Big Island Snorkeling

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If you come to Hawaii and don't snorkel, you'll miss half the fun. The year-round calm waters along the Kona and Kohala coasts are home to spectacular marine life. Some of the best snorkeling areas on the Kona-Kohala coasts include Hapuna Beach Cove, at the foot of the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, a secluded little cove where you can snorkel with schools of yellow tangs, needlefish, and green sea turtles. But if you've never snorkeled in your life, Kahaluu Beach Park is the best place to start. Just wade in and look down at the schools of fish in the bay's black-lava tide pools. Another "hidden" snorkeling spot is off the rocks north of the boat launch ramp at Honaunau Bay. Other great snorkel sites include White Sands Beach, Kekaha Kai State Park, and Ho'okena, Honaunau, Puako, and Spencer beach parks.

In addition to Snorkel Bob's, you can rent gear from Kona Coast Divers, Honokohau Marina, Kailua-Kona (tel. 808/329-8802; www.konacoastdivers.com).

Snorkeling Cruises To Kealakekua Bay -- Probably the best snorkeling for all levels can be found in Kealakekua Bay. The calm waters of this underwater preserve teem with a wealth of marine life. Coral heads, lava tubes, and underwater caves all provide an excellent habitat for Hawaii's vast array of tropical fish, making mile-wide Kealakekua the Big Island's best accessible spot for snorkeling and diving. Without looking very hard, you can see octopuses, free-swimming moray eels, parrotfish, and goat fish; once in a while, a pod of spinner dolphins streaks across the bay. Kealakekua is reachable only by boat; in addition to Fair Wind and Captain Zodiac, check out Sea Quest Snorkeling and Rafting Adventures (tel. 808/329-RAFT; www.seaquesthawaii.com), which offers unique coastal adventures through sea caves and lava tubes on the Kona Coast, as well as snorkeling plunges into the ocean at the Historic Place of Refuge in Honaunau and at the Captain Cook Monument at Kealakekua. The six-passenger, rigid-hull, inflatable rafts can go where larger boats can't. The 4-hour morning tour is $85 adults and $72 children, while the 3-hour afternoon tour goes for $64 adults and $54 children. During whale season, they have a 3-hour whale-watching cruise for $53 adults and children. They do not allow children under 6 years old, pregnant women, or people with bad backs.