Snorkeling: Will we be disappointed?

We normally go to Maui but this next trip looks like we may be going to the BI because of expiring timeshare points and availability. Some of the things read here sounds like the good areas to snorkel are getting ruined. Is the snorkeling there as colorful and diverse as Maui. I%26#39;m getting kind of mixed signals. One thread says there is quite a few less people visiting the BI but yet another says the bays are getting ruined. I%26#39;m confused. If there are less people are the ones on the BI doing more damage than the ones who visit Maui? Because it has it%26#39;s share of idiots. I%26#39;ve seen them. The last time I was on the BI was almost 30 years ago. We didn%26#39;t snorkel but did take a glass bottom boat to what was then called Cook%26#39;s Cove. I guess thats not PC anymore. Now from what I%26#39;ve read it%26#39;s affectionately called K-Bay. I guess Kealakekua is to hard to say. Come on people, doesn%26#39;t anyone sing ';I wanna go back to my little grass shack'; anymore! lol I know, I%26#39;m showing my age and I%26#39;m wandering. But anyway back then the bay was beautiful.

We have read rave reviews of the Manta snorkel trips and would love to do one but if the regular daytime reef snorkeling is not too good we may reconsider. I would love to show the wife the volcano but we site see to fill in between snorkeling with so much driving between areas to see I don%26#39;t want to burn time up in the car. May seem selfish but we don%26#39;t get much time when we%26#39;re there so it%26#39;s precious.

I%26#39;d just like honest opinions from those who have snorkeled both. And if you have read the book ';Snorkel Maui and Lanai'; by Malinowski is their book ';Snorkel Hawaii the Big Island'; as good for directions and descriptions?

Snorkeling: Will we be disappointed?

Aloha,

IMHO snorkeling and diving on the BI is better than Maui because our BI waters are clearer. That said both are amazing! You will see colorful and diverse fish, eels, rays, dolphins and turtles.

I agree that the messages you read are mixed signals. The complaints you are reading are about the spots on the BI that are being ruined by people who are not being careful of the coral and the ecology. I think this is true of all of the islands (again in my opinion) and the world.

For those of us who have lived on the islands most if not all of our lives, or who have visited frequently for decades these changes are easy to see not just on the BI, on all islands.

I hope this does not keep you from visiting, I think the BI is an amazing place that I enjoy sharing with others. The day time snorkels are great and the night Manta Snorkel is one you will never forget.

Going to the Volcano would be a plus, the good news is you need not make that choice until you are there, hang loose!

Snorkeling: Will we be disappointed?

None of my snorkeling experiences on Maui have been as good as the snorkeling right off the beach at Kahalu%26#39;u on the Big Island. And there are better spots on the Big Island.

Seems like you can always find good snorkeling on the BI. Some of the best places in Maui come and go depending on the surf and the clarity of the water.

I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ll be disappointed. I lived on BI for a while and have been to Maui 8-10 times (and snorkeled in a variety of spots) so I feel like I have a pretty good comparison.

Have fun!!

I%26#39;ve only been to Maui once (August 2005) and the Big Island once

(August 2006), so take this for what it%26#39;s worth. I thought the

snorkeling on Maui was better. That said, we had better

weather on our Maui trip than on the BI trip... the week we

were in Kona was right around the full moon and the tides

were very high... so I think that was a big part of the difference.

Lots more sea turtles on the Big Island, which are fun

(and occasionally alarming when you suddenly realize

you are right next to one) to see.

Have a fun trip!

Thanks for the info everyone. It makes us feel much better.

Travelswith3kids, I know what you mean about the turtles. On many occasions in Maui we have been close enough to touch them not by our doing but theirs. In fact the very fist time we ever snorkeled it was at Black Rock in Kaanapali and my wife had one come up under her she didn%26#39;t see until the last moment because it came up behind her. If she hadn%26#39;t moved at the last second I think it probably would have lifted her out of the water. No big deal though. It%26#39;s their ocean, we%26#39;re just a visitor and I%26#39;m sure some of the idiots I see have done much worse to the turtle.

I prefer the BI over any other island because of the snorkeling! Kahalu%26#39;u beach, Kealakekua Bay (we take the Fair Winds boat tour) and two step beach at the Place of Refuge have great snorkeling. I%26#39;ll never go back to Maui.