Sail South From Kona, Then Walk Into Kealakekua Bay
A sailing catamaran runs four hours down the Kona coast to Kealakekua Bay, a state conservation district where feeding the fish is against the rules. You get in down a staircase off the back of the boat. No ladder. Breakfast and lunch are included. The towel is not.
Kealakekua Bay opens south of Kailua-Kona under a cliff that drops straight into the water. There is no road to the far shore where the monument stands. Almost everyone who snorkels there arrives by boat, by kayak, or down a steep trail and back up it.
The State of Hawaii made the bay a Marine Life Conservation District in 1969, covering 315 acres. Feeding fish is prohibited across the whole district. Taking marine life is prohibited as well, except for limited hook-and-line and thrownet fishing in the southern subzone, and anchoring is barred outright in the northern half.
That is the short version of why this reef reads differently from a hotel snorkel stop. Nothing down there is waiting for a handful of bread.
KONASTYLE runs the trip on a 50-foot sailing catamaran of the same name. The company describes itself as native Hawaiian owned and operated. Departure is 8:30 in the morning and the boat is back four hours later.
Check in 45 minutes before departure, and check in at the shop, not at the boat. Guests who go straight to the dock get sent back to the office.
Kealakekua Bay (Captain Cook Monument) Snorkel and Sail AdventureFour hours on a 50-foot sailing catamaran from Kailua-Kona to Kealakekua Bay. Snorkel gear, instruction, breakfast and lunch included. Departs 8:30 AM.www.viator.comWhat You Are Actually Swimming Over
The snorkel stop is a coral bottom in clear water. Coral heads sit on pale sand, urchins wedge into the gaps between them, and reef fish work the edges.
The operator's own FAQ is blunt about what shows up. Dolphins appear regularly on the daytime trips. Whales are seasonal, and the company puts that season from mid or late December through mid or late March. On turtles the FAQ says they typically do not see honu on these tours, which is worth knowing, because the booking listing mentions sea turtles.
Water in Kona averages around 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Wetsuits do not appear anywhere on the company's gear list, and the rest of the kit comes with the trip: masks, snorkels, fins and swim noodles, plus instruction on the boat for anyone who can swim but has never snorkelled. Prescription masks are stocked from minus one to negative seven. Full-face snorkel masks are not permitted on any of the company's boats.
Cell service thins to nothing in and around the bay. Anyone who might need to reach you should know the morning is a dead zone.
The White Obelisk on the Far Shore
The monument across the water is a white obelisk at Kaʻawaloa, on the north point of the bay. Its plaque reads that it stands in memory of Captain James Cook, who "fell near this spot on the 14th of February, A.D. 1779." The same plaque dates the obelisk itself to November 1874 and credits "some of his fellow countrymen."
The inscription is a document of 1874. Read it as one. It also says Cook "discovered these islands" on the 18th of January, 1778, a line cut into stone almost a century afterwards, by people who were not from here, about a place that had been settled and named and farmed long before any of it.
There is no road to the obelisk. Reaching it on foot means a steep trail down the cliff and the same trail back up. From the water it is simply the thing you keep looking at between swims.
Who Can Get In the Water
Settle this part before booking. It gets checked on the day, and checkout will not catch it for you.
- Everyone entering the water must be able to swim without a flotation device. If the captain or crew judge otherwise, that guest is returned to the vessel, and the listing states there is no refund in that case.
- Children aged five and over may go in the water, under the same swimming requirement. Under-fives stay aboard and need an adult with them at all times. Parents can take turns, one in the water while the other stays with the child.
- Guests over 300 pounds, about 136 kilograms, are not allowed in the water. The staircase carries a weight limit.
- The vessel is not wheelchair accessible.
- Snorkelling instruction is available on board for swimmers who have never used a mask and snorkel.
The staircase is the practical difference here. You walk down it into the water and walk back up the same way, with no ladder to climb in fins.
Breakfast, the Bar, and What to Bring
Food comes with the fare in both directions. Breakfast is pastries and fruit with 100 percent Kona coffee. Lunch is a deli sandwich or a salad, and the choice is made at booking: ham and cheddar, turkey and havarti, mixed greens with avocado and candied macadamia nuts, or peanut butter and jelly. All non-alcoholic drinks are included.
Gluten free and vegetarian versions exist, but the listing asks for at least 48 hours of notice, so it has to be flagged at booking. Mentioning it on the dock is too late.
There is a full bar for beer, wine and spirits, and that is a separate spend. The bar takes cards and tap to pay only, so cash is no use on board. Bringing your own alcohol is not allowed. Bringing your own snacks is fine.
Bring a towel. This trip does not hand one out. The packing list the company publishes is swimwear, a towel, reef-safe sunscreen, sunglasses and a camera, and it sells reef-safe sunscreen and waterproof phone cases at check-in.
Check-in is at the KONASTYLE office inside the Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha, at 75-5660 Palani Road, Suite C8, beside the hotel pool. The desk opens at 7:15 in the morning. Older pages and map entries still show an Aliʻi Drive address in the Kona Square complex, which is where the shop used to be. Set your map to the hotel.
Parking has two answers. The hotel garage is validated at USD 13 for the whole day, and you bring the ticket to the office at check-in to have it processed. There is also a free municipal lot on Kuakini Highway, and the walking directions the company gives from there run down to the water and then right along Aliʻi Drive.
A single traveller can book. The booking requirement is one person, though the fine print on the listing still asks for two. Cancelling at least 24 hours ahead returns the full fare, and if the company calls the trip off for weather it offers a rebooking or a full refund.
Four hours from a half past eight start puts you back at the pier by half past twelve, salt still in your hair, with the rest of the day on the island still ahead of you.