What is the best time of day to snorkel in Hanauma Bay?

Snorkel in daylight, if possible in the morning before the wind picks up. Currents are often weaker near high slack tide. SnorkelForecast scores each daylight hour for Hanauma Bay.

What is the best tide for snorkeling?

High slack tide, within about an hour of the high-tide peak, often has weaker currents. Strong low tides and tidal flow near channels or headlands reduce the score.

Where are the best snorkeling conditions near Hanauma Bay today?

The nearby spots with the best forecasts later today are Sharks Cove, Electric Beach, Kahe Point. Check each spot page for hourly wind, wave, tide and water temperature detail.

MARINE REPORT / 72 HOURS

Hanauma Bay Snorkel Report Today

USA · Updated Wed 12:21 (HST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Data updated Wed 12:21 (HST)

Hanauma Bay looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Wed 13:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Right now (forecast)

Fair · 4.0/10

Wed 12:00 (HST)

Later today

Fair · 3.5/10

Wed 13:00 (HST)

Next three days

Fair · 4.1/10

Thu 07:00 (HST)

Model estimates using Open-Meteo; not observations or safety guarantees. Check official advisories and conditions at the beach.

Score: 3.5/10

Best time: Wed 13:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Wed 13:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 6.0 m/s.

Email me when it is good Compare nearby spots Tours & water activities

Best nearby spots later today

Sharks Cove 4.4/10 Fair · Wed 13:00 Electric Beach 3.9/10 Fair · Wed 13:00 Kahe Point 3.9/10 Fair · Wed 13:00

Read the Oahu snorkeling guide for coast, access and best-month guidance.

If Hanauma is a skip today

Skip Hanauma Bay today. Go to Sharks Cove instead.

Sharks Cove · 4.4/10 North Shore only on calm summer days — skip winter surf

Electric Beach Leeward Oahu, no reservation
Kahe Point Same leeward coast if Electric Beach is crowded
Lanikai Beach Windward alternative when the south-east is a skip

Plan your visit

These notes help with planning. Rules and closures can change.

Open map

AccessHanauma Bay has a shallow inner reef, lifeguards, restrooms, showers, lockers, rentals, and a managed visitor entrance.

ParkingThe official visitor notes say parking is limited on the ridge above the bay. Public bus service runs daily.

ReservationsEntry times, fees, and reservations can change. Check the City and County of Honolulu visitor page before booking.

ClosuresThe preserve may close for weather, maintenance, or conservation work. Check the city notice before leaving.

Marine lifeThe bay is a Marine Life Conservation District. Do not feed, touch, collect, or injure marine life.

Hawaiʻi DAR Hanauma Bay visitor and rule notes

Sunrise

06:28

Sunset

18:01

Water

26.4°C

Max air

27.7°C

Sky

Partly cloudy

37% cloud

No good model window in the next 72 hours

Use the best-available section for the least-bad times.

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Wednesday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Thursday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Friday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

Thu 07:00: Fair (0.41) · still limited by waves, tide/current
Fri 07:00: Fair (0.39) · still limited by waves
Fri 08:00: Fair (0.39) · still limited by waves, tide/current

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (70 hours)
Tide/current (67 hours)
Darkness (51 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

Drift estimate from wind, swell, current and warm water.

Low · 34/100

Low drift risk now.

warm water supports seasonal jellyfish activity; surface drift/current is noticeable; local shoreline exposure is not mapped yet.

Sightings override the model: if you see small purple jellyfish with long trailing tentacles, treat them as sting-capable and give them space.

Upcoming high tides

Next early morning high tide: Thu 01:00

Thu 01:00, Thu 12:00, Fri 01:00, Fri 13:00, Sat 02:00

Bookable snorkel tours near Hanauma Bay

Prices and availability from Viator. Check conditions before you book.

We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Hanauma Bay Snorkeling from Waikiki

4.4/5 1389 reviews 5h

From USD 55.99 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Hanauma Bay Guided Snorkeling Tour with Transportation

4.9/5 231 reviews 4h

From USD 115.00 Check availability

Hanauma Bay Guided Snorkel Tour, we know where the turtles like to hang out!

Hanauma Bay Guided Snorkel Tour (with guaranteed entrance time)

4.8/5 75 reviews 1h

From USD 103.66 Check availability

Hanauma Bay Priority Access with Transportation

4.4/5 89 reviews 3h

From USD 75.15 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Snorkel Gears near Hanauma Bay

3.9/5 31 reviews 6h

From USD 23.99 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Hanauma Bay Snorkel Lesson

4.6/5 7 reviews 1h

From USD 99.95 Check availability

Free cancellation available

Nearby snorkel spot map

Compare nearby spot forecasts for later today before choosing a beach.

Sharks Cove Fair · Wed 13:00 4.4/10 Electric Beach Fair · Wed 13:00 3.9/10 Kahe Point Fair · Wed 13:00 3.9/10 Lanikai Beach Fair · Wed 13:00 3.5/10

Forecast spot map

Use the map to see where the compared spots sit. Open a card for the hourly forecast.

This is a location diagram, not a marine chart. Check the shore and local signs in person.

Nearby alternatives in USA

Lanikai Beach

14 km away

⚠️ Fair

Oahu

37 km away

⚠️ Fair

Kahe Point

46 km away

⚠️ Fair

Electric Beach

46 km away

⚠️ Fair

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Sun 12:00 – Wed 12:00 (HST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.52 around Sun 13:00; 7 of 24 hours are good, fair, or excellent.

Score trend, higher is better. Excellent ≥ 0.72, good 0.55–0.72, fair 0.35–0.55.

Conditions (24h trends)

Tap a chart to load just that series.

0/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 1.16m to 1.22m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 24/24 sampled hours (range 3.15 to 4.63m/s).

Tides range from 0.27m to 0.96m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

Sun 12:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 14:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 15:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 16:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 17:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 18:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 19:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 20:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 21:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 22:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 23:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 00:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 01:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 02:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 03:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 04:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 05:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 06:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 07:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 08:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 12:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 14:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 15:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 16:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 17:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 18:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 19:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 20:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 21:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 22:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 23:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 00:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 01:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 02:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 03:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 04:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 05:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 06:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 07:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 08:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 12:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 14:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 15:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 16:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 17:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 18:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 19:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 20:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 21:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 22:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Tue 23:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 00:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 01:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 02:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 03:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 04:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 05:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 06:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Wed 07:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 08:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Scoring methodology (for technical users)

We score each hour from 0 to 1 using daylight and these weighted components:

Wave height (35%): best below 0.36m, then decreases as it rises.
Wind speed (25%): best below 5.4m/s, lower is better.
Sea surface temperature (15%): best within 20.6°C to 30.4°C.
Tide and currents (15%): best around slack/high-tide windows.
Daylight (10%): visibility is better in daylight, so night hours score lower.

Detailed hourly data table

Time	Wave (m)	Wind (m/s)	Sea temp (°C)	Status
Sun 12:00	1.22 · high	3.69 · good	27.70 · good	Fair
Sun 13:00	1.20 · high	3.56 · good	27.70 · good	Fair
Sun 14:00	1.18 · high	3.98 · good	27.70 · good	Poor
Sun 15:00	1.18 · high	4.17 · good	27.70 · good	Poor
Sun 16:00	1.16 · high	4.53 · good	27.70 · good	Poor
Sun 17:00	1.16 · high	4.62 · good	27.70 · good	Poor
Sun 18:00	1.16 · high	4.58 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Sun 19:00	1.16 · high	4.63 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Sun 20:00	1.16 · high	4.46 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Sun 21:00	1.16 · high	4.35 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Sun 22:00	1.16 · high	4.43 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Sun 23:00	1.16 · high	4.45 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Mon 00:00	1.16 · high	4.05 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Mon 01:00	1.22 · high	3.76 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Mon 02:00	1.22 · high	3.65 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Mon 03:00	1.20 · high	3.65 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Mon 04:00	1.20 · high	3.49 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Mon 05:00	1.18 · high	3.20 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Mon 06:00	1.18 · high	3.15 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Mon 07:00	1.18 · high	3.49 · good	27.40 · good	Fair
Mon 08:00	1.18 · high	3.44 · good	27.40 · good	Fair
Mon 09:00	1.18 · high	3.42 · good	27.50 · good	Fair
Mon 10:00	1.18 · high	3.56 · good	27.50 · good	Fair
Mon 11:00	1.18 · high	3.57 · good	27.60 · good	Fair
Mon 12:00	1.18 · high	3.56 · good	27.70 · good	Fair
Mon 13:00	1.16 · high	3.61 · good	27.70 · good	Fair
Mon 14:00	1.16 · high	4.21 · good	27.80 · good	Poor
Mon 15:00	1.16 · high	4.56 · good	27.80 · good	Poor
Mon 16:00	1.18 · high	4.74 · good	27.80 · good	Poor
Mon 17:00	1.18 · high	4.77 · good	27.70 · good	Poor
Mon 18:00	1.18 · high	4.56 · good	27.70 · good	Poor
Mon 19:00	1.18 · high	4.50 · good	27.70 · good	Poor
Mon 20:00	1.18 · high	4.57 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Mon 21:00	1.18 · high	3.65 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Mon 22:00	1.18 · high	4.10 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Mon 23:00	1.18 · high	4.40 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Tue 00:00	1.18 · high	4.65 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Tue 01:00	1.26 · high	4.62 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Tue 02:00	1.26 · high	4.35 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Tue 03:00	1.26 · high	4.27 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Tue 04:00	1.28 · high	4.21 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Tue 05:00	1.28 · high	4.75 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Tue 06:00	1.30 · high	5.25 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Tue 07:00	1.40 · high	6.30 · high	27.40 · good	Fair
Tue 08:00	1.42 · high	6.49 · high	27.40 · good	Fair
Tue 09:00	1.42 · high	6.57 · high	27.40 · good	Fair
Tue 10:00	1.44 · high	6.41 · high	27.50 · good	Fair
Tue 11:00	1.44 · high	6.22 · high	27.50 · good	Fair
Tue 12:00	1.44 · high	6.16 · high	27.50 · good	Fair
Tue 13:00	1.42 · high	5.85 · high	27.60 · good	Fair
Tue 14:00	1.42 · high	5.44 · high	27.60 · good	Poor
Tue 15:00	1.40 · high	5.03 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Tue 16:00	1.40 · high	5.10 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Tue 17:00	1.38 · high	5.01 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Tue 18:00	1.36 · high	4.43 · good	27.60 · good	Poor
Tue 19:00	1.32 · high	4.20 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Tue 20:00	1.30 · high	4.52 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Tue 21:00	1.28 · high	5.00 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Tue 22:00	1.26 · high	4.76 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Tue 23:00	1.24 · high	4.32 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Wed 00:00	1.22 · high	3.88 · good	27.50 · good	Poor
Wed 01:00	1.20 · high	3.67 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Wed 02:00	1.22 · high	4.11 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Wed 03:00	1.20 · high	4.05 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Wed 04:00	1.20 · high	3.69 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Wed 05:00	1.18 · high	3.95 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Wed 06:00	1.18 · high	4.40 · good	27.40 · good	Poor
Wed 07:00	1.16 · high	4.67 · good	27.40 · good	Fair
Wed 08:00	1.16 · high	4.95 · good	27.40 · good	Fair
Wed 09:00	1.16 · high	5.07 · good	27.40 · good	Fair
Wed 10:00	1.16 · high	5.25 · good	27.40 · good	Fair
Wed 11:00	1.16 · high	5.55 · high	27.50 · good	Fair