Beautiful snorkeling spot. Saw lots of fish. Wonderful time with family. Great for kids. People go into this with unrealistic expectations. The only annoying thing was the long parking line which is created by people with later reservations, getting to the park much earlier than their designated time. For the easiest experience, I'd suggest getting there very late in the day, or first thing in the morning. To easily get a reservation, you should also create a profile in advance and be logged in right when 7am hits. The park itself though is mind blowingly beautiful and the best snorkeling is on the left side (while facing the water). This has been my favorite part of our whole trip so far.

Yes, tickets are hard to get. Parking is rough. Go in with those expectations. The snorkeling is awesome. There are a ton of fish and turtles to see. Even though we got rained upon, it was a great time. Would definitely go back.

We visited in 2019. The reef didn’t have a lot of fish but was still very fun to snorkel. Fast forward to 2023. New booking process makes it really difficult to secure a reservation but we tried every day until we got one as they restrict the number of visitors now. The reef is amazing! Schools of fish and so many varieties. Kids (age 9, 11, 15) had loved it. It poured rain so we only stayed 2hrs. Keep trying for that reservation as it is SO worth it!

Set ur alarm to book it right at 6:55 Hawaiian time. N get urself ready to book right at 7am. Best 2 days ahead cause u can reserve 2 days ahead. Do ur profile ahead of time. It will sell out in minutes. BUT totally worth it. Bring ur snorkel gear. U will see several variety of fish even just 6 ft from shore. Got nervous cause lineup to get in was long but maybe it’s just cause slow drivers can’t choose a parking spot??? Cause when we got in there was so much parking. Staff is great in giving u the rules which u do want to fully respect. It is a reserve. Every angle of the place is gorgeous. If ur not gonna snorkel wear water shoes while swimming. Try ur best not to touch the reefs. Don’t forget to bring snorkel defogger or just spit in ur goggles n rinse quickly n lightly with the salt water when ur goggles get foggy. We even tied a hammock between the trees for the lil one to sleep. One of our best days on the island

I have to admit, I was very nervous that this would be a huge tourist trap. The reviews about buying tickets and parking made me nervous too. But I decided to go for it, and I’m so glad that I did! It was the highlight of our teenagers’ trip. Be sure to buy your tickets two days in advance, and be ready right at 7 AM with your credit card. The max number of tickets you can buy is five adults and five children. Snorkel gear on site costs $20 to rent per person. I think our biggest headache was when we arrived 20 minutes early and the parking lot was full. They don’t let anyone in until cars have left. I was very nervous that I would lose my money given all the bold red lettering about how you could lose your money if you don’t get there on time. Thankfully, spots opened up and we were fine. The bay itself was spectacular! The fish were just beautiful…. all different colors and sizes. My kids thoroughly enjoyed the few hours that we spent their snorkeling at their own leisure. And we were even surprised by a whale breaching in the ocean, just on the edge of the bay! Spectacular!

The best snorkeling - especially in the winter when other beaches have too many waves. It was calm enough for my boyfriend to finally get the hang of snorkeling. There were so many unique fish, and the volume was amazing - we even saw schools of 50 at times. It's definitely worth getting up early to get tickets to enter the park!

Simply put, there’s a lot of coral that you shouldn’t touch. I would extremely recommend this spot. I encourage you to go snorkeling, we found many, many types of fish. Sadly, they close at 4 P.M. so don’t plan on staying here for long. Also, remember to make a reservation.

Although the location is truly beautiful, we saw more fish snorkelling at other locations. We were there at low tide so there wasn't much space between the coral and the top of the water so maybe better to go at high tide. We purchased tickets online and they were all sold out with 5 minutes. make sure you are on the computer before 7am hawaiian time and start refreshing the computer! Parking was hard and we had to queue on the road for about 20 minutes before we were allowed in and we just made our allocated time slot of 12.15 I think if you had an earlier time it would be impossible to get parking as people wouldn't be leaving. We saw loads of humhumnukuhnukuapa'a

We had high expectations going in based on recommendations, but the waters were very shallow, making it difficult to navigate, even a little scary as you arent supposed to touch the coral/rocks. Diversity of fish was the best part. Most of the coral we saw was covered in a brown layer. We didnt spend as much time as we normally would due to the crowds, wind and lack of sun the day we went.

This is an amazing beach. It has a slight cost involved. However a great location for snorkeling and swimming. We had a unexpected visitor who just decided to join us. A seal took in some sun on the beach next to us. Great day.