Kona-place of refuge Sept

[Majesty Fan]

We are going to be in Kona in Sept and would love to do the place of refuge and do some snorkeling. We are going to be on the Rhapsody. RCI has a SE that does both for about $70 do you think it is worth it to do that or do it on our own?

Lexi

[Spikesgirl]

IMO rent a car and drive out to the City of Refuge. it's easu to find and some of the best snorkling is in the park. Take along some hats, sunscreen and a picnic lunch and have a ball. Just ask the guide where the best snorkling is that day. i've never seen quite as many turtle as I did snorkling there.

 

Charlie

[Nancyquilts]

We're renting a car there later this week for the same thing. Both Dollar and, I think, Thrifty, have cars available at the King Kam Hotel, right at the end of the pier - much better than going to the airport. Nancy

[Texas]

Nancy, hope you will post a report when you return. We are considering renting a car and heading in the same direction for site seeing and snorkeling. Interested in what location you pick up your car and how you enjoyed the snorkeling. Have a great trip! We leave on March 17.

[HawaiiCruisers]

The place of refuge is a sacred Hawaiian location and is known as:

Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park - The City of Refuge

 

 

Pu`uhonua O Honaunau, formerly known as the City of Refuge Park, was set aside as a national historical park by Congress on July 1, 1961. Utilizing many local artists and artisans with authentic and traditional tools, the National Park Service has worked very hard to restore the site to its appearance in the late 1700's.

The park, located on the Big Island of Hawaii, is of major cultural and historical significance. It is situated on 180 acres, but is easy traversed on foot. A brochure and map for a self-guided tour is available at the Visitors Center.

The park has two major sections, the Palace Grounds and the Pu`uhonua O Honaunau, the Place of Refuge. Separating the two areas of the park is the Great Wall.

Your walk through the park begins at the Palace Grounds, the home of the ruling chief. It is surrounded by a beautiful coconut palm grove overlooking Honaunau Bay. The nearby beach was strictly reserved for the royalty. You can see samples of canoes carved from koa wood with lashings of coconut fibers. All of their construction was done with the materials native to the land. Along your path you see models of the different types of houses and storage sheds which sat on the palace grounds. http://gohawaii.about.com/od/bigisland/ss/puuhonua.htm

 

You cannot snorkel with in the park.

[sceneisle]

You can snorkel next door to the park at Honaunau Bay (AKA "One Step"); loads of fish and usually some turtles. My favorite snorkeling site on the Big Island. In my opinion; if you want to snorkel, then it's worth it to rent a car and go.

[debbie4241967]

Can you rent snorkle gear at the park?

 

Thank you,

Debbie

[sceneisle]

Debbie: As a previous poster indicated, there is no snorkeling allowed in the park, so I would guess they wouldn't rent snorkel gear. Have snorkeled Honaunau Bay (next to the park) several times and there are no shops in the area. Your best bet would be to rent your gear in Kona before driving down to Honaunau.

[Nancyquilts]

We rented from Dollar (couldn't find the Thrifty site for King Kam on the web), and both car companies are at the same desk just inside the main entrance to the King Kam. We ended up with an intermediate size car - very clean and under $41 (plus gas). Bob saw two mongooses (mongeese?) crossing the road but I missed them. It was very handy to walk about half a block from the tender pier to get the car. Do book ahead, as we were the only ship in port and there were no cars available for walkup. Nancy

[HawaiiCruisers]

Can you rent snorkle gear at the park?

 

Thank you,

Debbie

 

 

We were recently there and they don't rent snorkle gear. This location is not a water sport activity. It is an ancient sacred place of the Hawaiian people. The history is interesting. If you have a chance read up on the Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park before arriving.

[beachchick]

Can you rent snorkle gear at the park?

 

Thank you,

Debbie

 

Are you planning to snorkel several times during your cruise? If so (and if you have time), you might want to consider renting for the week from a place like Snorkel Bobs. They've got a deal where you can rent on any island and return on any island with no penalty. You could rent at your first port and return the afternoon of your last port day (to avoid hassles when getting to the airport after the cruise; otherwise, keep the gear if you're doing a post-cruise land stay). There are several levels of packages. You can get good gear for about $40 for the week. They have straight diopter masks too for those who need a bit of "help" seeing clearly. (When we bought our gear several years ago, I invested in diopter lenses. They are so worth it.)

 

Renting for the week would save you money over individual rentals, allow you to make sure the gear (read: snorkel mouthpiece) is very clean, and save time on port days because you wouldn't have to hunt down a rental place.

 

beachchick

[scsagh]

Beachchick (or others),

 

We have been considering rentals from Snorkel Bob's for some of our family. We have our own gear, but it's getting old and would love to check out the dioptors for the aging parent (me). I've looked at their website, but not being familiar with Oahu (or any of Hawaii for that matter...1st timers), hadn't figured out where their Oahu location is compared to the cruise harbor (which I'm not 100% sure where that is) and the airport. Since our flight doesn't leave until 10:30 p.m., was thinking it would be nice to keep the snorkel gear at least during daylight hours in Honolulu. Other than knowing my husband definitely wants to go to Pearl Harbor and the Arizona, haven't decided if we will rent a car (my preference) and check out more areas of the island, or take one of the tour companies 10-12 hour tours.

[Budget Queen]

I rented a car and drove to Place of Refuge, excellent day trip. Rented with Dollar. But did not snorkle in the area "next door". If it was to the right?? There were people in the water there. Also took in a coffee tour along the way that was very interesting.

 

As an option, it may be worthwhile to buy snorkle equiptment? Walmart had a very extensive variety. I bought mine a few years ago in a Florida Walmart and it's still "working" great. :) Although I did not snorkel here I did elsewhere in Hawaii and was very glad I brought my fins. All my snorkeling was shore snorkling, but there wasn't calm and the fins worked out great.

 

There is an excellent variety of fish, different from the Caribbean, and I wished, I'd brought an underwater camera. Also a good buy at Walmart, if of interest.

[Budget Queen]

Beachchick (or others),

 

We have been considering rentals from Snorkel Bob's for some of our family. We have our own gear, but it's getting old and would love to check out the dioptors for the aging parent (me). I've looked at their website, but not being familiar with Oahu (or any of Hawaii for that matter...1st timers), hadn't figured out where their Oahu location is compared to the cruise harbor (which I'm not 100% sure where that is) and the airport. Since our flight doesn't leave until 10:30 p.m., was thinking it would be nice to keep the snorkel gear at least during daylight hours in Honolulu. Other than knowing my husband definitely wants to go to Pearl Harbor and the Arizona, haven't decided if we will rent a car (my preference) and check out more areas of the island, or take one of the tour companies 10-12 hour tours.

 

I rented from Thrifty for $33/day with taxes. It's the way to go to Pearl Harbor in my opinion. Go there first, then spend your day with your snorkling. :)

[beachchick]

Beachchick (or others),

 

We have been considering rentals from Snorkel Bob's for some of our family. We have our own gear, but it's getting old and would love to check out the dioptors for the aging parent (me). I've looked at their website, but not being familiar with Oahu (or any of Hawaii for that matter...1st timers), hadn't figured out where their Oahu location is compared to the cruise harbor (which I'm not 100% sure where that is) and the airport. Since our flight doesn't leave until 10:30 p.m., was thinking it would be nice to keep the snorkel gear at least during daylight hours in Honolulu. Other than knowing my husband definitely wants to go to Pearl Harbor and the Arizona, haven't decided if we will rent a car (my preference) and check out more areas of the island, or take one of the tour companies 10-12 hour tours.

 

I just looked up the SB's location in Waikiki. It is south of the pier and down at the Diamond Head end of Waikiki. The airport (and Pearl Harbor) are north of the pier. You should go to Pearl Harbor first, then you could head down to Hanauma Bay and maybe get in some snorkeling there (depends on how busy it is that day) or to another snorkel location(s) around the island. You would have to factor in time to return your gear before you head to the airport.

 

I think you will find that diopter lenses are fantastic. It's true that the water itself corrects approx -0.25 to -0.50 diopter, but that's about all. If you've got a negative prescription, you might want to go 0.25 lower than your prescription. It is just fantastic to be able to see so well underwater. When we bought our gear (not SB's, but we used to rent from them and their gear is good), I didn't opt for my exact prescription (with astigmatism in one eye) because it was only an extra $25 per lens for straight diopter versus more than $70 per lens for my exact prescription--which is going to change over time anyway.

 

beachchick