Hanauma Bay Snorkel Adventures

Must make a reservation 2 days in advance and they sell out very quickly. Snorkeling and swimming equipment is provided but NOT free! For rentals they require a $50 deposit OR they take your ID for the day. Snorkel & fin set is $25. They have all different types of equipment for rental. Very rocky with strong currents. I recommend bringing your own water to drink. Regardless, enjoyable experience! Gift shop also.

Your ticket time states that you sell us a snorkeling trip 8am - 2pm. Pickup was 7:45am. So return reasonably is 1:45pm? Well no! The owner and driver cuts off 1.5 Hrs of snorkel time for transport. You don't see that until you purchase a ticket and read the confirmation instructions. We were on time at 1:45, but the owner showed up irate, says his driver didn't even speak English, this isn't Uber, and left his customers stranded in the parking lot on our 2pm departure slot. His hospitality was our worst experience on the island. Clear communication about departure is critical information. And lying to travelers about how much time is snorkeling versus baked into travel is an unfair business practice, borderline scam.Mind you the entire process was sketchy. They had us swap vehicles midway as their van was making a tick noise. Van had no seatbelts. Then the vans stops at a local rental company near the bay for the gear which is a separate company. Looks like the van company uses third party store for a kickback or discount. The tour guide also left us at the ticket gate, and like many other reviewers stated the company is also using walk-in tickets and likely cannot guarantee you all a ticket. Please use any other company. Travelers beware and find another tour guide.

This snorkel adventure was a nice escape to a beach that wasn't overcrowded. Hanauma Bay is a nature preserve, but you are able to swim with the fish and feel safe from any danger of sharks as there is a coral reef that pretty much prevents them from coming in.Hanauma Bay Snorkel Adventures picks you up at one of the major hotels in a white, unmarked van. The instructions they emailed to confirm the reservation is very thorough so be sure to read it closely.They picked us up at 8:00 and our feet didn't hit the beach until 10:00. We had to meet back up at 1:20 at our drop off location.The driver, Jack, was a great conversationalist and he had a lot of information about the island and gave us some historical background which was great.

Make reservations 48hrs in advanced. Locals do not need reservations before 930am Parking: $3 visitors, $1 locals (CASH ONLY) Sunblock - make sure it's reef safe Snorkel Gear - bring your own or rent, floaties are nice to have for the people who hesistant to swim in open water Water shoes - highly recommended or flippers when in the water, it's no fun being in the bay/ocean/salted sea water with cuts on your feet (ouch!) Beach gear - bring snacks, a small meal, cold and refreshing drinks (in a cooler), sunblock, sun hat, beach mat, towels to dry off To bring or to minimize: (Remember everything you bring down, you'll likely have to bring back up the hill (wait for the trolley or walk) Chairs are nice to have, the floor works well as a seat too. Umbrella/Tent is nice, probably more necessary for babies/ kids, elders, sensitive skin, but a nice wide brim hat works too when you lay on the beachSunglasses - protect your eyes & the skin around it, your eyeballs can also get "sunburned"SUNBLOCK - bring or buy at the shop

Our driver was on time and so nice! Great fun and the snorkel gear was great. He gave us great tips on where to snorkel and information about the bay. The Bay itself was amazing and I highly recommend this experience.

Our pick-up time was 5:45 AM on June 16th, and everyone was there by 5:40 AM. Unfortunately, our driver never greeted us, never introduced himself, and seemed unfamiliar with the words "please" and "thank you." He barked out orders to our group of 10 nonstop, which included four people over 70 and two children under 10.He was very condescending and always seemed to be in a huge rush, even though we ended up sitting on the highway waiting since the parking gate doesn't open until 6:45 AM.On the way back, it was much of the same--barking orders and rushing us, even though we were all there 10 minutes early, as he had requested. Never in all my travels have I met such a miserable driver from a touring company.(He also left his lunch on the passenger seat and didn't bother to move it, but in the grand scheme of things, that's a minor issue.)

Starting at the beginning (hopefully the good stuff will be at the end!)It's 7:10 am. We're picked up at the Waikiki Marriott at 5:50 am. We're standing in our second line. A bit of a harrowing drive getting here. The Ford Econoline van was a bit rickety. The air conditioning worked great but unfortunately all of the overhead vents were all broken so you couldn't tone it down early in the mor. I won't throw our driver under the bus so I'll leave his name out - speed limits were damned this morning. A few 25 and 35 mph zones - we weren't even close. Even a "California stop" at a few stop signs. Passed the entrance to the park and saw the sun after it just came up at the Molokai lookout. We pulled over and waited in the van for about 10 minutes. Killing time waiting to get in line to enter. Once in the park, our driver did a pretty good job of getting us instructions and keeping our group together. We got a 7:30 entry time. So we waited as a group, through two lines, to get our tickets and then to watch the video. All in all, to this point, I think it's been pretty easy. Just wasn't prepared for the waiting (thus my reason for writing this).So it's 11:50 now and our driver just picked us up and we're headed back to Waikiki. Snorkeling and Hanaumu Bay were excellent. When we made our reservation, we paid for two chairs and an umbrella. If you want a little shade but be right next to the water, this is the way to go! So glad we did. The snorkel, fins and mask were okay - not great, but okay. My wife had no problems with the mask, I have a bit of a wide forehead so mine didn't seal great. But made it okay. The current was pretty good today so having the fins was very helpful for navigating the coral. So bottom line, this service is a pretty hassle free way of getting to Hanauma Bay, getting into the park and getting back out again. The equipment is satisfactory for a morning of simple snorkeling. The beach chairs and umbrella makes relaxing on the beach easy if you require those amenities. If snorkeling Hanauma Bay is on your todo list on Oahu, this is not a bad route to take.

The location was fantastic, however the getting there and getting back was not. First off, the van they picked us up in felt like it had at least 200k miles on it. It was rusty, the suspension was non existent and the seat belts tightned up around enough for me to risk not using the seat belt for a portion of the trip. On the way there, we went to the Hanauma Bay location but then immediately left after we got a ticket (presumably to reserve our entry time into the park). At that point, we went to a strip mall to pick up our gear. I don't know why we bothered to fill in all the details when signing up because we had to go through it all again when we got there.Driving back to Hanuama Bay, we get there and then we get told that we may need to wait for an hour or two before entering. Great time to mention that after we've already spent an hour or so getting to this point.An aside here -- while waiting, we found out that the snacks at the stand were ridiculously priced. $7.25 for a bottle of gatorade, $9 for a pre-packaged ice cream. This isn't on the Hanauma Bay Snorkel Adventures, but I do feel like they could've done a much better job of preparing everyone for what was to come. The park allows you to bring food in from the outside and there was a Walgreens at the strip mall where we picked up our gear. If someone had just mentioned that the food at the park was expensive, we would've picked something up at the strip mall to bring in.When we finally made it down to the beach, the umbrella that we rented wouldn't go into the ground properly. In addition, the latch that holds the umbrella was broken and it wouldn't stay in. We ended up not using it.We also discovered that the pricing for renting equipment at the park is reasonable and in the same ballpark as what we were charged as part of the package. Given that we had to lug around the equipment the whole time and then back up to the van when we left, I would've much preferred to rent at the park instead.Overall, I don't feel like this was a great experience here on the island. Again this is not reflective of the experience at the park itself, but of the tour company that arranged everything else around it.

went with these with my family to Hanauma bay. It was a group ride with several others and an international group. It was horrible. All from the start the driver was passive aggressive, cussing out other drivers. The car was extremely messy and dirty. I wouldn't mind it if it was only old, but dirty, smelly and untidy is not what I expect. There was plenty of information materiel in the car, but the driver just threw a laminated map of the bay at me, asking if I knew the state fish.Upon arriving at the bay things quickly got worse. The driver got a ticket with a time slot for the group, but offered no particular information why this was important or what we we where supposed to do. He then drove us all down to a shop where we got our rentals. He then started yelling about money for the fee to the bay. As it eventually dawned to the group it was necessary to be exactly the ticket price for all. This being an international group everyone didn't understand English as well. The driver did nothing to remedy this, just going round the car screaming for the money. We, the customers, where left to our own, figureing it all out with everyone, using Google translate gaping the language barrier and finding an ATM. The driver then appointed me to be responsible for making the payment for the group. The driver eventually drove us to the bay, dropping us of without further explanation. Luckily we all have learned to ask for help. Before he left though, he cut 20 minutes off our time at the bay, stating he would pick us up at 01.10, even though our confirmation clearly stated 01.30. Pointing this out was just brushed off.This was the best, as the people at the shop where fairly organized. We got our beach chairs, diving masks and unbrella whiteout any trouble. Getting our swimming fins, though went not nearly as smooth. Remember the unorganize, messy car? This is where they keep the fins. In an unorganized mess, with the representative not making a single effort sorting it out- wasting more of our time.Hughely disappointed with this service.

Wonderful experience! Don't miss on your Oahu trip. My daughter at first was not comfortable to do snorkeling, later enjoyed three plus hours of pure joy and had a lifetime experience