Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Oahu

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve has some of the best snorkeling on all of Oahu, Hawaii.

It's located on the southeast side of Oahu and you have to have a reservation to get in.

The cost is $25 per person and $3 for parking.

It has a beautiful beach and amazing reef for snorkeling.

It's open Wednesdays through Sundays and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

You will need to make an online reservation at https://pros8.hnl.info/hanauma-bay. You can only make your reservation 2 days in advance and at 7am sharp (Hawaiian Time). The tickets can sell out within 5 to 10 minutes. We got on at 6:58am and started refreshing until 7am and we got an 8am slot for the 2nd day out. The next day is usually sold out from the previous day.

The online tickets were $25 per person. We used a credit card for that. You can't reserve parking and the parking fee is $3 cash when you get there.

Kids 12 and under are free, but you still need to reserve a spot for them too.

The Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is located on the southeast side of Oahu.

You'll turn off the highway and follow the road down to the parking lot. There is a gated entrance at the parking lot and that is where you will pay the $3 cash parking fee.

After we paid our parking fee, we drove to the 2nd overflow parking lot. We went there because it is closest to the overlooks of Hanauma Bay.

From the parking lot, we took the stairs up and followed the trail to the farthest overlook.

After taking in the beautiful views from the lookouts, we headed down to the main office to get checked in. I had to show my ID and my reservation.

After we got checked in, they directed us to a waiting area and then as a large group we were directed to the theatre to watch the instructional/educational video that is mandatory to watch before heading down to the beach.

After the movie ended, we were directed to a roundabout area where you have two choices. You can either walk down to the beach or you can take the truck and trailer down to the beach. The trailer has lots of seats.

We decided to walk down because we wanted to take in the amazing views.

At the bottom of the road is another roundabout where the truck drops everyone off. There is a bathroom right there too.

We normally bring our own snorkeling gear with us, but the day before our Jeep got broken into and my snorkeling gear got stolen. (Don't leave anything in your car)

I was happy that they have snorkeling rentals because I didn't have time to get a new set in that time.

We headed over to the rental center, which is close to the truck dropoff area.

I rented fins, a mask, and a snorkel for $25. I was surprised at how good of quality their gear was. They only take credit cards for the rental fee.

When renting snorkeling gear, you have to leave a deposit. You can leave your drivers license, ID, Passport, car keys, or cash/card of $50, which is refundable once you turn in your gear.

You'll see the #1 Snorkel Rental. This is the line to rent your snorkeling gear. You can also rent a locker if you wanted to leave anything valuable in a safe place.

After going through that line, we went to the left to #2 Pick Up Here line to get my snorkeling gear.

To the left of that is a place where you will wash off your gear as you are returning it after use.

As we walked towards the beach, there was an information hut that had a poster with a guide to the different types of fish you'll see while snorkeling on the reef.

We walked out onto the beach and explored a little bit. Then we found an open area to lay out our towels.

We decided to go to the very far left side (facing the bay) and snorkel from there down to the far right side of the bay.

After snorkeling we got out and enjoyed this beautiful beach. Laying out in the sun felt so good after snorkeling for so long.

When we were ready to go, we decided to take the truck back up the steep hill.

Once we got to the top of the hill, we got out and headed back to our car.

What an amazing day at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve.

We would definitely do this again and highly recommend it on your next trip to Oahu.

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

It costs $25 per person and $3 for parking. We also rented one set of fins, mask and snorkel for $25. We paid for two tickets, 1 parking spot, and one snorkeling set.

Total Cost: $78

You can make reservations at 

https://pros8.hnl.info/hanauma-bay

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring $3 Cash for parking
• Bring your own towels, beach chairs, and umbrellas.
• Bring some drinks and snacks or bring some money so you can buy some food there.
• Bring reef safe sunscreen.
• Bring your own snorkeling gear or you can rent a set there for $25. (They only accept credit cards)
• Don't leave anything in your car.