Snorkelers on the beach at Haunauma Bay nature preserve

Haunauma Bay snorkeling tour

  • Haumauma Bay Snorkeling tour -$129 per person
  • all gear and entrance fee ($25) included
  • meet at 377 Keahole Street for gear fitting then ride over to the Bay (self of with guide)
  • approximately 2.5 hours at the Haunauma Bay Nature Preserve with at least one hour of guided snorkeling including a snorkeling lesson
  • suitable for beginners or experienced snorkelers

Do I need a reservation for Haunauma Bay?

Not if you sign up for our tour!  We have a small permit for 5 people at a time.  Your snorkel guide takes you to the front of the line, no reservation required.  You just need to make a booking with us.

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You can make a reservation for Haunauma Bay on your own.  The only time you can get them is at 7am two days before.  Tickets sell out within minutes.

If Haunauma Bay Nature Preserve snorkeling is a must-do for your trip, we recommend you make a reservation with a guided tour operator like ourselves, but if you want to “chance em”, below is the State of Hawaii website.

https://www.honolulu.gov/parks-hbay/home.html

However, you risk not getting a reservation, and operators like ourselves are often booked out weeks in advance.

You can also make a Snorkel with Turtles boat tour booking if you prefer that experience.

What will I see during the snorkeling tour?

Guide to Reef Life in Haunauman Bay. Some fish you might see.Haunauma Bay Nature Preserve is primarily a great place to see marine life.  Mostly a wide variety of fish, many of which are only found in Hawaii (endemic).

When you enter the water from the sandy beach, you will be able to sit down in shallow calm water to don your snorkeling equipment.  Much of be best snorkeling is in water that is still shallow enough to stand up in!

The best Haunauma Bay snorkeling is along the interface between the rocky reef and the sand, this is where most of the fish will be found.  One of the great things about having a snorkeling guide, besides the extra safety, is that they can tell you what fish you are seeing!

snorkeler in Haunauma Bay with reef fishDon’t be surprised that the coral is all hard coral species, not the flowing wavy stuff you sometimes see on TV.  It is all alive, and you should not touch it, but it looks a lot like a rock outcropping.

Besides the abundant close-up fish life, there are sea cucumbers, moray eels, green sea turtles, and even occasionally an endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal taking a nap on the beach.

 

What are the facilities like at Haunauma Bay?

Haunauma Bay Nature Preserve has a gift shop, snack bar with lunch food, changing rooms and bathrooms on the beach, and freshwater showers for when you come out of the water.  There is also a grass picnic area up looking over the Bay if you want to do a non-sandy picnic while you wait for your tour time.

 

What is the parking situation at Haunauma Bay?

The parking lot generally fills up sometime around 930am.  Parking is $3 and you have to have cash (which is weird as everything else in the park is credit card only).

So our tours start at our dive shop about 2 miles away, for gear fitting.  From there you can ride over with us or drive yourself.  You have to exit the park with your guide, but you get stamped on the way out, so re entry is easy.

On the afternoon tour, the parking lot will be full, so you will need to be dropped off with the guide and exit with them.  The beach closes at 3pm , so it will be time to go anyway.  The shop staff will come pick us up and back to the parking lot at the dive shop.

Contact us for transportation options from Waikiki.