My draw to Hawaii’s Big Island for a winter vacation was the colorful coral reefs and boggling beautiful fish. The drawback is I could spend the entire week underwater snorkeling and never explore above-water activities. A solution surfaced: Snorkel before breakfast and try stand-up paddleboarding and outrigger canoeing afterward.
There’s no shortage of snorkeling sites on the dry side of the island, and I opted for my morning excursion in two protected bays, Makaiwa Bay, a half-mile south of the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, and Kahuwai Bay at the Kona Village resort.
I snorkel alone, and both bays are sheltered from currents and ideal to view the abundant array of tropical fish. Ten strokes from Makaiwa’s crescent-shaped shore and I was snorkeling amid a spectacular court of colorful fish, each sashaying through forests of fan and cauliflower coral…. More info
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