Tours Travel

Hawaii Snorkeling Tips Part VI: Big Island Wilderness Snorkeling Spots

Are you coming to my island on vacation? There are three things I always recommend first-time visitors to do. First, take an aerial tour. Second, go to a luau. Lastly, I advise people of all ages to get in the water and snorkel. The magic of the “one-one-one, experiencing the world through the eyes of the fish” of swimming in those warm lagoons surrounded by clouds of tropical fish is an incredible, relaxing and restorative quest. experience over and over again through the years far more than many of his other travel experiences. Part I of this series discussed Snorkeling Gear; Part II of this series will discuss the Snorkeling Technique and Part III covered Snorkeling Etiquette; Part IV of the series discussed snorkeling safety and Part V covered snorkeling spots on the Big Island.

Of all the Hawaiian Islands, because it is the youngest, the Big Island has the fewest and smallest beaches … this leads to crowding during the peak of the tourist season on some beaches. Because Hawaii is still rural, there are still some wild beaches (for hiking only); some of them are among the best on the island.

You can camp on many wild beaches, but you must apply for a permit from the appropriate agency. Camping overnight on Hawaii’s beaches is made easy by the mild climate; I usually have a few liters of water, a couple of sandwiches, my camera, dry clothes for comfort after diving, a wool blanket and a rice mat to sleep on (a beach towel will suffice) and a small tarp in case it rains. The key here is that if the weather gets really nasty, you’re rarely more than an hour from your car. You may want to bring a few extra gallons of water to rinse off the salt after swimming; it is difficult to sleep comfortably with salty skin.

Two things to keep in mind, even though it may not seem like it at times, Hawaii DOES HAVE tides … camp well behind the beach area. Second, beach fires are not only illegal, they are hugely dangerous on most of the west side beaches.

Ke-awa-iki Beach (park next to Highway 19 north of mile 79; walk down a gravel road into the ocean to a fence and trail; about 15 minutes to the beach) – a short walk on a path of lava and rewards you with a beautiful beach that many locals don’t know about. This small black sand beach has good snorkeling on the south side, where there is still a pocket of white sand. This unique black and white sand beach was created after the eruption of Mauna Kea in 1859, when lava reached the northern end of the beach, where the black sand is today. Further south along the beach, the recent black sand has not had time to fully blend in with the pre-existing white sand.

If one continues south, there are numerous tidal pools to explore.

Walking north, you reach Pueo Bay, where freshwater springs make snorkeling interesting but strange, with large temperature and salinity gradients. If you take the trail that heads inland towards a conspicuous growth of hala trees, you will come to a couple of beautiful golden ponds. A golden algae gives these pools their distinctive color, but be sure not to damage the growth by walking in them. Finish the hike by walking back through the a’a … about 4 miles, round trip.

Makalawena Beach (Exit Highway 19 south of milepost 90 at Kekahakai State Park; at the end of the road, take the obvious trail north over the lava field; the trail goes through rough lava and keawe falls, for what shoes are required): Makalawena is the best swimming and snorkeling beach on the island and the most beautiful beach setting. This beach has a series of coves, refreshing shade, large sand dunes and a nice freshwater pond to rinse off. A great backpacker getaway, don’t forget your camera; this hike will be the highlight of your trip to the Big Island.

The beachfront lot is owned by the Bishop Estate and is slated to be converted into a condominium and resort development; Vigilance and protest by locals and visitors is the only way we can keep this last wild Kona beach wild.

Pawai Bay (in Kailua Kona, drive to the end of Old Airport County Beach Park; walk along the ocean to the first obvious sandy bay): Spectacular, secluded, secret; Pawai Bay is perhaps the most interesting dive spot on the island. Walk along the cliffs and coves of the sea about 15-20 minutes north, to the Queen Lilioukalani Children’s Camp in Pawai Bay. Remember, non-Hawaiians are restricted to traveling along the tidal zone and just the edge of the shoreline … venturing even a few feet inland is trespassing.

Pawai Bay is home to a select sandy beach with a small channel that leads to the open ocean and is exciting for snorkeling. Many charter snorkeling tours bring clients here, but you can visit them for free. The caverns, arches and submerged caves are full of fish, coral and crystal clear waters. From the shore, this is not a beginner’s snorkeling adventure.

Swim through the sandy bay to the canal and cliffs. Be careful with the waves and don’t go in when the swell is big. Once in the larger bay, look towards the coast, where numerous small channels lead towards the coast but end in cliffs; your return passage is the only channel through which you can see sand at the end.

The bay itself is on land of the Queen Lilioukalani Trust. Non-native Hawaiians are not allowed on the land or use the facilities. State beach access laws allow you to visit as long as you stay immediately along the shoreline; the beach is guarded 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Captain Cook Monument (trail leaves Napo’opo’o Highway right at phone pole number 4, just 500 feet below where it drops off Highway 11; parking is tight, but safe) – This hike is a good hike through tall grass, open lava fields, and dryland forests, opening onto one of the most pristine ocean beaches in the world. The walk to the Monument is a lot of fun: the return is hot, thirsty and strenuous, but it pays off with panoramic views of the coast. The 2.5 mile hike takes about an hour down, a little longer to get back. The trail runs straight down the left side of a rock wall into the sea. As the field straightens, keep left at the fork and head to the beach through the abandoned village. You reach the shore several hundred feet northwest of the monument; remember to keep right at the trail junction when you return, or you will face a long and unpleasant time wandering the fields of a’a.

Diving at the monument is wild and scenic, from shallow tide pools north of the pier to the steep descent below the cliffs. There is a concrete marker in the tidal zone that indicates the exact spot where Cook fell slightly north of the royal monument.

Honomalino Beach (Exit Highway 11 just south of mile marker 89, drive through Miloli’i; start walking between the county park and a yellow church. Keep right at trail forks, in and out of the surf line, to avoid private property) – A true gem of western Hawai’i and rarely crowded, Honomalino Bay is reached by a 20 minute walk from the southern end of Miloli County Park ‘ i Beach. Snorkeling is very interesting on the north side on the rocks, when the swell is low. The water, although very clear, is sometimes quite cold due to the discharge of a spring in the sand on the beach.

Mahana Green Sand Beach (Exit Highway 11 toward South Point, follow signs for Mahana Boat Launch. Park just above the boat ramp for the 2 1/4 mile hike to Green Sand Beach): Absolutely unique in Hawaii. ‘ i, beautiful and strange, are the green sand. South Point’s green sand beach is the best known, largest and most accessible of all. The grains of sand here are olivine crystals, washed from an ash cone that has been partially broken by the sea.

When you get to the end of the trail, you are about thirty meters above the beach at the edge of the remnant of the crater. At first there is a tricky spot bordering a 3 foot ledge, but below this the trail is wide and clear. You can also easily climb up the middle of the cone, but this can be slippery. Although difficult to spot on the way down, from the beach looking up, the way back to the crater rim is easy to follow.

The beach is inside the cone, and the sheltered cove makes for a wonderful swimming / snorkeling spot, but watch out for currents. Do not go out far, not at all in strong surf or strong winds. The strange color of the water begs for color photographs, particularly underwater photographs taken while snorkeling.