Hanauma Bay Ridge Trail — Attraction in Honolulu

What a beautiful beach with wonderful snorkeling! I highly recommend paying this paid entry beach. It's free for military but you do need to still get a ticket. Tickets open up 2 days before The entry date. I recommend looking up the weather before you go. We ended up going on a windy day and the snorkeling was too rough for our seven and 10-year-olds even though they are great swimmers. When you go to book, I recommend having multiple devices available. It is no joke that the reservations fill up in 5 minutes. You will think that you have plenty of opportunity but just because it says 35 slots are available does not mean that you are going to get four of those by any means. We had to try six different time blocks before we finally ended up with a 12:40. We kept trying the same one. I would recommend having both people try a different time slot. 12:40 is a little too late to show up in the day if you ask me. They shut down the beach promptly at 3:00. You have to plan for an additional 20 to 40 minutes of non beach time when you get there before you can actually get down to the beach. You'll need to park, that cost $3, and then you need to go and check in and show them your tickets, then you need to check in again. Then you need to watch a safety video. Then you need to take a shuttle down to the beach or walk probably half a mile. Obviously this doesn't include giving yourself time for the gift shops or to go to the bathroom so keep that in mind as well. The website says no tents but we saw multiple tents down on the beach. I'm talking like actual camping tents, shade tents, and then tons of umbrellas which I think are allowed. At 3:00 the shuttle will take you 10 to 20 minutes to get onto after you're done packing up. They do close the gates promptly at 4 and you need to be off the beach by 330. With kids you just need to schedule in bathroom breaks for the beginning and end because timing is somewhat important. The staff was INCREDIBLY friendly!! It was such a great time and we are SUPER glad we booked it. Remember to bring reef safe sunscreen! And an under water camera is definitely recommended. It does get busy (most of my beach photos were taken after 330 so that's why there's barely anyone there) so share is helpful when the trees are all taken up. We went on a Wednesday. It is NOT...

Decided to try this hike in the late afternoon since it was an easier alternative to Koko Head and I was in the area. Late start but not a problem since I wanted to make sunset🤙

Parked at Koko Head District Park and walked up the hill, the entrance is directly in back of the bus stop. Signage says its on Private Property no trespassing so be forewarned

This hike takes you around Hanauma Bay with virws of Koko Head Crater and Hawaii Kai. Paved road so its an easy hike (around 25 minutes) to the top by the radio towers. This hike is completely open to the elements so sunscreen, water and a nice hat is recommended.

Decided to explore off the road and followed the trails down to the Hanauma Bay rim but stopped halfway since I knew I didnt have enough time. Some nice viewpoints and areas for whale watching if you take this route.

Climbed back up the mountain and went to the end of the paved road to view the sunset. No green flash but it made the hike...

Beautiful area to do some snorkeling. Lots of fishes. We saw a seal in the morning. It's so big. Great place for a day trip. We stayed in waikiki and tool the Uber here and back. Each way was about 26usd +tips. If you don't have a car, this is a great option.

Great view from bottom of hill or top. We brought our lunches. If you don't have scuba gear, they got some for rent for a whole kit for about 20$. They can rent selected pieces of scuba gears if you want.

Water was on the chilly side when we came in March. There's a bit less sun compared to waikiki Beach so definitely cooler.

The kids love it. The water is relatively shallow when we went, about 4ft to 5ft. Bring your life vest or rent one on site. It makes snorkeling a experience much better and less tiring especially for kids and non...