Ahihi Bay — Attraction in Hawaii

This place is definitely not the best for snorkelers, beginners, or children!! It is very Rocky and sharp from lava!! There is really no safe place to get in and out of the water it is all lava rock and many local trees with huge thorns!! Posted yesterday 6/7/2018. This place needs respect:

OCEAN RESCUE: Report of a person pulled from the water at Ahihi Bay-Kinau in the area known as “Dumps” in Makena. CPR is in progress. Emergency services are on scene. I always say a prayer before I have gone out and I do not wear high contrast colors that stand out in blue water! Do not recommended this place because the couple times I tried to snorkel here I got pulled out from some very strong currents and whitewater because the winds picked up with no warning at all!! This is why many local surfers come here they call it "the dumps"and they get high amazing surf that crash on shore here! And recently a regular local swimmer never made it back in a live!! There are so many other wonderful spots in South Maui or on the westside specially Kaanapali than this place with no lifeguards for miles! I am speaking from experience that if you do go out definitely say some prayers and pay homage to the "Aina!!!" Only a couple miles away it's Pele's...

Amazing snorkeling - you can literally see 100 feet. You can get out to where the water is 30 feet deep easily and see tons of fish - literally thousands - in amongst huge shelves of coral.

Better to go early in the morning, the waves can pick up a fair bit in the afternoon.

The beach is all rock, so it's best to bring water shoes.

You can't wear sunscreen as it is a protected area - snorkel with a shirt or wet suit so you don't get burnt.

My 18 month old enjoyed picking up and putting down rocks on the beach for the two hours we were there, but the terrain is not the most baby friendly - definitely need water shoes. The entry to the water past the parking lot is all rock, so not baby friendly either.

Before the parking lot there are a couple of sandy bays that would be great for wading holding a baby - you can even see lots of yellow tangs in knee deep, crystal...

There's kanahena cove which is part of ahihi kinau nature reserve. It's easily accessible by the road, a nice new free parking lot is constructed just beyond it, easy to walk between the two. At the back of the lot towards the beach there's porta-pottys, informational signs, and fences to keep non native goats and deer from destroying the rare dry forest biome near the coast. The day I went was over cast and according to others a bit choppy. Snorkeling visibility was maybe around 15' in the water. Not sure if it was high or low tide. The shore is full of black lava rocks and gravel, some sand. A shelf of mostly flat Rock juts out from the middle of the beach. I didn't see turtles here or at maluaka beach, but the reef life was much more active and vibrant here. I can only imagine what it'd be like in...