A question about Kona and Hilton Snorkeling

Hello all!

I was under the impression from reading cruise critic posts in the past (now gone) that the Hilton Waikaloa Village (sorry for typos) let non-hotel guests use the lagoon for snorkeling because it was a PUBLIC area...what ever happened to that? I called them and they said you would have to buy a day pass to use the lagoon!

Any help would be appreciated....

Also is Hapuna Beach in January accessible for easy snorkeling?

Any other suggestions where to go for beginner snorkeling that is an actual beach in Kona? We are on the Island Princess and only have 1/2 a day there!

Thanks so much in advance for your help!

Cheers!

Yasmine :)

What?? I thought they had to let you use the lagoon too...maybe whomever you spoke with was just "mistaken"???

Anyway - there is a wonderful beach that people like to go to to snorkle not far from the pier...you have to take a cab, shuttle/bus, or rent a car to get there - but it is called Kahalu'u and it is "easy" for people to get in and out there to snorkle and there is plenty of fish. You can rent gear there and there are bathrooms and showers and usually food vendors. It is just a few miles south down Alii Drive.

I don't see why there would be any trouble accessing Hapuna in January. Our weather here is almost the same all year round - just more rain at times than others. It is a very nice beach there.

It may take a little while to get to the rental cars, rent one, and then drive north up to where the Hilton and Hapuna are...if you only have half a day, I might suggest just heading to Kahalu'u and snorkeling there.

Have a wonderful time!

Emi

Technically, the lagoon (manmade) is within the grounds of the Hilton Waikoloa - so it's up to them to decide as to whether to allow outside people to use the lagoon. Now, the rocky shore that acts as a surfbreak for the lagoon IS public property and shoreline access - but you wouldn't want to swim there anyways (waves too big and probably too murky)

Spleen

I thought we had this discussion here last year and I thought we decided that they couldn't stop people from using the lagoon. ???? I know after the discussion I looked at the signs at the lagoon and they do not say that it is for hotel guests only.

Emi

Wow! Thanks for the quick response SweetEmi! You are the greatest and thanks for the wonderful advice on where to snorkel.

Thanks too Spleen for the explanation--I guess it is up to them but I just thought, like SweetEmi did, that when this was discussed before the lagoon was open to the public--there was that newspaper article on the subject that discussed private versus public areas. Maybe the hotel finally won!

Oh well there are so many beautiful places in your state that I don't think missing that one will be any problem :)

Thanks again to both of you...I am looking forward to this trip like you can't believe...and if either of you ever visit San Diego/California be sure to ask me your questions so I can help you too!

Cheers!

Yasmine :)

I don't remember any more what we ended up deciding about that. :) However, the fact that people have been able to swim in the lagoon in the past doesn't necessarily mean that they had the legal right to do so. The hotel might have been allowing people to do so in the past and decided now that they don't want people to do so. We just don't know.

Frankly, I think that there are better beaches for people to visit in Kona anyways ... :)

Spleen

Agree that Kahaluu Beach is your best bet. There is a shuttle bus, called the Ali'i Shuttle, that you may be able to use to get to the beach and back, depending on your schedule. Here is what Fodor's has to say:

"The Ali'i Shuttle (PHONE: 808/938-1112) operates a bus service in the Kona resort area between Keauhou Bay and Kailua-Kona town Monday through Saturday, 8:30 AM to 7 PM. The shuttle connects all major hotels, condos, attractions, and shopping centers along Ali'i Drive. The cost is $3. "

Kahaluu Beach has easy entry into the water and has an amazing variety of fish and lots of turtles.

Becki