Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve(Hanauma Bay Beach)

Located along the south-eastern shoreline of the island of Oahu, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is a preserve that has a scenic bay named Hanauma Bay - this bay has a long unnamed and popular crescent-shaped light-brown sand beach along its shores. This unnamed beach is also known as Hanauma Bay Beach and is situated within a 30,000 year-old volcanic crater called the Hanauma. Many palm trees are present around this scenic beach. Hanauma Bay was earlier a recreational beach park. However, the huge influx of tourists to this popular beach caused significant damage to the local marine landscape and fragile marine biodiversity, prompting local authorities to turn this park into a preserve and take and apply stricter rules for tourist regulation. The meaning of the Hawaiian name of this bay (Hanauma) is widely interpreted as "curved bay" in English. Hanauma Bay was earlier used by Ancient Hawaiian nobles for recreational purposes. In addition, Hanauma Bay was also used by Ancient Hawaiians as a stop-over and launch point for canoes due to its calm water. Ancient fishing tools have also been found around Hanauma Bay by archaeologists. The beach in Hanauma Bay is a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.  Hanauma Bay has also featured in many films and television shows including Tora! Tora! Tora!, Hawaii Five-O, and Blue Hawaii. 

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve has many amenities including lifeguards, restrooms, showers, safety lockers, changing rooms, a gift shop, a food concession stand, and snorkeling equipment rental facility. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve also offers accessibility to people with disabilities. Beach wheelchairs for visitors with disabilities are also available at the preserve’s information kiosk between 8 am and 4 pm on a first-come-first-serve basis. Getting to the parking area for Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is easy - from Kalaniana’ole Highway (which is also called Hawaii Route 72), you need to turn towards Hanauma Bay Road and then onto Catafalque Drive. From there, Catafalque Drive will lead you to the entrance station for Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, and once you pay an access fee for entering Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, you can drive to the paid parking lot for this preserve. 

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve offers many fun activities including hiking, beachcombing, wildlife watching, sunbathing, boating, swimming, snorkeling, paddle boarding, boating, kayaking, canoeing, and surf-skiing. The water near Hanauma Beach is usually calm, which makes it ideal for beginner swimmers. Snorkeling is an immensely popular activity in Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve - exquisite coral reefs are present in Hanauma Bay’s water, and you can also view more than 400 varieties of fish here including reef triggerfish (which is also known as humuhumu-nukunuku-apua’a in Hawaiian and it is also the state fish of Hawaii), eels, bluestripe snapper (also called ta’ape in Hawaiian), and yellowfin goatfish ( known as weke ’ula in Hawaiian). Depending on the time of the year, you can also view many other kinds of aquatic animals in the water here including migrating whales, sea turtles, and octopus. While the inner coral reefs (which are present closer to the shoreline) are popular with beginner snorkelers, advanced snorkelers also explore beyond these inner reefs in order to explore the marine landscape present in the outer portion of Hanauma Bay. 

If you are planning to enter the water in Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, we recommend being careful as the water here is known to have unpredictable and dangerous rip currents. The water here also has underwater rocks and coral reefs - these rocks can cause grievous injuries to visitors. We also recommend ensuring careful and diligent compliance with the local regulations while engaging in aquatic recreational activities here in order to avoid damaging the marine landscape and biodiversity of Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. The beach in Hanauma Bay also offers amazing Instagram-worthy photos of the Hawaiian shoreline and the Pacific Ocean. Hanauma Bay also has a Marine Education Center which offers interesting exhibits on the local biodiversity and it also has a theater and a gift shop

It is important to note that you have to pay separate access and parking fees for entering and parking at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve respectively. We recommend avoiding leaving valuables in your vehicles while they are parked at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve’s parking lot due to a history of break-ins. Once you park here, you are required to view a movie presentation highlighting the fragility of the local ecosystem in Hanauma Bay and the precautions that visitors need to undertake to avoid damaging this ecosystem while engaging in recreational water activities here. Once this movie is over, you can easily walk on a paved walking path to the beach in Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. As an alternate access option, you can take a tram that will drop you off from the movie presentation screening venue to the beach for a fee.  Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is closed on Tuesdays and Mondays. It is also important to know that non-Hawaii residents currently need to make an advance online reservation for your visit to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve - you can visit the city and county of Honolulu’s official website for more information regarding the online reservation booking procedure. We recommend visiting Hanauma Bay Nature preserve early as this preserve gets crowded quickly.

There are many attractions near Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. Koko Crater Botanical Garden is a 60-acre garden that is set within a volcanic tuff cone named Koko Crater. This garden has been landscaped using xeriscaping concepts in order to make it an ideal place for plants requiring little water - the garden has hundreds of types of plant species including native Hawaiian plant varieties, African and Madagascan plants, cacti, succulents, bougainvillea, and plumeria. Sea Life Park Hawaii is home to many kinds of aquatic and semi aquatic animals and birds including sea lions, dolphins, penguins, seals, and many kinds of native fish species - the park also offers interesting educational programs, interactive animal encounters, and exciting animal shows. The park also hosts many fun events including the annual Twilight Concert Series. Koko Head District Park is a large beautifully landscaped park which has many amenities including baseball fields, walking paths, playground, restrooms, picnic areas, benches, and tennis courts. A hiking trail named Koko Railway Trail (also named Koko Crater Trail) is also present near the park - this uphill trail offers amazing views of the Oahu shoreline and the city of Honolulu. If you are looking for another attraction near Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, the Spitting Caves are sea caves which are carved along exquisite oceanfront cliffs - these caves "spit" up the ocean water that enters them at high speeds. The clifftop area above the caves are also dangerous, yet popular cliff diving and cliff jumping spots - a memorial is also present in the cliff above these caves which pays tribute to cliff-divers and cliff-jumpers who died here.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve.  Roy’s at Hawaii Kai is an upscale restaurant which offers excellent fusion gourmet dishes with Hawaiian culinary influences including seafood, steaks, lamb, and pastas. Greek Marina Restaurant is a waterfront restaurant which offers amazing Greek dishes for lunch and dinner including gyros, souvlaki, and moussaka, along with sandwiches ,soups, salads, and fries. The restaurant also offers Greek music. Sophie’s Gourmet Hawaiian Pizzas is known for serving amazing pizzas. If you are looking for another attraction near Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Koa Pancake House offers amazing dishes for lunch and breakfast with Hawaiian culinary influences including burgers, sandwiches, waffles, French toasts, eggs, and loco moco.

If you are looking for a hotel near Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, there are many great nearby options within a 27-minute drive. If you are looking for an upscale hotel, the 5-Star Kahala Hotel & Resort offers many amenities including complimentary surfing and paddleboarding lessons, a complimentary local shuttle service, bike and beach towel rental facilities, five restaurants, a fitness center, a spa, and a private lagoon that has dolphins. As another upscale option, the 4-Star Lotus Honolulu at Diamond Head offers many amenities including morning coffee, evening wine tasting sessions, bike loaner facilities, and beach gear loaner facilities, along with a restaurant. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach that offers many amenities including a 24-hour cafe, a fitness center, a pool, a laundry service, lei making sessions, complimentary breakfast, and beach equipment and water sporting equipment rental facility. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, the 2-Star Waikiki Grand Hotel offers many amenities including a restaurant, a nightclub, grocery delivery service (available for a fee), a pool, and a sundeck.