sea turtles in Hawaii

[sea student]

My sister and I are planning a trip to Hawaii sometime next year. We are thinking Kauai, but not set in stone. Does anyone know what our best island and season would be for getting to snorkel with sea turtles. Of course, we want to see fish and corals also. I've only been to Hawaii once as a kid, so I want to make the most of the trip. Thanks so much!

 

[fppf]

My wife and I dove off Maui last April, very nice.
Here are some pics I took of turtles on the wreck of the St Anthony.

That was at 60 feet so you could not snorkle with them. We did some shore diving in 20 feet of water and seen a few turtles there but they where always on the move.

 

[sea student]

Awesome pics, thanks for posting!

 

[BBP]

Sea student, I've taken several trips to Kauai. Snorkeling with turtles is bit of a challenge. There are two places I'd recomend on Kauai. the first is Koloa Boat Landing on the south end of the island and the second is Tunnels beach. Last year, my wife and I rented a house on Tunnels and there were several turtles where we snorkeled. Early and late in the day weree perfect times. There was quite a rip current there at the time so be careful. Winter at Tunnels is out of the question. Koloa Landing is good year round. I'd get there early due to the number of dive operators that bring groups i there.
BKB

 

[JokerGirl]

I've gone diving in Kauai and Maui. If you're planning on going in the winter I would suggest going to Maui. I dove during both times and the seas aren't quite as rough on Maui around February.

You will see a TON of turtles on either island. In Maui I saw plenty of them, some morays, needlefish, moorish idols... but the big exception was that I saw some humpback whales while diving which was a big treat. It was off the crater there.

In Kauai, I got to see a pregnant shark instead of a whale and plenty of the other things. I went diving at Turtle Bluff and Sheraton Caverns, both are about 90ft dives. The nice thing about Hawaii though is even at those depths its still crystal clear and you can see for miles around you.

I've got plenty of photographs but they aren't in digital form unfortunately. I'll see if I can get a few of them scanned in for you.

 

[JokerGirl]

Well I can't find the paper copies of the photos from Kauai but here are some of the actual island and some from Maui when I went.

This is essentially Tunnels Beach. It's by the Princeville resort where we were staying for the trip. Like someone already said though is that the riptides were REALLY strong the entire time so diving was out of the question.

Kauai's scenery was a lot more spectacular than Maui's but it may have been where I was diving. Maui was my first ocean dive so my divemaster didn't want to take me somewhere I couldn't handle. Sheraton Caverns is beautiful. It's made up of a bunch of old lava tubes that you can swim through and creates a wonderful safehaven for a lot of life.

Heres a few of the turtles I got photos of in Maui:

Lone Angel and a TON of triggers

I got swarmed the second I jumped in the water.

 

[RTKBA308]

Just returned from Kona, HI. Best vacation I've been on! I did six boat dives and lots of snorkeling. Saw reef sharks and a humpback! Went on the Mant Ray night dive, unbelievable!

Oh, yeah, did not see any turtles diving, but did see lots of them while snorkeling along the reefs, near the beach.

 

[thor32766]

great pics everyone.

 

[alikatoes]

I live on Oahu, and I have been diving on most islands in the main chain. It seems to me that turtles are quite abundant everywhere. If your trying to pick an island based on turtles I dont think there is much difference. What would play a significant difference is where on that particular island you choose to dive. The area right off the airport runway in Honolulu has tons of turtles! If you fly through Honolulu just look out the window.

 

[VirginiaDiver]

Turtles are everywhere. If you spend a day or two on Oahu go to Haleiwa, I've seen them on shore there quite a few times. Every dive I did at Haleiwa Trench I saw at least 3 turtles, the most I saw was 6. In the shallow area prior to the trench there a quite a few turtles and the water isn't over 4 feet deep.

the Big Island has a lot also. The black sand beach seems to always have atleast one on shore, although the water is often rough and might be unsafe for snorkeling.

Given a choice of islands I would pick the Big Island. You can see waterfalls, caves, a volcano, snow, manta rays, dolphins, turtles and more. The manta ray experience is 100 times better than any turtle sighting.

 

[sea student]

Any suggestions for best time of year to go? Thanks for all the help so far.

 

[MAthU]

well i went in january-febuary, to kauai and the big island and seen a buch of turtles and spinner dolphins...
hope that helps..

my parents are going to maui in on the 19th can any one recommend any good snorkeling areas?

 

[tradosz]

My Son and I were in Maui 12/14 to 12/20. Exceptionally high winds on Ka'anapali Beach area. Still, there is a black lava outcropping on this beach appropriately called Black Rock which is excellent for snorkling. My Son video'd a small sea turtle, and on a 2nd snorkel, we saw one about the size of a kitchen table. Plenty of fish. We did 4 boat dives, but because of the winds, all were at Molokini Crater, which is also an excellent snorkeling area that you access by boat. Most of the snorkel boats also offer SNUBA. Enjoy and ALOHA !! We'll be back later this year.

 

[blureef1]

I have been to the big island/Kona 3 times in the last 4 years. The diving and snorkeling is really solid. The Manta Ray dive is incredible. Definetely a must do.

For turtles there is a beach right next to the Keauhou outrigger hotel that has a large group of turtles that are always present. My wife and I saw 13 turtles at once sunning themselves in the lagoon. These same turles swim around the beach in around 6 ft of water. They are pretty friendly and will come up right next to you. I have never snorkeled there without seeing multiple turtles.

Great snorkeling spot.
Place of refuge has lots of turtles as well.

 

[blureef1]

I would also note that the overall reef health seems better on the big island than say Maui on average. Seems to be better coral coverage and small critters

 

[fppf]

When diving on an island it pays to talk to the locals and watch the weather. Timing is everything, the trade winds change during the day.

We would dive Keawakapu, Ulua, and Wailea in the very early morning but in the afternoon the trade winds would bring in high surf and horrble vis. So in the afternoon we would drive up to Black Rock and Kahekili beach and again have almost no surf and great vis.

Remember on an Island there will usually be a lee ward side that is calm.

 

[Ayanami]

I took this one at a spot I think was called Coral gardens on the west side of Maui. It was like 1 of 5 or 6 turtles I saw snorkeling on Maui...

There are a few nice places for snorkeling there and a couple awesome places if you don't mind hiking through lava (shreds the shoes fast lol) Bring lots of water too. These 3 I took at a spot called Aquarium on the south side of maui, really nice...

Jess

 

[Capt'n T]

My husband and I have been to Kaui, Maui and the Big Island. We had the most experiences with the turtles on the Big Island.

 

[Texsun]

The turtles off the Big Island are amazingly tame. Had one come straight at me in a wierd game of chicken until I had to get out of its way at the last minute. Passed within inches of me but didn't seem to care.

 

[gp125racer]

Last time on the big island we wre snorkeling in a cove and there was about 4 of them swimming with us. One came up and swam beside me for a minute or two. Was absolutlely amazing when he turned and looked right at me as if to ask who are you?

Also while snorkeling in oahu (near the ko olina resort area), we wound up bumping into a few more skiddish ones.

Also, while it may be overcrowded etc, make sure you do at least one day trip to hanauma bay. The best snorkel trip we have done was the night excursion out there simply amazing (they only do it oce a week so make sure you know what day it is)!

http://www.hawaiiweb.com/html/hanauma_bay_beach.html