise kind of guy.
 
If you go to the big Island, check out the Kapaho tidepools near Pahoa (just don't leave anything in your car out in that area). I spent almost two weeks on the big island a few years ago - if you are looking for a vacation where you can spend a lot of time exploring by car - and great snorkeling, I would highly recommend it.

-Tre
 
The Kapoho tide pools were awesome. I swam with a school of very large Naso Tangs. There are all kinds of fish and corals in a sheltered area. Even if the ocean is raging, the tide pools are sheltered and you can swim without worrying about the ocean. Some pools have very strong currents however and if you don;t swim against it the current will take you to other pools. It's quite cool.

http://www.letsgo-hawaii.com/kapoho/
http://www.hawaiiweb.com/hawaii/html/beaches/Kapoho_Tide_Pools.html
http://www.letsgo-hawaii.com/snorkeling/

My wife and I took a cruise from San Diego to Hawaii. My favourite thing of all the whole trip (even beetter than the snorkeling) was renting a convertible (Sebring) and driving up the Oahu coast on a sunny day. We found deserted beaches all over the place, it was paradise.

I am trying to find one more link that has all the dive sites on all the Hawaiaan islands. If I find it again I will post it here for you. Have fun.
 
You're right, none of them work, as is. That's strange. Sorry about that. However, if you just copy them and paste them in the address menu at the top of a new window you will get to the designated pages. When do you leave?
 
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