Honaunau Bay
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What people say
jim bendt
"The famous snorkeling spot at Honaunau bay is called Paeʻa, and is also known as “Two Step”.
Honaunau Bay is often referred to as the “City of Refuge” after the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historic Park (also known as – you guessed it – the City of Refuge). The Travel Channel named Honaunau Bay one of “America’s Best Beaches 2004”. A big reason for this is that due to a very advantageous layout of the bay, the water is almost always calm and the waters have exceptional visibility most of the year.
This spot is often rated the second best place on the Big Island for snorkeling after Captain Cook. The waters are usually clear and the average depth is about 20ft. Often you can see pods of dolphins swimming close to shore. There is a very easy place to enter the water called Paeʻa or “Two Step”. It is at the end of a finger of lava and easy to find because you will see lots of people getting in and out of the water.
In our opinion, this spot is better for snorkeling than Captain Cook which gets all the tourist boat traffic. "
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