Hawaii- snorkeling!

Holy (sea) cow, Hawaii has some great snorkeling!!! We spent time on Oahu and the Big Island, and the Big Island in particular was fantastic! Our favorite spots were Two Step (Keone'ele Cove at the center of Pu'uhonua o Honaunau refuge) on the Kona coast where we saw turtles, spinner dolphins, a spotted eagle ray, eels, and tons of fish and coral! We did a night time manta ray snorkel on the Kona coast, which was spectacular. We also really enjoyed the Kapoho tide pools in Puna, which is a unique spot with lots of coral and fish. Make sure you go at high tide, though, or it will be tricky getting between the pools. 

On the island of Oahu we went to Hanauma Bay, which still has lots of fish but so many visitors the coral doesn't look great. We saw turtles on the beach at Laniakea Beach on the North Shore where they have docents to tell you about each individual, and you can snorkel there (though we didn't see any turtles in the water when we were there). We also saw quite a few fish in Honolulu by the jettys down by the Aquarium- though the highlight was seeing a monk seal who was on the beach!

Turtle at Two Step

Boxfish at Hanauma Bay

Dolphins (including a baby!) at Two Step

Spotted eagle ray at Two Step

Eel at Kapoho tide pools

Moorish Idols at Kapoho tide pools

Octopus! at Kapoho tide pools

Trumpet fish and raccoon butterflyfish at Two Step

Turtle at Two Step