Frequently Asked Questions

Hanauma Bay is located about 30 minutes east of Waikiki. Take the H1 East which turns into Kalanianaole Highway. You pass Koko Marina and then go up a hill and Hanauma Bay is on your right-hand side. Turn down into the Bay and continue to the parking lot on the left-hand side. ALL GUESTS WILL MEET AT THE FRONT OF THE ENTRANCE LINE NEAR THE GIFT SHOP. Directions and a link to Google Maps can be found in your confirmation email.

Drive times vary according to traffic conditions and time of day.

Standard times are as followed.

From Waikiki: 30+ minutes

From the North Shore: one hour and 15 minutes+

From Koolina: one hour and 15 minutes+

These are, of course, best case scenarios and do not account for Oahu’s well-known traffic problems or road closures. Please account for this when planning your trip. Google Maps times in the evening will be much different than in the morning rush hour traffic.

This depends on two things.

1. Do you have a rental car?
2. Are you staying in Waikiki?

We recommend the morning Hanauma Bay snorkel tour for anyone who has their own rental car and is staying in the Honolulu area. The parking lot fills up by 7:30 a.m. and is closed off and on throughout the day. You will have no issues with parking if you book the 7:30 a.m. tour time as you are asked to arrive 15 minutes early anyway.

The exception to this is if you’re staying in Koolina or North Shore. During morning rush hour it is not unlikely that drive times double or even triple from stated times above. If this is the case, we recommend for you the 10 a.m. time slot. It’s your vacation after all and who wants to wake up before 5 a.m. and sit in traffic on their vacation?

The 1 p.m. tour is hit or miss with the parking lot situation but we do recommend arriving at least 30 minutes early for this time slot. Also, if an earlier tour is available we would recommend the earlier slot as water is generally a little more calm in the morning.

In order to get the most out of your Oahu trip we highly recommend renting a car and getting out of Waikiki at least for a day or two. But if you choose to forgo a rental car you can get to Hanauma Bay by city bus #22 or using an Uber or Lyft taxi. NEW USERS MAY SIGN UP FOR UBER OR LYFT USING THE CODES IN YOUR CONFIRMATION EMAIL FOR DISCOUNTED RIDES.

Please, please, please arrive early! If the lot is full, you will have to park at the alternative parking location (directions in your confirmation email), and walk up the hill to Hanauma Bay. Please allow 30 minutes for this. PLEASE KEEP CELL PHONES HANDY.

During tour times phones ring directly to the guides. Meaning if they’re in the water, no one will answer the phone.

Great question and this one confuses a lot of people. Meeting time is 15 minutes before your Oahu snorkel tour at the bench to the left of the Hanauma Bay ticket counter. Hanauma Bay is a nature preserve and we are not allowed to have booths set up or hold any sort of signage so your guide will be there looking for you/calling your name. ALL GUESTS MUST MEET AT THE BENCH, NOT DOWN ON THE BEACH, SO THEY CAN TRY ON GEAR.

Great news! When you join our guided tour you don’t have to wait in that crazy line! Simply go to the bench and have a seat and your guide will meet you there at or before your tour time!

Yes, all guests must watch a quick seven-minute video about the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. It gives you some awesome information about the Bay, wildlife, and dos and don’ts while being a guest at one of the greatest places to snorkel in the world!

NO! Your tour INCLUDES the entrance fee but you still must watch the orientation video. Your tour time is your video time so that’s why you must arrive at the meeting location 15 minutes prior to scheduled tour times.

Absolutely and we encourage it! Just be aware that we do have to “check-in” and “check-out” together. They want to make sure we are keeping our numbers to a maximum of five people per tour and also that we bring everyone out safely and they have it documented we did so. After your Hanauma Bay snorkel tour, you head back up to the entrance where we check-out and also give you the opportunity to see your photos and get anything out of our vehicle that we may be holding onto for you. After that you are free to go back down to the beach and hang out all day, if you like.

Yes, but as with everything in Hawaii they are very expensive. About $10 each. We are happy to lock your stuff in our vehicle to save you some money or give you a moment to go back to your car and leave anything in there you don’t need. Just be sure to keep your cell phones handy until you meet your guide! Very important!

You know it! We take photos during your Hanauma Bay excursion and usually end up with 50 – 100 photos. Photo packages are $29 per family and includes all the photos from your tour time.

We sure do hope so!! We know where they like to hang out and we can usually find them but we cannot promise or guarantee them. They are wild after all. What we can promise is lots of fish, fun, and friendship!

With the new reservation system at Hanauma Bay we do not know if you will be able to get into the bay without being on a tour with us.

Both Hanauma Bay and our Honolulu Sail and Snorkel  have one hour of in water time. But expect to be with us for at least two hours. We take our time and are never in a hurry… as we say, “We stay on Hawaii Time.”

FOR ALL TOURS: A credit card is required at time of booking and your card will be charged at the time of booking. You may cancel or change your reservation at any time prior to 48 hours BEFORE your tour and you will be given a full refund. In the event of a no-show, LATE ARRIVAL, or last-minute cancellation no refunds will be given. No EXCEPTIONS. SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLAN TO ARRIVE EARLY!

We recommend that you do not book your tour the same day you will be arriving in case of airline delays or cancellations. We also highly recommend purchasing travel insurance in case of such instances.

Please plan for Oahu’s well known traffic problems and arrive early. If you are late, your guide or boat will not be able to wait for you, as we have to be fair to all guests. In such a case, please note that no refunds will be given and rebooking will most likely not be possible as our tours fill up weeks ahead of time. Please plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before your tour time to allow for traffic and parking situations.

All tours are subject to wind, waves, and weather conditions. In the event of dangerous conditions we may be required cancel tours for your safety. In this case, a full refund or transfer of tour to another date will be given.

Please note: Tours will not be cancelled in the event of rain.

PLEASE BE SURE TO READ YOUR CONFIRMATION EMAIL THOROUGHLY SO YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT THE DAY OF YOUR TOUR.

Not necessarily. We’ve taken people from 3 to 85 on our tours. It’s all about each particular person. Young children will most likely not be in the water for the full hour. They simply get cold or bored usually after 20 to 30 minutes. This is plenty of time for them to experience snorkeling, have fun, and be excited to do it again in the future. We never force children to stay in the water longer than they want. We want them to have a great memory of it even if it means only seeing a few fish and being stoked on that!

IF BOOKING THE TURTLE SNORKEL, ages are 3 and up to join.

PLEASE NOTE; THE SWIM WITH TURTLES DOES REQUIRE YOU TO BE HAVE BASIC SWIMMING SKILLS. GUESTS WHO CANNOT SWIM CAN STILL SIT ON THE BOAT AND SEE THE TURTLES AND ENJOY THE BEAUTIFUL SCENERY AROUND THEM.

For Hanauma Bay-This is a tricky one. The way we answer this question is to assure you that you do not need to be an amazing swimmer to snorkel. But… you must be comfortable in water. Snorkeling is more about floating than swimming but if you’re terrified of water, there’s not going to be a whole lot we can do for you in an hour. Although first-timers may join our Swim with Turtles tour, at our “turtle town,” we recommend all first-timers to join the Hanauma Bay tour first! Here, we specialize in “nervous nellies” first-timers, and people of all skill levels and we absolutely love watching people get out of their comfort zone, getting over fears, and trying something new! We are there for you every step of the way and will even hold your hand if we have to! The great thing about the Bay is that you don’t have to go very deep to see amazing wildlife. Nervousness is ok, the ocean is a powerful thing and one should respect it, but trust us when we say YOU CAN DO IT.

Yep! We have guides who do it every day!

Glasses cannot be worn under snorkel masks unfortunately. We recommend wearing contacts or if your eyes aren’t that bad simply going without as most people do. Water does magnify things by 33% so most people end up seeing fine without. We do not provide prescription masks but you may consider purchasing some on amazon before your trip. Prescription mask can also be rented at Snorkel Bobs in Honolulu PRIOR to the day of your tour. We do not have affiliation with them, this is simply who we recommend.

My advice: Ask your wife first!

Just kidding of course, but guys, be aware that the mustache that you love so much will cause your mask to leak water. No recommendations here, just be aware and make your own decision on that one!

We have them on every tour and ask that all guests wear one as they do make your life a little easier. After all, you are on vacation so why not relax a little more and use one!

Our rule of thumb is they have to be strong enough to carry the paddle board on their own in order to use their own board. For some kids this might be five years old, for others it might be 10. For younger children or children who may not be ready to paddle on their own, we do offer the option of putting them on the same board as the guide. They still learn to paddle and proper techniques, but have someone right there, helping them along the way. Plus, when they get tired, they can simply sit down and enjoy the ride. Sorry parents, this option is not available for you folks.

Pricing is the same for this option and you must call to book for this option.

Our boards are large, very stable, and can hold up to 280 pounds. This is a low impact sport and great for people of all ages, shapes, and sizes.

Well, it is a workout, but we’ll tell you it is WAY easier than surfing and a lot more fun for people of all ages and abilities. Remember even if you don’t stand up, you can always just float around on the boards and enjoy the adventure. 99% of people we take up end up standing and we would say about 80% never even fall. With our guides’ expert instructions, you’re up and paddling in no time!

PLEASE NOTE WE NO LONGER OFFER PADDLE BOARD RENTALS

We only rent paddle boards to guests who have previous paddle boarding experience. Although the places we deliver to are quite calm and protected there are some hazards and changing wind and ocean conditions can turn an easy day of paddling into a nightmare without a proper guide and lesson. Also, even though it looks easy when watching from the beach there are several techniques that we teach you to ensure you have an easy and fun time on your SUP tour. There’s a small learning curve with SUP but if you never learn the proper way, it will be a rough day of falling and getting back up a bunch of times. We recommend everyone taking a lesson before renting a board on your own.

Early morning tours are the best. We know you are on vacation and want to sleep in a bit, but ocean and wind conditions are more calm and peaceful in the morning. Once the wind picks up in the afternoon SUPing can become very difficult, if not impossible. We also recommend weekdays, if possible, as Beaches can be really busy on the weekends.

Please call us and we can discuss this one. Ultimately it would be up to you and your doctor, but we’ve taken out many people who thought they would not be able to do it and turns out they love it, it’s therapeutic, and they go home and continue to participate in the sport on their own lakes and rivers. They even send us the pictures to prove it! We’re talking about you, Patricia!! Even if you decide that standing up is not going to happen for you, you can still sit on the board and ride it around like a kayak and enjoy the experience of being out on the ocean and doing something new.

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our sharks and hope that there are many of them out in the ocean. It means the ocean is healthy and thriving! For your peace of mind though we can tell you that there are no sharks lurking around where we paddle.

Maybe… but that’s half the fun anyway!