Snorkeling in Hawaii

All of us agreed that the best part of the trip was the snorkeling.  We were able to snorkel in three separate locations.  The first location was off a cove near our hotel. The water there was clearest on the first day.  We saw different varieties of coral and many colorful fish including butterfly fish, wrasse, triggerfish, needle fish, puffer fish, tang, parrot fish, and others.  Jon, Michael and Spencer were more adventurous than I, so were able to swim in deeper water, which was clearer.  There they saw eels and other fish.  On the last day of snorkeling at our hotel, I saw a huge dark fish.  It scared me a bit.  Michael is pretty sure it was just a shadow.  I'm sticking with giant fish.

The second location was Keauhou Bay.  It was a bit south of Kona.  This was a public beach with easy access.  There were a lot of people there and it was quite crowded near the shore, particularly because the sea turtles frequented the coral close to the shore.  As we moved away from the shore, the tropical fish were numerous and we saw turtles there as well.

The third location was Two-Step Beach.  This was further south of  Kona than Keauhou Bay.  The entry point was off of the volcanic rock by way of two "steps" conveniently situated to allow access to the waves.  Although it appeared difficult, we found that getting into and out of the water was not hard at all.  This location offered the clearest water, the best coral and was altogether our favorite snorkeling experience of the trip.

On the hill above Two-Step Beach

Two-Step Beach

A sea turtle on the beach at our hotel