Hanauma Bay

Hanauma Bay is a marine embankment formed within a volcanic crater located along the southeast coast of Oahu (just East of Honolulu.) Hanauma Bay is both a Nature Preserve and a Marine Life Conservation District. Visitors are required by law to refrain from mistreating marine animals or from touching, walking on, or otherwise having contact with coral heads. Known for its amazing abundance of Green sea turtles, Hanauma Bay is a nursery ground for the immature turtles, which have their nesting grounds at the French Frigate Shoals.  

This curved bay is a very protected cove and is a perfect place to enjoy some scuba diving or snorkeling while doing everything possibly to protect the wildlife and precious marine life there. Hiking trails along the Hanauma Bay coastline provide you with a stunning view of the ocean floor that was once a volcanic crater. The curve of the bay provides great protection from large waves and a beautiful beach, but please ALWAYS be careful to protect the beauty and splendor of Hanauma Bay.

The City and County of Honolulu laid out a plan in 1990 to restore Hanauma Bay to its spectacular natural splendor that had been eroded by millions of visitors and years of neglect.  Part of this program inlcuded reducing the number of visitors, establishing an educational program and instituting supportive restrictions. Hanauma Bay is now not a  "beach park" but rather a Nature Preserve dedicated to preserving the fragile marine life found there. For more information, please visit the Hanauma Bay Preserve website by the Honolulu Governement.