Hawaii - World's Most Breathtaking Wilderness Lies Beneath The Waves

This is our last night in Oahu Hawaii and we wanted to write a post about snorkeling since that is what we have been doing a lot during the last week. There wont be any pics underwater because Emmi's 'waterproof' phone broke while we were hiking in waterfalls in Jamaica. We didn't want the new phone to end up broken as well. Enjoy the post! 

Oahu has some beautiful sunsets. We still prefer Arizona on sunsets over any place so far. 

We are interested in snorkeling and we had a chance to do it first time in Negril in Jamaica. We tried to find a store that sells quality snorkeling gear but they didn't have anything but crappy equipment so we decided to rent the gear in Jamaica and buy our own equipment here in Hawaii. We did some research online and found a good package deal that included all the gear we needed. It had a great quality-price ratio and it had got great reviews on http://www.diverworld.info/the-best-snorkel-gear-mask-fins-reviews/. Poker, sports betting and any kind of gambling is illegal in the state of Hawaii so we can't play poker here. Instead of hitting the tables we have been hiking and snorkeling a lot. 

Emmi's snorkeling gear is of course purple.

HANAUMA BAY, EAST OAHU

Hanauma Bay is located in Southeast Oahu and it is advertised in many local travel magazines and online. It's open daily from 6am-6pm. You should go early to get a parking spot and as a first time visitor prepare to watch a mandatory video about Hanauma Bay and its marine life. The video includes guidelines for snorkeling and safety tips in Hanauma Bay.

In our opinion Hanauma Bay was a tourist trap and 99% its coral had died due to harmfull and selfish behaviour of humans. We saw plenty of fish and only 3 alive corals which were all damaged. This bay is a perfect example of how people destroy nature and even though we had a nice day and learned a lot about the marine ecosystem both of us felt sad about the condition of the reef. We think there is nothing humans can do to save this dying reef since it's almost completely destroyed. We recommend Hanauma Bay for snorkeling rookies but we want to highlight that there aren't healthy living corals left but you will see some fish.

The parking fare is $1 per vehicle and the admission fee is $7,50 per non-resident visitor.

TURTLE BAY, NORTH OAHU

Turtle Bay is a resort located in North Oahu. Usually the word resort means the same as a tourist trap and that's what it was. We saw a review about Turtle Bay and decided to give it a shot, but as soon as we got to the beach we realized we didin't want to go to snorkel with all the noisy kids there were in such a small bay so we dialed our gps to guide us to another beach called Pupukea and ended up spending the rest of the day there.


PUPUKEA, NORTH OAHU 

There is a small bay at Pupukea beach in North Oahu where the parking and entrance is free of charge. There were lot of fish and some living coral to see but like the previous spots that one was crowded too.


KANE POINT, WEST OAHU

We stopped by this place because we found a good review of it online. We only snorkeled there for a while because the waves were a bit too rough and water blurry so we couldn't see a lot of sea life there. This spot is better for more experienced snorkelers.


KO'OLINA LAGOONS, WEST OAHU

Come early because the parking is always full. There are four decent sized lagoons for snorkeling, swimming and sunbathing. The area is really clean and convenient place to snorkel. This is also a resort spot so be prepared for kids and tourists. Good snorkeling spot for beginners and everyone else because there are a lot of fish to see.

One of the lagoons at Ko'olina Resorts. Oahu, Hawaii

There are many snorkeling spots here in Oahu which you can find from this link: http://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/oahu-snorkeling.html

Countlessmilesandsmiles encourages to find out about sealife in coral reefs in advance. It's good to know the basic information for your own safety before heading to the ocean. It's really important to do some research about sealife and corals so that you wont harm them. We highly recommend to buy your own good quality snorkeling gear since renting a set might cost even a half of the price you'd pay for your own gear. We haven't been lucky enough to get quality rental gear before we bought our own. Most important thing is to have a snorkeling buddy to go with you if something happens at sea. It's also more fun to have a friend sharing the best moments beneath the waves!

Our last night in Hawaii. Tomorrow we are going to have an almost ten hour flight, but where? Barber's Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii

Mahalo for reading!

Emmi & Henkka