We received our Covid vaccines and decided to take our first trip in ~18 months. We visited the Big Island of Hawaii and stayed in the Kailua-Kona area again. Overall, it was a low-key trip for us, we visited the same spots we visited in the past.
We were happy to see the local economy (restaurants, bars, grocery stores) recovering from the drop in tourist activity due to Covid. However, during our visit there were lots of tourists! We had to make a reservation just to have an 8am breakfast at our favorite restaurant. Also, to get a pizza from another restaurant, we would have had to order an hour in advance. On vacation we are use to wandering around, finding a place to eat and getting seated – we weren’t able to do that on this trip. Also, parking at some beaches were full by 8am or 9am and we had to park farther away on the road.
Note: All pictures below are low res for obvious reasons.
A short fish video can be found here.
The Place of Refuge (Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park)
This is still one of the best snorkeling spots on the island. The only disappointment was that the coral was a little less colorful than the last time we visited over a year ago. The coral wasn’t dead or bleached, just less colorful. I thought this was a good site that shows comparison pictures of healthy and dying coral.
One of the highlights of our trip was seeing Hawaiian Bottlenose Dolphins. I noticed there was a small tour boat in this bay. There were a few snorkelers out there looking at Dolphins so I decided to swim from shore to see if I could see the dolphins. It seems that dolphins eat at night and “sleep” during the day. When sleeping they are able to turn-off half of their brain while the other takes care of determining when to surface to breathe. Federal law says that you must remain 50 yards away from Dolphins since our presence disrupts their sleeping and eating patterns. The NOAA sign in this park mentioned the same info. I kept my distance but the dolphins came near us. The best picture I took is below.
More fish at the Place of Refuge.
Cruise to Captain Cooks Monument
This was our 3rd trip on the Fair Wind morning snorkel cruise. As always it was the highlight of our trip. The new plant-based breakfast was great, although they did serve pulled pork for lunch. The crew was nice and helpful. We had a great time overall. More info about the boat company can be found here.
Magic Sands
Surprisingly, there was decent snorkeling at Magic Sands beach. I say ‘surprisingly’ since we typically arrive at this beach around 1pm, after visiting other beaches, and the waves have increased. In the late morning or early afternoon this beach is great for boogie boarding.
Kahalu’u Beach Park
In the past this was one of my favorite snorkeling spots, however on this trip is was disappointing. The coral color had faded in many places, there was more dead/dying coral and there were fewer fish. I’m not sure if this is permanent or temporary.
Kekaha Kai State Park (Manini’OWali Section, Kua Bay)
We visited one of our favorite beaches twice during this trip – Kekaha Kai state park. it’s a great beach to sit around and relax, go swimming and play in the waves – although there are times when there is dangerous shore break.
I tried snorkeling here a few years ago. Despite the azure colored water the visibility was poor and I didn’t see any fish around the northern part of the bay.
69 Beach
Beautiful, relaxing beach with plenty of shade and fairly good snorkeling. The coral color had faded in many places, much like other spots we visited on this trip. This is a great place for the kids to play in the water since the beach gently declines into the ocean. The beach has restrooms and showers as well.
Do not adjust your screen… the sky and water was really turquoise and azure.
Hapuna Beach
This beach is just north of 69 Beach so you can visit both in one day. Hapuna is a great, big, wide, beach with plenty of parking, restrooms, showers, with shaded and sunny spots. We’ve only visited here to ride the waves and haven’t tried snorkeling.
Aloha…
The Middle Road Less Traveled 
Am so sorry I never got the chance to look thru and enjoy your entire blog. Your photos are stunning and so gorgeous. Could there be anyplace where the blues are so amazing and gorgeous. Sorry this is so late!