Snorkel Honolua — Attraction in Hawaii

Hands down the best snorkeling place in Hawaii (saying this after visiting all six islands that you can visit with snorkeling being our main activity).

Yes, there is no beach. Just rocks. It's not a place to chill out. It's a snorkeling spot. Once you get in, initially it's a bit murky and rocky. You need to go right and, for the best reef, quite far from the shore but it's worth it and not too deep. We never got there strong waves or currents but always came in summer. You really need to go more towards the end of the bay on the right side but it's worth it. We snorkel a lot around the world and this place is one of the best. Colourful reef, eels, turtles, occasional octopus hidden between the rocks. Absolutely amazing. We usually take 30-40 min for so so places, about 40-60 min for great places. Here it's like up to two hours of snorkeling and we go out only cause it gets cold.

hint: if you are an intermediate to advanced snorkeler you can actually enter via slaughterhouse beach and go around the corner (right) -- you will see nice coral and tunnels from that side and the coral you pass while going around is interesting. You will end up entering Honolua from it's left side where you may see barracudas (never seen them on the right). Then you can navigate slowly towards the rocky beach but no reason to go there just cross to the right side as soon as you are close enough to the shore so you are not crossing via the boat channel. When on the right you can then swim from the shore again as far as you are comfortable to (don't go outside of the bay). This will let you enter via the sandy slaughterhouse beach and also will make this a more enjoyable tour around right side of the beach and then both sides of honolua. Watch the sea and the current though. Each time we did it there were some waves at the slaughterhouse but nothing terrible and honolua was like a pool. We also wear wetsuits cause this will take you 1.5h-2h provided you are snorkeling not racing around and that means you may get pretty cold.

Hint 2: yes, there are limited parking spots but also this is really not a place to spend your entire day at. This means that people come and go so it's worth going past the bay to one of multiple viewpoints and coming back a few minutes later to check for the parking. We came here at different days different times, sometimes multiple times a day starting from right before 6am to as late as 3-4pm. At 6am there is no one or almost no one there. People start coming around 8am or so though. Remember that this location doesn't get much sun until about 8am in summer when the sun passes over mountains (it's west side Afterall) so your snorkeling experience until this hour will be a bit different.

Hint 3: if you want to check out another good place, go to Ahihi Kinau or pass that to La Perouse though we didn't have luck with the latter and it seems always quick choppy + murky. Another reasonable place is Honokeana bay where you either enter from rocks between two resorts (right side of the bay, there is a very narrow path) or swim from Napili. We did both, swimming from Napili was taught and I wouldn't recommend it if the waves are there ... These three are best snorkel places on Maui (likely) but you can also try Kanapali for both beach...

Went there today- it was amazing snorkeling! Just standing at the shoreline you can see beautiful fish. It is a rocky shore- but big rocks- not those ones that hurt your feet to walk on. I went with my 4 kids ages 13-5, no water shoes and we all did fine. Entry is a bit slippery and we found sliding in on our bum was the best. When you are in there are so many colorful fish!! The water was incredibly calm and I felt very comfortable swimming with my 4 kids. They are all good swimmers, but still I am cautious and can get nervous, but not so much here. This is our first time here so not sure if this was a uniquely calm waters day or not. So far this is our favorite place to snorkel...

Anything this beautiful is worth the effort. Parking is rough, the walk through the chicken forest is beautiful but could be a little hard for some and the entry into the water itself is not ideal being covered in rocks. But boy, this is some of the best snorkeling I’ve done since my travels to the barrier reef. I highly recommend this place but just be aware of the small inconveniences but be happy you’ll be going to one of the best snorkeling spots in Hawaii. Try to visit on a day where there hasn’t been too much wind the past 2 days and is not overcast and you’ll get some great visibility. Make sure to snorkel far out to the right side (north part...