Honokohau Harbor

Honokohau Harbor on the Big Island of Hawaii is another high-quality snorkeling spot, although most tourists have no idea it even exists. Honokohau is unspoiled and not very crowded. There are pristine coral reefs that invite exploration at your own pace. And the perfect spot to stay for a day of diving, snorkeling, or swimming with turtles in the morning and at night, you will find yourself in one of the best locations on the Big Island to enjoy a sunset cocktail and some terrific views.

Honokohau Harbor is located on the Kona side of the Big Island, and it is a full-service marina. If you are looking for a place to moor your boat or stay overnight, this place offers spacious slips for your pleasure, and they can accommodate vessels up to 40 feet in length.

This harbor also is an excellent location for boating activities, including fishing or island excursions, and there will be plenty of fun times ahead if you have your boat or are looking to rent one.
Our snorkeling guides know exactly where the good snorkeling spots are located in the harbor, away from the boats. You will be swimming among the wide variety of tropical fish that call the harbor home, and you will have some great ocean conditions for excellent diving at Honokohau.

The calm surface water in this harbor is a perfect spot to practice your snorkeling skills, and if you are a beginner, you will soon be making your way through the kelp forests with ease. Take a tour of the harbor for more details.

Some of the fish you will see in the harbor include large Green Chromis, Black Chromis, Blue-Eye Puffer Fish, Clown Triggerfish, Loggerhead turtles, and others that are not commonly seen off the Kona coast.
The Honokohau Harbor fish in the deeper waters include spearfish, lionfish, trevally, and manta and hawksbill turtles. In addition, you will see a ton of colorful tropical fish in this place, and they are easy to find when you are snorkeling among the kelp forests.

If you are ready to take a tour of the harbor, our snorkeling guides have some great suggestions for where to go.

Honokohau Harbor is so much fun that it could quickly become an add-on location for your vacation, and if you are looking for a night or two away from Kona, we would love to make it happen.

Honokohau Harbor is located near the King Kamehameha Golf Course, and if you are visiting the Big Island, you can easily enjoy snorkeling in this place and then head over to the golf course for a great day on the course.

Honokohau Harbor is an excellent place to snorkel with turtles, and we have some excellent suggestions for how to do that. If you want to snorkel with sea turtles, here are a few suggestions.
The best times to visit Honokohau Harbor for snorkeling are early morning and late afternoon. This place is shallow with a gradual slope to the seafloor, making it easy to get started in the water.

If you are interested in seeing sharks when snorkeling at Honokohau Harbor, there are a few weeks during the summer months when you have a good chance of seeing them.

This harbor is open to the public, and there is no charge to visit this place, so come on down and enjoy some of the best snorkeling there is on the Big Island. If you go during the wintertime, it is a perfect spot to take your family on a dolphin-watching excursion. Dolphins are known to come into the harbor area during winter months to eat fish in abundance in these shallow waters.

To get to Honokohau Harbor, you will first need to take a taxi from Kailua Kona or Camp Hyatt if you are staying at the resort. Or you can take a bus that goes through Volcano Village, located near Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and Suites. However, if you are booking a tour with our company, transportation will be provided from our central office to the snorkeling location and back to the primary office. So please drop off your vehicle or take public transportation to our office.

The marina at Honokohau Harbor offers freshwater restrooms facilities for your convenience. In addition, there are dive operations that offer daily dive trips or special packages that combine ocean diving with snorkeling.

Honokohau is well known for water activity and swimming with turtles, so if you are looking to spend some time doing just that, this place is perfect.

Honokohau Harbor has a small beach where you can spend the day relaxing and sunbathing or taking a dip in the cool Hawaiian water. The sand in this area is white, suitable for picnicking and beach activities.
Honokohau Harbor can accommodate boats up to 40 feet in length; there are toilet facilities available at the harbor. The surface water temperature here tends to be around 78 degrees F during the summer months, and it tends to be around 70 degrees F during the winter months.

If you are visiting Kailua Kona during the summer months and want to do some snorkeling in Honokohau Harbor, then be aware that the beach area tends to get very crowded during these times. There is a lot of construction going on in this part of the Big Island, and it is best to avoid this area during the busy summer months. The harbor gets quite deserted during the winter months, making it an excellent place for dolphin watching or just relaxing and enjoying nature. It will also depend on local conditions and how many people visit the island.

If you are interested in booking a snorkeling tour at this location, please let us know in the contact form. We look forward to snorkeling with you!