Kauai/Maui Snorkeling

[hanas]

Going to Kauai/Maui for 2 weeks in October for our honeymoon. Any recommendations for good snorkeling spots? We'll be staying at the Hyatt.

 

[jmicky41]

I was in Maui in 2004 and we really liked the snorkleing at Black Rock. Black Rock sits right on Ka'annapali beach behind the Sheraton. We saw small sharks, turtles, eels and the usual naso, yellow and achilles tangs. The best part is you just walk from the beach into the water - and there you are. For a day trip go to Molokini, which is a sunken crater a mile or two off the shore. The clarity is incredible. There are numerous boats that will take you out there and most will also make a second stop somewhere else. Make sure you do your snorkeling im the morning as the winds pick up around lunchtime and decrease the visibility. We also tried ulu'a and napilli, but didn't like them as much.

 

[piranhaking]

i am going to ulua in july and freediving. i was wondering how deep the first reef gets and how far out it is to the second one and how deep it is, if you know.

 

[hanas]

thanks jmickey41, we're definitely going to go to Black Rock, we'll have access to a car so we can drive to different beaches. Thanks again.

Do you or anyone else have any recommendations for Kauai?

 

[Boat]

Check out this link.

http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/Hawaii/Maui/index.htm

 

[AdidaKev]

If you really want to do an awesome snorkel trip (almost an all-day event), do Captain Andy's snorkel tour. It takes you the entire way around the island. It is absoultely incredible. The crew is very nice and you see a lot of turtles at the spots where they take you to snorkel.

 

[hanas]

Boat, thank you for that site, it's awesome!!

 

[Boat]

Your welcome.

You have all summer - you could still get certified for Scuba . . .

 

[hanas]

It's funny you say that, because I'm considering it. Any idea how much lessons generally cost?

 

[AdidaKev]

Usually around $200ish...I think that's how must I paid.

 

[ha-y-n salt]

i doubt it if the tour goes around the whole island. Believe me, i live on Maui. Definately do the Molokini tour...thats the best you're gonna get cause its a marine reserve. You can also try the reserve in Makena or Honolua

 

[alexk3954]

for kauai I would definetly go to the very end of the road to napali coast (past Hanalei bay). I forget what the beach is called, I could swear it was called Ke'e beach or something like that. It is not too crowded and there is great snorkeling.

Here are some pictures I took

There were tons of schools of convict tangs that were amazing.

Sorry if the quality of the pictures is not that good.

 

[alexk3954]

here are a few more pics i just found

 

[ezcompany]

great animals, but the background looks a little dull.
any coral reefs?

 

[alexk3954]

To be honest, I had no reef tank nor plans to get one when I went on this trip. As a result, I was not really educated about reef inhabitants so I wasn't looking closely at the rock or looking for corals. My thoughts were more along the lines of "ooooohh, look at the pretty fish!"

 

[ezcompany]

you will be amazed if you dive in pristine coral reefs then. or even snorkelling. too little time, too much to see. definitely try it some time

 

[thor32766]

alot the reefs surrounding hawaii have really taken a beating. Cool pics though, its really a cool experience when you see stuff in the wild that you always see in the store.

 

[alexk3954]

alot the reefs surrounding hawaii have really taken a beating.

yea, no kidding. At ke'e beach (the place where I took the above pictures) there are some rather shallow parts and people just get up and walk around on the rock.

 

[jetaero]

If you're able to do deep diving. On Kauai, dive the "sheraton caverns" while I was there in december, visibility was 100', and there was an eagle ray about.

Also on Kauai, one of the best shore dives I've done around there was Koloa landing, they have some amazing stuff to see out there.

If you're there in summertime, the north shore caverns are pretty nice too!

-Josh

 

[BBP]

Agree with jetaero on Koloa Landing. Tunnels Beach and Ke'e on the north shore, although I don't know what the surf will be like up there in October. Winter months make it too rough on those far north beaches to snorkel safely. Poipu ain't bad but it's crowded.

BKB