Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve
4.5
Bodies of WaterNature & Wildlife Areas
Wednesday
6:45 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
6:45 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
6:45 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
6:45 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
6:45 AM - 4:00 PM
About
This protected marine life conservation area, named after its unique curved bay, is a popular snorkeling spot in Hawaii. Formed within a volcanic cone on the eastern side of Oahu, this marine sanctuary is home to vibrant marine life and well-preserved corals. There is a limited number of visitors allowed in the bay daily, so make a reservation in advance to secure your spot. It's also closed on certain days so remember to check before you go. You can rent snorkeling equipment here—all you have to do is remember to pack some reef-safe sunscreen. Some tours of the North Shore also stop by the bay for a quick photo opportunity.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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  • Trelis730
    14 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great beginner snorkeling
    Be sure to plan ahead to secure your tickets!! Worth the effort for sure, Its beautiful. It was our first snorkeling adventure while on the island, It’s fairly shallow with coral close to the shore. We saw several schools of fish. They have lifeguards and staff available to help you identify the fish you see. Plus a tram to bring you back up out of the preserve which we were quite thankful for after a couple hours swimming. It was a good chance for us to get used to the chilly water as well!
    Visited March 2023
    Written March 20, 2023
  • GuppyBerry
    Toronto, Canada11 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A-MA-ZING!
    Hanauma Bay is definitely a must do activity for tourists in Hawaii O’ahu island. First it starts with the booking, which is not the easiest. In order to protect the site, the national parks have limited the number of guests to 1,200 a day, so you have to login at 7AM local time to book two days in advance. By 7:05AM all tickets are gone! So be ready with your phones or laptops, have the auto-fill setup it can help as well, and good luck! We reached the place with Uber so I cannot comment about the parking, it was about 20 minutes drive from Waikiki. When you get there you have to wait and watch an educational video about the nature preserve, how to behave, not to damage the coral, etc. Then either you walk down to the beach which is a 5 minutes walk and you can take beautiful pictures, or you take the free shuttle. Then you enjoy the day, swim among the fishes, we even saw a sea lion! The pictures of fishes I am posting are not mine but that’s exactly what is saw, it was amazing, the fishes swim around the corals and are not really bothered to see you, so you can really enjoy. If you are hungry there is a food booth offering drinks, burgers, chicken fingers and other options, just note it’s not by the beach so you’ll have to go back near the entrance. Bring your masks and snorkels, and bring water shoes as there are rocks and corals that can be sharp! The beach closes at 4pm. It was an amazing experience, for adults and young kids!
    Visited March 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written March 26, 2023
  • sbarton79
    Gilbert, Arizona14 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Best snorkeling...need reservation
    You will need a reservation which is next to impossible to do online. By the time you put in your credit card info, they're sold out. It is absolutely the most unorganized mess on the island (the reservation systems the parks dept put in place.) It favors locals, so if youre visiting you will have to always wait behind locals. Get there 1/2 hour before they open and park down street. Enter parking lot as soon as open to get a "stand by" ticket. There is no oversight to who is getting the reservations Could be tour companies for all they know. Getting one online is a mess. As far a the experience once you get through the Parks Reservation fiasco,,,,its amazing. Great area and a must do on your list.
    Visited April 2023
    Written April 9, 2023
  • Sheila Z
    Katy, Texas23 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful Fish!
    This is a beautiful experience. The preserve has restrooms, outdoor showers, a snack place, gift shop, and a shuttle to take you down to the cove. The problem is getting in. We were not able to get tickets so took the advice of other travelers and arrived at 6am and they will have limited tickets. We arrived at 6am, the entrance is blocked and 2 men shout and yell at you to keep going. I was so confused and not sure what to do. We kept going and parked at a lookout for a few minutes and decided that we must have arrived too late and headed back. But when we passed it, cars were all lined up along the side of the road. We got in the line, and were able to enter. The time assigned was 10:30. The parking attendant advised to stay and park as we might not get parking at 10:30. We parked and walked up. A guy was yelling at times and we were in within 5 minutes. I saw amazing fish. So colorful. I felt like I was in a fish tank with so many beautiful fish. You don’t have to go far to see them and the water is calm. This calmed me down from the chaos of the entry! In the end, worth the time.
    Visited April 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 11, 2023
  • Richard
    Florida23 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun time snorkeling
    This bay is pretty spectacular. Reef everywhere making it a perfect place for snorkeling. We saw many different species of fish. Unfortunately no green sea turtles or monk seals but still was an awesome experience. The check-in/orientation process was a little unorganized. Took about an hour between the different lines we had to wait in, a 10 minute speech, a 5 minute video, and then the tram ride down to the beach. They have a snack bar back at the top of the hill which makes no sense. Why wouldn’t you have it at the beach where everyone is. Non Hawaii residents cost $25 per person which seemed high since residents are free. Many reviews say parking is tough but we had no problem. Arrived at 9:00 and was still plenty of spaces. Visited with my wife and teenage kids. Everyone had fun.
    Visited June 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written June 25, 2023
  • d1domino
    Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania73 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Definitely Do Not Miss
    We tried several times to score tickets, until finally getting them for a noon entrance. We arrived at 1115 and all same day ticket’s were gone so the parking was only for those with reservations, which was a benefit. However, we did need to prove we had reservations, so have your confirmation email or account open to show them. We wasted a few minutes of our and others time because we didn’t know we would need this. After paying for parking, we found several close spots, a win. We were able to get in line for the video right away, and head down to the bay just after. No lines no waiting. The tram did fill up, so we walked down. The bay was definitely worth the entrance fee. It was beautiful. The close water was cloudy, mostly from everyone’s sunscreen, but once past it became very clear. At 3 pm they cleared the ocean. Plan on walking up or waiting in queue for the tram. They have concessions and rentals , but we brought our food and equipment. The facilities were adequate and clean. There are showers outside and changing area inside the bathrooms. If you can get tickets, you should go. You need to be fast as they go on sale two days beforehand and ca n sell out in minutes or even seconds. Once you have them they do give you 10 minutes to enter payment details.
    Visited July 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written July 2, 2023
  • eve w
    8 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great variety of beautiful fish
    It was difficult to get a booking (online at 7am) but we thought it was worth it. We saw heaps of different types of fish (no turtles unfortunately). It was particularly good when the sun came out in the middle of the day to illuminate the water even more. The tide was just high enough so we could swim over some of the coral without touching it. Not sure how it compares to other snorkeling places in Hawaii but it was the highlight of our trip.
    Visited May 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written July 4, 2023
  • Elaine A
    6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Hawaii at Its Prettiest
    Used to be a volcano but when the top blew, it let in some of the Pacific, which makes for a beautiful place to swim and snorkel. Lots of coral to see fish around but wear swim shoes if possible as the coral can cut your feet. Try not to touch it at all if possible. Make reservations as they only allow so many people a day. Snorkel gear on sight to rent.
    Visited June 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written July 5, 2023
  • wxggg
    Georgia4 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    beautiful views, some sea life seen thru murky waters
    tickets are hard to come by but you're able to show up and get on a wait list. we were given a time of 12:40 but were able to get in by 10:30, waiting about 1.5 hours. there's a nice shaded grassy area to wait, or you can walk around the grounds. snorkeling was ok, it's pretty crowded and the diversity of sea life is lacking, likely due to people. make sure you bring the right kind of sunscreen. there's a gift shop there that offers a discount on sunscreen if you need to buy the right kind. we were there for about 2.5 hours. people there are mostly helpful.
    Visited July 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written July 12, 2023
  • Vcals
    Holbrook, New York756 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing experience
    This place is amazing. They really go out of their way to emphasize the need to protect the sea and plant life here. The snorkeling is a must do as you will not be disappointed with the amazing sea life in the water. It’s best to reserve ahead of time to avoid the long waits and best to arrive early so that there is no hassle. Definitely must experience this place during your stay in Oahu.
    Visited July 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written July 23, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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Hrothmir
Smyrna, GA202 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Friends
Hanauma bay now requires a timed tickets to enter. At the time of writing, it was closed on Mondays as well as Tuesdays. Prepare/plan well in advance.

Even with timed tickets, one still has to line up to get in. After one gets in, one listens to a live lecture/presentation and then one goes into a movie theater for another lecture/presentation. There is value in educating folks about protecting vs. damaging the reef; but I was a little surprised that my feet did not actually touch beach until over 45 minutes after my timed ticket time (the time I approached the entrance).

It's a great and easy area to snorkel. There are sandy areas where you can easily enter the bay. And then you can snorkel in relatively shallow water along the edges of rocks (or coral that looks more like gray rock than stereotypical colorful coral formations) with a good variety of interesting fish.

There is a booth to rent snorkel equipment and one can also rent lockers. The fee for flippers/fins was $9 at the time I was there (Feb 2024). When you rent equipment they ask for something like a drivers license to serve as a deposit. One option is to give them your car keys instead. If you're worried about someone taking your stuff while you are snorkeling but you don't want/need to rent a locker, using your car keys as the deposit can be a good way to keep those keys safe (and dry) while your snorkel.

It sounds like Hanauma at one time had far too many daily visitors; and increasing price can be a good way to control demand in many situations. $25 spent per person on snorkeling (plus a $3 parking fee) is much better value than many other experience. But I could imagine a family might balk at a fee for an activity that is free (and good) at other spots in Oahu like Shark's Cove.
Written March 13, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brian F
Toronto, Canada22 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Family
You need to reserve a timeslot, or get up early and take your chances at getting some tickets they hold for walk-ins. And early is better. There were a lot more people let in than I expected, and by about 10am, you were bumping in to other snorkelers in the water. There are lots of fish, and we saw more than 50 different species ( No turtles though).

There is also no law prohibiting idiots, so they will be there too. To explain; they ask you to listen and watch a video before they let you down to the beach, which asks you not to touch, or stand on the coral. Well...every other snorkeler thinks it's ok to perch on the coral when they get tired. Was just annoying, but if you can see past it, the snorkeling is great.

The only reason this wasn't a 5 out of 5, was the female security person at the front gate. I won't go into the details of our exchange, but she should be fired. So for anyone going early...park in the lot just before the entrance, but dare not arrive at the entrance early, or suffer the condescending wrath of a very cranky individual.
Written March 13, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Colin B
Brisbane, Australia4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
Amazing. A really beautiful place to snorkel and experience marine life how it's meant to be and not in captivity. Calm, crystal clear waters, suitable for kids too. Even if you just stand in knee hight you will experience an amazing array of fish.
All snorkelling equipment is available to hire, including life jackets at a reasonable price.
There is car parking, but we got an Uber, so I'm unsure of the price.
Written March 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TinkToo
Edmonton, Canada214 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Family
We tried for two days to get reservations right at 7:00 am when tickets dropped but could never get the website to load unfortunately. Demand is high! There are walk in tickets available for every time slot, not many though. We arrived at Hanauma Bay at 6:30 am and waited in our car, outside the park on the road, to enter at 6:45 am. You will see all the white tour vans sitting out on the road waiting as well. There is someone sitting on a bench with a blue umbrella, that person hands out walk in tickets (you still need to pay at the window when your reservation time arrives). Six of us were able to get walk in tickets for 8:00 am thankfully. Love the snorkeling and saw many different types of fish. Staff are all very helpful. The tram up and down the hill is very handy. Food is expensive, but choices are limited. Highly recommend for a great beach day!
Written February 27, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

umestagramm2
Lake Forest, CA36 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
We loved everything about Hanauma Bay, even that there was a fee to get in. The view and scenery are worth the small fee and we do recommend that if you goto Hawaii....you need to go and view this spectacle of nature!
Written February 18, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Cristobal E
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Family
It is not worth paying 25 dollars to see fewer fish than on any other beach where you can snorkel. In fact, there were less fishes than in other places, and always the same. Dont go after 12.00, because at 15.00 they kick you out of the place. And if you go anyway, before making the reservation check if its going to be sunny, otherwise you will freeze. (I made a reservation, and when I got there, it was possible to get in without it, so I recommend no doing the reservation, because you dont get refund if its a cold day). But remember, much better to go to other places like Tutle bay, Haleiwa, Mokuleia, pupukea, and so many others.
Written February 16, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Roving584030
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
Amazing
Great snorkeling
Number one stop on island!
Two things on Oahu to do is Haina bay and Shark cage diving. Both 5 stars
Written February 10, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Emma W
Auckland, New Zealand696 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Couples
We chose Hanauma Bay for snorkeling on Oahu because we thought it would be better for a novice snorkeler. The introduction is quite time consuming, we didn't get down to the bay until at least 30 minutes after our ticketed entry time.

It was a windy day so the water was quite choppy, the bay is not as sheltered as it appears. Unfortunately there wasn't much to see, no fish to see in waist deep water. Even further out all we saw was a few tropical fish, nothing exciting. At least it worked out a lot cheaper than going on a snorkel tour.
Written February 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marcy S
Winnipeg, Canada52 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
Great time, lots of different species of fish. Didn’t see any turtles. Had to wait a bit in line but was able to get in earlier than our reservation because there was space available. Overall nice clean area. The water started to get a bit choppier later in the day, water is quite shallow, so nice easy snorkel.
Written February 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Molly W
8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Couples
We went early in the morning with a reservation for a truly spectacular snorkeling experience. I hadn't been snorkeling at Hanauma in many years and it was as beautiful as ever, maybe more so as the early morning meant we had it mostly to ourselves. I highly, highly recommend this.
Written January 27, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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HANAUMA BAY NATURE PRESERVE: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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