Here are the top 5 spots for snorkeling in Oahu, Hawaii, in our humble opinion. Plus we share where you can swim with Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles on Oahu.
This is where you need to snorkel on Oahu! Need to know how to fit these snorkel spots into your Oahu vacation itinerary? With one download, your Maui vacation planning is done! https://thehawaiivacationguide.com/oahu/
Erica and I love to snorkel. Since it was one of the few things to do in 2020 in Hawaii, we go a lot. After combing all the famous and not-so-famous #Oahu snorkel beaches, we whittled down the list to our top 5.
Oahu gets expensive but snorkeling is always free or cheap if you have to rent snorkel equipment. That is why we always recommend jumping in the many bays and coves around Oahu for great snorkeling.
Stay till the end as we share our three favorite places to swim with Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles.
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5 Best Snorkel Spots on Oahu, Hawaii:
00:00 Intro
00:54 Criteria for the top 5 snorkel spots on Oahu
01:39 #5 Queens Beach in Waikiki
03:55 #4 Kuilima Cove, Turtle Bay Resort Oahu
05:38 #3 Shark’s Cove on North Shore, Oahu
06:51 #2 Hanauma Bay, East Oahu
08:41 #1 Electric Beach, West Oahu
Recommendation on Snorkel Gear:
Before you rush out to buy snorkel gear, we recommend renting when on the islands. Save on luggage space by renting. There are a lot of great, local renting shops on all the islands. Prices range from $1.50 a day to $6 day. One can get discounted rates by renting for the week. With a local shop, you can make sure you get quality snorkel gear and they can fit the mask properly. Many resorts also provide snorkel gear!
If you are still eager to purchase, here are our favorite snorkel gear sets that are travel-ready and fit very well! They are well-priced for the quality. https://thehawaiivacationguide.com/hawaii-recommendations/hawaii-travel-gear/
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46 Comments
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I went to queens and i kept stepping on coral 😂
Electric beach is an amazing spot! And the current isn’t strong so you can go pretty far out
Loved this spot for snorkeling !
Great suggestions! Describing swimming "with," turtles kind of communicates the wrong message I think. Please keep distance from turtles above and below the waves. 😉
Awesome! I'll check out Queens Beach. I only want to snorkel for a short time
I love your positive vibes and seeing you include your little kid. Gorgeous videography too. Thanks for the video!
If anyone really wants to see turtles, I recommend Sharks cove! We went and saw 3 turtles there in about 2 hours. Loved it!
We are here in Ko’Olina now and went to Hanauma Bay a couple of days ago. It’s actually $25 per person now.
I snorkel on the left side of the bay it’s warm and clear. Great bay. A while ago they allowed ppl to buy brown pellet food for the fish to eat and this guy bought the food was feeding the fish which is no longer allowed, but then the fish were nipping at his nipples, lol, was so funny.
I’m currently in Hawaii with my family thanks!
This is one of my fav videos of your whole collection.
Nice, great video bro, it's beautiful place for snorkeling.
Hanauma Bay is reservation only. And $25. Reservations have to be made online 2 days before you go and open online at 7am. By 7:10am they are all sold out. Kind of annoying.
Ohhh another great find for me (this video). Thanks….again!
Sending full my supports👍😍🤩
great summary! Don't know if you are interested or have already done this, but there are some great placed to snorkel but getting there is better by boat charter. Thanks!
Do we need to make a reservation for Hanauma Bay? We’re visiting in March and definitely want to fit this in!
Hello. Been watching most of your videos and I appreciate that you guys have this channel. Planning to visit Hawaii by February this year and looking to do snorkeling. These 5 places can we just go by ourselves or we need to buy ticket and take boats?
Three Tables is top 2 in my opinion. Electric Beach being the other.
Can you share the snorkel tour companies that you recommend? Thank you!
I’ll be in Oahu from feb 11-21 if u do meet n greets
Hey guys from Cali! Great and informative videos! How much is the snorcle rent at shark Cove? And do you suggest to bring your own ? thanks 🙂
The video is very much appreciated.
Hanauma Bay is impossible as of this minute. It’s $25.00 per person for us dirtbag tourists. And for dirtbag tourists like me, you can only get tickets thru online reservation. I already checked and it’s sold only 2 days in advance. So set your alarm clock midnight and if you are lucky, you might be able to buy that coveted $25.00 ticket. Bullshit!
Where is the (living) coral?! 🥺
My family is currently preparing for our first trip in 4 years! We're going to Oahu in 4 and a half months. Your lists are the best! you guys are responsible with these promotions and give cautions. I saw this tutorial where someone was recommending china walls when it's way too dangerous. Bravo guys!
Huanama bay is so hard to visit
Good guide
Our last day here, flight leaves at 9:30pm and it’s currently 7:45am, I think we are going to try Sharks Cove today, and have the car back at 7:30! Thanks!!
Must we stay 30 ft away from the turtles if near them in the ocean?
If I am getting a bus to Hanauma Bay, can we walk into the park or do we have to be in a car to get into the park?
Power plants attract sharks.
Hanauma Bay is now $25 for non-residents, but free for locals. That is just way too high to snorkel. It was only around $7 the last time I was there in 2014. I actually found the Queen's Beach one by accident. I was at that beach and just thought the fish would hang out by the rock wall, and they did. There are some big fish there and it is a good location for swimming. For being right there in Waikiki, it isn't even very popular to snorkel at that place, but I really enjoyed it. It is in a really convenient location next to hotels and restaurants.
What’s the best way to protect your personal items (keys, phone, wallet) when out in the water with a swim buddy? Planning a trip with one person and want to be safe in the water but doesn’t seem like a good idea to leave car keys and stuff unsupervised and also a bad idea in a water bag while swimming in case it gets caught on something etc. seems like the best thing is one person does very basic first timer snorkeling and trade off. Any tips are appreciated. Thanks!
Hanauma Bay is now $25 pp reservations required. Some same day spots available.
Hello. My 10 year old and I will be going in June. I couldn’t find the link you mentioned about where to locate snorkeling operators…
Currently Hanauma Bay is $25 to get in and if you don't live in Hawaii you must have a reservation.
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Thanks for sharing. I was surprised on the amount of fishes at electric beach
Are there any other coral reefs in Oahu besides Electric Beach?
Electric Beach may be beautiful for snorkeling but it is also likely you’ll return to your vehicle missing personal items, or worse, your vehicle will be completely gone. We visited Electric Beach during our July 2022 Oahu trip after suggestions in this video. It was a mistake. After a long conversation with two local police officers in the parking lot who had just finished writing a report for a vehicle was break in, we decided to leave. Not 5 minutes later, another family approached the officers with missing items from their vehicles. The officers made it clear that the spot is notorious for this. Don’t go. Stick with sharks cove or Waimea Bay.
Kaiona. Da Ramp 'Nalo town
Thank you for either not saying or not knowing the beach that I'm not going to mention that has everything a snorkler would want
Hunama bay is now $25 per person , no early entrey for free, Sharks is way better any day