snorkeling spots?

I was wondering if you guys could give me some tips on the best snorkeling spots in oahu for beginners who arent 100% comfortable in snorkeling out in the open ocean.. I know hanauma bay is one place..any others?

snorkeling spots?

If you are staying in Waikiki, you could try Sans Souci beach. It is on the other end of the Waikiki beach towards Diamond Head. You can actually walk there from Waikiki Beach - it%26#39;ll take you about 20 minutes. Just keep going along the beach walkway, past the Aquarium. There is one last hotel at the very end, right on the beach (don%26#39;t know the name). It%26#39;s a good place to try out your snorkel gear for first timers (that%26#39;s what we did). There%26#39;s not tons and tons of fish, but you%26#39;ll see a fair number and lots of variety. When we were there, a number of locals were at the beach and were great at giving us advice as to the best spots in the area to go and look.

snorkeling spots?

thanks!

I found that anywhere without waves and a beach (people/sand) was great snorkeling area. I would look for the coral in the water with breaks to swim through. Wear rubber shoes (coral walkers) but do not touch the coral if possible. The whole island has places like this everywhere. No waves keeps you off of the coral.

Assuming that you%26#39;re booked into Waikiki, you could also take a tour bus to Hanauma Bay. Tours will be sure to get you in, as the car parking gets full oretty quickly.

Almost forgot - get a cheap $10 throw away underwater camera.

BoeingDad

If you are going from May-Sept and have a rental car, Shark%26#39;s Cove up on the north shore is a pretty good place. It%26#39;s pretty much completely calm water, with lots to see. It is quite a trek from Waikiki, so you would have to make a day of it...but I think it would be worth it. It doesn%26#39;t take too long to get comfy in the water either, my first time really snorkeling was last year during our first visit. Just relax and float on top of the water, very easy!

I do not recommend trying to snorkel at Hanauma Bay because the water is way too murky and you won%26#39;t really see anything. There are usually too many people there stirring up the sand and coral, which is pretty unavoidable because the water is very shallow. Myself and most of my friends with me scraped our knees on coral in many places because all of a sudden the waves would bring you too close to them and it was hard to avoid them.

If you are set on getting some good snorkeling done, we were told that Waikiki isn%26#39;t the area to do it in because of all the tourists, so venture out further north for a better experience. I got an awesome book called ';Oahu Revealed'; by Andrew Doughty - it talks a lot about hidden treasures throughout the island (with specific directions on finding secluded beaches) and I highly recommend it.

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If you are renting a car go to Shark%26#39;s cove on the North Shore, waters are calm after the winter season and you can see fish and sea turtles. Also near by is Three Tables(?), this I think is the name of the place. This has a very shallow area which would be just right for children to snorkel in. We go there every summer. While at the North Shore have a burger at Kua%26#39;Aina and have some shaved ice at Matsumoto%26#39;s.

This might be a dumb question, but when is the winter season in Hawaii? This will be our first August visit and we%26#39;re looking forward to a calm Northshore.

We just got back from Oahu and went to Ko%26#39;Olina. There are a number of lagoons by the Marriott. We drove to the gate and told them we were going to the beach and they let us through. This was my daughter%26#39;s first time snorkelling. The lagoons are somewhat protected from the open ocean by rocks so it is nice for beginners.

Boeing Dad:

Winter season, that which affects the water conditions is October - February. This is when typically when there are large swells, hence the bounty of international surfing contests.

Not ideal for snorkeling, but awesome to witness the magnificence of mother nature and our fine athletes.

And please note, it is not raging surf everyday during the winter season. So snorkeling is doable and as another poster mentioned ';Three Tables';, is good even if it%26#39;s cranking at Sunset.

Nice tip, Ko%26#39;Olina, thanks. I%26#39;ll put that into our box of links.

BoeingDad