Electric Beach

Electric Beach has fantastic snorkeling.  You have to swim out a ways to get to the place where the hot water from the electrical plant nearby lets out.  The fish love the warmer water and flock there, which makes snorkeling really fun.  Electric Beach is just past Ko Olina when you see the electrical power plant on your right and the beach on your left.

 Check out Colette's video of our snorkel at Electric Beach! http://vimeo.com/92032989

Ko Olina Lagoons

The Ko Olina Lagoons are beautiful and good for snorkeling year round, thanks to the lagoons being protected from the open ocean.  There are four man-made lagoons that you can choose from.  My favorite is lagoon #2, Honu Lagoon.  The least busy one is probably #4 though, because it is past the hotels.  The lagoons are picture-perfect, with manicured lawns and beautiful palm trees surrounding the beach.  I see turtles here very often.  The water is the perfect depth, not shallow enough that you'll hit your knees and you can actually dive, but not too deep that you can't reach and see the bottom easily.  The Ko Olina Marriott Beach Club is my favorite hotel on the island, so if you get a chance to stay there, you definitely should!

Paradise Cove

Paradise Cove is the natural cove near the Ko Olina Lagoons.  If you drive towards the lagoons and park in the parking lot that says Public Beach Access before you hit the hotels you will be in the right place.  There are a ridiculous number of turtles here.  We found one that we named Stumpy because he was missing his front left flipper.  Poor guy.  This is a fun place to go if you want to somewhat avoid the hotel crowds at the Lagoons.

Pokai Bay

Pokai Bay is a nice little calm bay on the west side of the island.  When we went here, there was a big group of locals listening to Hawaiian music, so that made it extra special.  The west side is the rougher side of the island, and there are rarely tourists over there, so be watchful.  We felt good about Pokai Bay, whereas at some other beaches we were afraid our car was going to get broken into.  The snorkeling here wasn't great.  There were very few fish.  However, there were quite a few turtles, so that made it fun.  If I were on my vacation, I wouldn't go out of my way to visit this beach.  It's a nice one if you're already in the area though.

I feel bad for this guy

Makaha Beach

Makaha Beach is pretty far north on the west side of the island, but you have to come from the south to get to it.  The beach is beautiful, and during the summer there is some great snorkeling here.  We were lucky enough to find a monk seal climbing up onto the beach when we went there.  If you are staying on the west side or are making a trip out that way, Makaha Beach is a fun one to visit.

So cute

The urchins borrow tunnels through the rock

Blake's impression of the monk seal

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