Kealakekua Bay Marine Preserve
Kealakekua Bay Marine Preserve
Kealakekua Bay Marine Preserve
5
About
A big island off Hawaii's isolated reef.
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Kealakekua Bay Marine Preserve
The area
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
31 within 3 miles
Attractions
39 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
5.0
15 reviews
Excellent
15
Very good
0
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Jennafermac
San Mateo, CA3 contributions
HANDS DOWN this is THE BEST place to snorkel in Hawaii! When I came here it was mid-August and the visibility here is awesome! I went snorkeling here with my brother and we didn't even have a fancy digital underwater camera. We just used one of those cheapo disposable underwater cameras and our pictures came out fantastic!!
I've been snorkeling many places in Hawaii (Hanauma Bay & Sharks Cove & Ko'olina in Oahu, Blackrock & 'Ahihi Kina'u & Molokini Crater in Maui) but this place is the best by far!!! LOTS and LOTS of fish and the coral here is so colorful!!
I've been snorkeling many places in Hawaii (Hanauma Bay & Sharks Cove & Ko'olina in Oahu, Blackrock & 'Ahihi Kina'u & Molokini Crater in Maui) but this place is the best by far!!! LOTS and LOTS of fish and the coral here is so colorful!!
Written 3 November 2009
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.
suzsays
Oregon1 contribution
My husband and I just returned from a wonderful 3 weeks in Hawaii. One of our most favorite places to visit is Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island. Renting a kayak to paddle in the bay and over to Capt. Cook monument to snorkel is simply the best Hawaii has to offer. We have a concern regarding kayak rental. Many times we have been here and this last time we saw a more agressive approach from locals going from helping us in and out with our kayaks expecting tips to now pushing their kayaks to rent. I have learned that (and they do only accept cash) they are not legal, pay no taxes and use old kayaks that have been sold from the reputable rental shops. The law abiding rentals; Kayak Central (our favorite) and Kona Boys for example are loosing much business due to this problem. Some may even close down. The law enforcement seems to ignore this for whatever reason. My suggestion is for anyone planning to visit and kayak in the bay, avoid these law breaking locals and rent before you travel down to the bay; keeping them in business and putting the cash only locals out of business. Trust me it is no bargain with them either.
suzanne
Roseburg, Oregon
suzanne
Roseburg, Oregon
Written 17 April 2009
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.
Hapa_haole
Washington, DC4 contributions
What makes this place special is that the journey is half the fun, almost exceeding the underwater scenery. There may be better coral reefs in the world, but you'd have to go pretty far to find a place with as many spinner dolphins patrolling alongside your kayak as you paddle out; the dolphins unleash spectacular corkscrew arcs out of the water with regularity.
We rented our ocean kayaks from Kona Boys, a short drive from the bay. For the 3 of us (my wife and 14 yr old son), we had a tandem and a single for about $110 total. If someone offers you 3 in a boat, unless the third person is a little kid, forget it.
Getting the kayak in and out of the water can be tricky, but not impossible. There are locals who will help you with your kayak for a nominal tip ($5 is customary). Keep an eye on your stuff as paddles and life jackets can walk off in the excitement - as I found out first hand.
You could spend the entire time just hanging with the dolphins in the middle of the bay, and it is easy enough to snorkel off your kayak and just watch them cruise by in and out of the water. They are most active in the morning, so get there early. However, making it across the bay to the reef is worthwhile because if you have one of those laminated Hawaiian reef fish cards, you will easily see most, if not all, during your visit.
As for beaching the kayak, you can do so to the left of the Capt Cook monument in the inlet between the rock outcrops. My son cut his foot on a sharp rock out of the water, so make sure you wear surf shoes once you remove those fins.
Visibility is excellent, and you will be thinking to yourself the entire time: what an amazing place! My son was a novice snorkeler and he did very well here. Within the hour, he was an intermediate snorkeler heading down below the surface to check out the lower depths.
In a time with so many PDAs, iPODs, and other passive entertainment, this destination was well worth the trip. We can't wait to go back!
We rented our ocean kayaks from Kona Boys, a short drive from the bay. For the 3 of us (my wife and 14 yr old son), we had a tandem and a single for about $110 total. If someone offers you 3 in a boat, unless the third person is a little kid, forget it.
Getting the kayak in and out of the water can be tricky, but not impossible. There are locals who will help you with your kayak for a nominal tip ($5 is customary). Keep an eye on your stuff as paddles and life jackets can walk off in the excitement - as I found out first hand.
You could spend the entire time just hanging with the dolphins in the middle of the bay, and it is easy enough to snorkel off your kayak and just watch them cruise by in and out of the water. They are most active in the morning, so get there early. However, making it across the bay to the reef is worthwhile because if you have one of those laminated Hawaiian reef fish cards, you will easily see most, if not all, during your visit.
As for beaching the kayak, you can do so to the left of the Capt Cook monument in the inlet between the rock outcrops. My son cut his foot on a sharp rock out of the water, so make sure you wear surf shoes once you remove those fins.
Visibility is excellent, and you will be thinking to yourself the entire time: what an amazing place! My son was a novice snorkeler and he did very well here. Within the hour, he was an intermediate snorkeler heading down below the surface to check out the lower depths.
In a time with so many PDAs, iPODs, and other passive entertainment, this destination was well worth the trip. We can't wait to go back!
Written 3 May 2007
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 S
31 contributions
Nov 2013 • Family
We choose to walk to thos bay in order to be able to snorkel with out the hassel of towing a kayak around while we were there. Launching or mooring any vessel there is prohibated. But as one reviewer wrote, there is no law against hiking. However, the logistics of the hike might be a bit prohibated to some. We walked down early afternoon - took about an hour. Sun was out and in the 80's. The way back took an hour and a half - Sun out and still warm. The trail for most of the way is straight down hill. There are no leveling off spots. The disance we tracked going up was 1.8 miles. However, I bet the elevation at the top of the trail is 1000ft above sea level. The trail goes from 30 degrees to 45 degrees , mostly lava rock, and loose. Howver, the snorkeling was great!. So many fish. Got a bit crowed when the tour boats showed. The bay is home to Spinner Dolhins who are active in the mornings. There are several guied Kayak tous that will take you there as well. Also found a few locals willing to rent kayaks at arounf $60 for the day. But you can not moore these rentals.
Written 20 November 2013
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.
aphoenician
Denver132 contributions
Mar 2012
This is my fourth time the Big Island and, somehow,I had completely missed this piece of MARINE PARADISE during my last three visits. The Marine Preserve can only be accessed by hiking, Kayaking or by boat. We drove to the Kealakekua kayak launching and car parking spot and rented a couple of two seats kayaks for $40 each. From there we kayaked for 20-30 mn (moderate effort) to the marine preserve where we attached our kayaks to tree branches on the shore and joined the many other snorkelers already in the water ... Expect to have your breath taken away from you once you put your head under water (even with a tuba in your mouth): It is one of the most pristine and spectacular corrals and fish snorkeling experience you'll ever have!! On many days, one can even see spinner dolphins in the bay (we did not see any during our afternoon there).
Written 29 March 2012
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.
jayS6408YA
Bangkok, Thailand12 contributions
Mar 2018 • Friends
we enjoyed snorkeling there very much but keep in mind that there will be some current too so stay safe
Written 2 October 2018
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.
Mikael Kjellström
Barriere, Canada117 contributions
Nov 2018 • Family
This is our sixth year visiting and staying by Kealakekua Bay, and we genuinely love this bay. The snorkelling by Captain Cook is phenomenal, if not the best, and the rest of the bay could potentially swim and see the dolphins, sea turtles, Bluefin tuna etc. We hope to come back more times.
Written 6 November 2018
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.
theloreli
Washington DC, DC24 contributions
Oct 2014 • Couples
All you have to do is rent a 1 or 2 person kayak for about $40 a day. The kayak place will strap it to your rental car and for a nice tip (or 6 pack of beer) a local will help you set it up and launch into the bay. Take your mask, fins, snorkel, under water camera and sunblock. You will be treated to an all day dolphin experience. I asked the locals about the dolphins and they told me that they can't remember a single day when dolphins weren't swimming around the bay. It's only a mile long and very easy to kayak. You aren't allowed to moor the boat at Captain Cook's monument, but you can tether the kayak to your wrist and freely snorkel the MOST PRISTINE reef in all the Hawaiian Islands right here!
Written 21 April 2015
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.
JayaSatish
San Ramon, CA1 contribution
Nov 2013 • Family
Thanks to Susan & Chris, myself, my husband & 2 kids had a blast during our recent Thanksgiving trip to Kona. The speed-boat ride to-fro added lot of information about the flora-fauna-marine life of the Hawaiin islands due to the knowledge of Chris-Susan. They were always there to help with our 1st time snorkelling naive questions. Susan prepared delicious veg wraps for my vegetarian family. We saw pod of 4-6 dolphins on our way. Beautiful coral reefs, variety of sea life while snorkelling. Susan-Chris took us to the right spots. Their rates were good too. Highly recommend them.
Written 5 December 2013
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.
tamarah3
Bella Vista, AR156 contributions
Dec 2018 • Couples
Clear waters and stunning views for snorkeling. Well worth the short drive. We kayaked across the bay. Amazing experience.
Written 9 December 2018
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.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing