Visiting Hanauma Bay is a very different experience than in years gone by. We stopped in last week to explore the changes and report back.
Visiting Hanauma Bay is a very different experience than in years gone by. We stopped in last week to explore the changes and report back.
Are retired military free at Haunama Bay?
Personally, I was very disappointed in Hanauma Bay. I went in January 2021…right after they had just opened up again after Covid. While it was not crowded, I feel the snorkeling is better at Shark’s Cove. Of course, in my opinion the Big Island has the best snorkeling.
Haven’t been in years… If you want to visit a nice, uncrowded beach, take a drive to the West end and go to Yokohama Bay. Along the way you’ll have a chance to see the Real Hawaii TPTB don’t want to talk about…
Best Regards
Wow, fees equal 3/4 of a million dollars per month. Sure hope they are spending it wisely!!
Can you explain how the walk-in process works? Kind of step-by-step?
Where do you park? Is there a line that early in the morning? Once in can you stay for the entire day?
Thanks
Hi Patrick.
It is space available so it is not guaranteed. If there’s no space, you will not be permitted to enter the parking lot which comes after the entry guard. Hope that helps. If anyone has tried the space-available entry, perhaps they can add more about how that went.
Aloha.
Just a note that Uber is allowed to drop off passengers inside the park right near the entrance!
I have given up trying to get reservations to Hanauma Bay. My best guess is that tour groups take all the slots as soon as the dates/times open up.
The popularity is to blame, not tour groups. The reservations open up 2 days before the reservation date at 7am. If you don’t try to reserve in the first five minutes, the spaces are gone. We live in Hawaii Kai and when we have visitors, we employ a strategy where multiple folks all get on their laptops and begin trying to get reservations simultaneously. Usually one of us is successful. It’s just so popular that the reservation system is a painful necessity.
No reservations for locals but charge the “haole tourist” family $125.
Hanauma bay is the epitome of ruined Hawaii. As a local growing up we had access 24 hours per day and could simply drive in and out. We walked to toilet bowl and enjoyed our island lifestyle. Now, reservations, lines, fees, force training videos, closures, etc have produced a moneymaker for those controlling it but have ruined it for locals. This is the future model for all of Hawaii by those in control who want to monetize every Hawaii site under the auspices of “protection”. Don’t fall for it. Couldn’t imagine if every beach and trailhead on the island moves to this model. Disneyland. If the government really needs the money for its causes, then just charge every tourist that arrives as and don’t ruin Hawaii.
Chris, I respectfully disagree. It’s the popularity of the bay that requires limiting the access. Back in the 70s, there wasn’t anybody there. But the word got out about the snorkeling and then the bay was nearly destroyed (some say it has been destroyed) but the crush of crowds. I remember all the tourists and kama’ainas with bags of frozen peas feeding the fish. Unfettered access (which your post implies) would only be worse. I find the video requirement annoying (as a local I’ve been forced to view it too many times), but too many tourists are too oblivious or ignorant to try to protect the coral.
I’m glad I got to enjoy Hanauma Bay several times back in the 80s. It is truly a great place to snorkel.
It is a truly beautiful spot but the corals have been decimated. I would estimate 90-95% of the corals are dead. I snorkeled there last year and saw a few large parrot fish and that was about it. Visibility was poor, but that may have due to the tide or the surf that day. Also, there were a number of people standing on the corals. I surmised that they did not pay attention, or more likely, did not understand the English language.
Getting in with a HI drivers license was a breeze with no reservation.