Honolua Bay — Attraction in Hawaii

Some of the best snorkeling in the Aloha State.

In a way, Honolua is at the end of the road, at a point where it looks like real estate development is finally on pause. The forested volcanic slopes reach uninterrupted to the rugged coastline with spectacular views of Molokai eight miles across the channel. There are no picnic areas, restaurants, lifeguards, parking lots or resorts at Honolua: just room along the road's shoulders, two port-a-potties, and a long tree-canopied path to the bay. (Before the pandemic, a food truck or two has been known to set up shop nearby.)

Instead of a sugary sand beach greeting you at the end of the five-minute trek, there's a wide, rocky shoreline you need to carefully navigate to enter the placid water. But it's well worth the balancing act needed to safely don your snorkel gear and wade in.

I encountered schools of bluestripe snappers and convict tangs just moments after I put my masked face in the water. As I swam along the southern edge of the bay, I not only observed a few green sea turtles in the shallows but also many varieties of butterflyfish, triggerfish and surgeonfish. Most notable was a large and especially easy-to-photograph redlip parrotfish that seemed to appropriately smile for my camera.

After a short break back on the rocks, I snorkeled along the northern shoreline where I observed some of the most beautiful coral formations in Hawaii. But first I quickly spotted what might have been my first blue boxfish. Nearby, several cornetfish floated still amidst an equally quiet school of yellowfin goatfish, close to the seafloor. At least one palenose parrotfish busily scraped at coral, an interesting part of its diet. And a trio of large bluefin trevallies made their synchronized rounds, scintillating in the dappled light breaking the water's surface.

However it was the shapes, colors and varieties of corals that mesmerized me as I swam further and further out to the point that defines the northern edge of Honolua Bay. Dreamily I found myself within the largest school of fish I've ever encountered. Each individual was nondescript, less than six inches long, probably a mackerel or scad, gray and quite plain. But there had to be thousands, tens of thousands, or maybe hundreds of thousands of them. As I swam deeper into their school, they swarmed and undulated in a single mass, cloudlike, eventually separating like a curtain, drawing open on a view of even more enchanting corals.

I didn't want my swim to end but an hour in the water, even in tropical Maui, can test the limits of the healthiest body. But even on a very short visit, Honolua Bay reminds you that there is no limit to the abounding beauty of its...

We had a hard time finding the trail because it is somewhat hidden so it took us three times- but it is past the look out point and the entrance/trail to Slaughterhouse beach (if you are driving north on 30 from Lahaina). There is a private driveway however if you walk a little past this, there is another path through the “jungle” as people have mentioned that leads to the beach. There is not much street parking but we were able to easily park near the entrance to Slaughterhouse beach at around 8:30ish AM.

As others have said- there isn’t a beach and it’s very rocky, so if you want to lay out or sit I would bring beach chairs. We were mainly there to snorkel so we didn’t mind. I would definitely sturdier shoes to walk over the rocks on- I had Teva sandals which worked great. I would also highly recommend wearing booties while snorkeling. My husband and I are divers so we already have booties and fins but there are a good amount of urchins on the coral and you definitely don’t want to accidentally poke one of those with your feet!

The water was calm in comparison to other areas because of the bay which was great! And clear. It was murky initially when entering the water because it had recently rained and there was a lot of tree debris right at the shore, but once you swim past this the visibility greatly improved. Like a lot of other areas of Hawaii, the coral is dying but we found the coral on the right side of the bay (if you are facing the water) to be more lively and have more fish. That being said we did see turtles on the left side of the bay but I think they are common to see throughout this area. Lots of butterfly fish, banner fish, some box fish, parrot fish, etc… I also saw a founder in the sand while swimming out to the coral. We also saw a small 3-4 feet white tip shark which was awesome!

There was also a large turtle sunbathing on the beach.

On another note- there are a lot of chickens and roosters roaming the beach so be mindful of your food.

Overall I loved snorkeling here- but if you’re looking for an easy pop into the water and lay on the beach in the sand, this may...

I just had to add another 5 star review for this special magical place. First, I suggest going to the lookout point to scope out the bay. Look (carefully) directly below. If low tide, you can shove your belongings in a dry bag and snorkel to the beach directly below and have it to yourself for a few hrs with coral 20 feet infront of you. I wish we had known about it before we landed or we would have explored only this place. We paid for boat rides, sailing trips to snorkel spots like Makena Landing, Coral Garden and Shark Fin in Lana'i but none compared to Honolua Bay. Tons more coral, schools of fish, large and small, eels, turtles and its shallow like 15 feet. Its like a bathtub! It is VERY SLIPPERY going in, rocks on shoreline are covered in algae, saw a handful of pple slip and fall trying to get in the water. Just get on all fours as you get in/out the water - no shame in that! GET THERE EARLY like 8am coz we arrived at 830am on a Thursday morning and we were already scraping for parking along a very narrow highway. Lucky we rented a cheap sedan that squeezed in a small spot. The trail from parking to rocky shore is 10 min walk in stunning lush tropical forest, well beaten path can be walked in flip...