Puako Bay

The coastline is exposed to the trade winds in the winter months making it difficult for water activity, it does have that iconic Koholo coast look.

Beautiful! Great snorkeling. Secluded beaches. Hard rocky shores for the most part and slightly more difficult to get in over the rocks and coral , especially at lower tides. One can see various sea life, including turtles, sharks, eels, urchins and puffer fish there. And the swim is not far off shore in order to start seeing most of this sea life. One of my favorite places to snorkel now.

Secluded, private, scerene. We watched whales breach and play for hours. Decent snorkeling with no waves and crystal clear water. Ditch the packed beaches up the road for this peaceful getaway. Free parking on the road only a short walk away from the shore. A must for any beach day Kona side.

The rocks were a little too slippery

Nice beach natural sand

I absolutely love Puako. It's a must see when on the Big island.

Very warm year around.And dry

Entry for snorkeling a bit tough.

This place is magical! We parked near one of the public beach access points and last year, were able to walk out and see turtles. This time, the surf is high so no turtles to see. But, the sunset continues its beauty, especially with the partial cloud cover. Wear water shoes and be respectful of the land and sea. And, please keep your distance from the turtles.

Love this beach. Pretty secluded. Not much parking. Located next to the fish ponds. Great snorkeling.

This beach has lots of lava rock tide pools with plenty of sea life to discover. Turtle sightings are abundant. You may find a shady spot beneath a tree to hang out for the afternoon, but check tide pool charts for low tide times to enjoy an early outing. What a fun place for beachcombing!

I took my kids to Puako Bay and we had a blast! We had to hike a block or two from the parking grove but the wat was pristine and we had the area all to ourselves! This was a side trip that was worth the research and drive.

Puako Bay Beach is truly a hidden gem in the North Kona area, so much so, I feel like I have to leave this review short and simple. A super small, peaceful yet serene spot where you can often times find sea turtles resting. Come relax and enjoy the natural beauty here as it's not over run with tourists and people in general so you can truly enjoy some peace and quiet. It's tucked away and Inconspicuous so if you need help finding it, some nice locals might be able to help point you in the right direction.

North of Kona about 40 min drive. Take Queen Kaahumanu Highway (North) exit on Puako beach Dr towards the ocean. I believe there is two sections first one is more accesible There are bathrooms , showers and parking. Second section pretty rough road Beautiful sandy and rocky beach. Turquoise water. Water is very calm and clean. Amazing scenery you will enjoy the sand water trees at the shore growing towards the water Bring your water shoes there are some rocks and pebbles at the shore also bring your umbrella

So this is where all of Nemo's friends ended up after the movie...Living their best lives. It felt so much like swimming through the aquarium that I thought Darla might be lurking around. It ended up being one of highlights of my trip.

Rocky beach but this is where the locals go and hang. Careful!!! There's SEA URCHINS HERE.

I promised a seasoned snorkeler here that I would help keep this place a secret. Conflicting duties, so here is the Yelp review. :-) After frustratingly trying to find a nice tranquil snorkeling spot near Captain Cook, we decided to drive NORTH of Kona to get at this place, which was listed in the Moon Guide as a potentially good place. We were so glad we did. When we pulled up, there was only one car in the dirt parking lot. It was a sheltered tidal flat with many pools and shallow ocean. Immediately, there were a bunch of sea turtles. As we traversed along, we saw many schools of fish in the shallow waters as well as some beautiful coral. Now, I've been snorkeling in other parts of the world. This one was pretty good and very easily accessible. There are many eels and sea snakes too. Remember to wear your water moccasins as there are a ton of sea urchins here. Note: this is not a swimming beach. Come here with your own snorkeling gear and you can spend an hour or two wandering on your own and enjoying tranquility and the abundant marine life. Make sure you get out to the open ocean segment, as that's where a lot of the fish are.

Just north of the Fairmont. Turtles! Go early in the morning before the sun is high. Wear good shoes with traction/grip. Lots of tidepools to check out.