Kona -Captain Cook Monument snorkelling?

[Kinkacruiser]

We will be in Kona next April . I've heard the snokelling near thew Captain Cook monumnet is quite good. Do you need reef shoes/fins? How does it compare with Raiatea?

[King Neptune]

I went snorkeling there off of a boat so I can't answer your question about shoes. However, it is definitely one of the best snorkeling spots you'll find.

[Kinkacruiser]

Thanks King Neptune. If that's the case I may hold off snokelling off the other islands until we get to our last port stop (Kona). Are fins handy or can you get by without?

[King Neptune]

There's enough to see all in one general area so if you don't want to use fins, you'll probably be fine without them. I don't know of anyplace near there for fins but there may be, maybe someone else will know.

[AlbertaCruisers]

We did the zodiac boat tour with Captain Zodiac (the snorkel stop is at Captain Cooks Monument) and it was the highlight of our trip. We snorkeled at every stop and that was the best snorkeling we found in Hawaii. I would highly recommend it. I believe it is really hard to get there from shore. There are a limited number of land passes to get there and since it is a reserve you need one of the passes.

[Kinkacruiser]

Thanks for the lead to Captain Zodiac. His website looks great and I've added it to my bookings. I greatly appreciate this.

[evandbob]

I watched Captain Zodiac get real close to dolphins while they were circling in Cook's Bay. It was explained to us that the dolphins were actually resting(sleeping) and that they do this in a group for protection. They are nocturnal hunters, and tourists could actually be disturbing their sleep cycles by breaking hawaiian law and touching them. Also please remember that this bay was the ancient funeral home of Hawaiian kings, and the land abutting the shore is considered sacred by locals. It is considered an offense to enter the land from the bay, and access to the bay from the land is controlled.

 

That said, I was on the Fair Wind, and they were great guides, they had fins if you need them, they let swimmers use inner tubes, there were water slides and the snorkeling was rather good. Lots of varied schooling fish and plenty of healthy (as of my visit 5 or 6 yrs ago) coral. I can't compare to Raiatea, but while Cook's Bay is not as good as some spots in Bora Bora and Moorea, it is a classy snorkel spot.

 

Remember to use bidegradable sunscreen and have fun.

[Kinkacruiser]

This is very interesting and I was unaware this Bay was an ancient sacred site. The City of refuge is also handy. Looking forward to our day in Kona. Thanks for posting.

[budaman]

We haven't been to Hawaii for a few years, but there was never any issue with the bay being off limits. There is a small park at the south end of the bay. We would rent kayaks from Kona Boys & kayak across the bay to the Cook Monument. There would usually be dolphins jumping around you & following us in the kayaks. It is about a mile across the bay. Actually, the land around the monument & the monument itself is Australian or English property....like an embassy. The Australian Navy makes regular visits to do maintainance on the area.

 

Also, there is also a public park next to City of Refuge that has excellent snorkeling.

 

There are several pics in our gallery under Hawaii...link is in signature.

 

Mike

[Kinkacruiser]

I do like the sound of kayaking across the bay and thanks too for the land access tips for snorkelling...much appreciated.

Your Hawaii photos are simply stunning.

[AlbertaCruisers]

We had great guides with captain zodiac, we did see dolphins and people wanted to get closer, but our captain explained they were sleeping and she didn't want to disturb them, she let us take some pictures and carried on. They were also very good about explaining that the bay was a protected area and making sure people knew not to touch anything and not to get to close to the coral so that you may accidentally touch things. I believe our guide told us there are about 10 or so land access passes a day.

[Kinkacruiser]

That's two thumbs up for Captain Zodiac...thanks for the good wrap.