Pure Aloha Adventures Tours Verified

FOR ALL TOURS: A credit card is required at time of booking and your card will be charged at the time of booking. You may cancel or change your reservation at any time prior to 48 hours before your tour and you will be given a full refund. In the event of a no-show, late arrival, or last-minute cancellation no refunds will be given. No exceptions.

We recommend that you do not book your tour the same day you will be arriving in case of airline delays or cancellations. We also highly recommend purchasing travel insurance in case of such instances.

Please plan for Oahu’s well known traffic problems and arrive to Hanauma Bay early. If you are late, your guide will most likely not be able to wait for you, as we have to be fair to all guests. In such a case, please note that no refunds will be given and rebooking will most likely not be possible as our tours fill up weeks ahead of time. Please plan to arrive at least 15 minutes before your tour time to allow for traffic and parking situations.

All tours are subject to wind, waves, and weather conditions. In the event of dangerous conditions we may be required cancel tours for your safety. In this case, a full refund or transfer of tour to another date will be given.

Please note: Tours will not be cancelled in the event of rain.

PLEASE BE SURE TO READ YOUR CONFIRMATION EMAIL THOROUGHLY SO YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT THE DAY OF YOUR TOUR.

Not necessarily. We’ve taken people from three to 85 on our tours. It’s all about each particular person. Young children will most likely not be in the water for the full hour. They simply get cold or bored usually after 20 to 30 minutes. This is plenty of time for them to experience snorkeling, have fun, and be excited to do it again in the future. We never force children to stay in the water longer than they want. We want them to have a great memory of it even if it means only seeing a few fish and being stoked on that!

This is a tricky one. The way we answer this question is to assure you that you do not need to be an amazing swimmer to snorkel. But… you must be somewhat comfortable in water. Snorkeling is more about floating than swimming but if you’re terrified of water, there’s not going to be a whole lot we can do for you in an hour. Although first-timers may join our Honolulu Sail and Snorkel, at our “turtle town,” we recommend all first-timers to join the Hanauma Bay tour first! Here, we specialize in “nervous nellies” first-timers, and people of all skill levels and we absolutely love watching people get out of their comfort zone, getting over fears, and trying something new! We are there for you every step of the way and will even hold your hand if we have to! The great thing about the Bay is that you don’t have to go very deep to see amazing wildlife. Nervousness is ok, the ocean is a powerful thing and one should respect it, but trust us when we say YOU CAN DO IT!

Yep! We have guides who do it every day!

Glasses cannot be worn under snorkel masks unfortunately. We recommend wearing contacts or if your eyes aren’t that bad simply going without as most people do. Water does magnify things by 33% so most people end up seeing fine without.

My advice: Ask your wife first!

Just kidding of course, but guys, be aware that the mustache that you love so much will cause your mask to leak water. No recommendations here, just be aware and make your own decision on that one!

Nope! We have them on every tour and recommend them for everyone, but we do not require them. They do make your life a little easier though. After all, you are on vacation so why not relax a little more and use one!

Hanauma Bay is located about 30 minutes east of Waikiki. Take the H1 East which turns into Kalanianaole Highway. You pass Koko Marina and then go up a hill and Hanauma Bay is on your right-hand side. Turn down into the Bay and continue to the parking lot on the left-hand side. ALL GUESTS WILL MEET AT THE FRONT OF THE ENTRANCE LINE NEAR THE GIFT SHOP. Directions and a link to Google Maps can be found in your confirmation email.

Drive times vary according to traffic conditions and time of day.

Standard times are as followed.

From Waikiki: 30 minutes

From the North Shore: one hour and 15 minutes

From Koolina: one hour and 15 minutes

These are, of course, best case scenarios and do not account for Oahu’s well-known traffic problems or road closures. Please account for this when planning your trip. Google Maps times in the evening will be much different than in the morning rush hour traffic.

This depends on two things.

Do you have a rental car?
Are you staying in Waikiki?
We recommend the morning Hanauma Bay snorkel tour for anyone who has their own rental car and is staying in the Honolulu area. The parking lot fills up by 7:30 a.m. and is closed off and on throughout the day. You will have no issues with parking if you book the 7:30 a.m. tour time as you are asked to arrive 15 minutes early anyway.

The exception to this is if you’re staying in Koolina or North Shore. During morning rush hour it is not unlikely that drive times double or even triple from stated times above. If this is the case, we recommend for you the 10 a.m. time slot. It’s your vacation after all and who wants to wake up before 5 a.m. and sit in traffic on their vacation?

The 1 p.m. tour is hit or miss with the parking lot situation but we do recommend arriving at least 30 minutes early for this time slot. Also, if an earlier tour is available we would recommend the earlier slot as water is generally a little more calm in the morning.

In order to get the most out of your Oahu trip we highly recommend renting a car and getting out of Waikiki at least for a day or two. But if you choose to forgo a rental car you can get to Hanauma Bay by city bus #22 or using an Uber or Lyft taxi. NEW USERS MAY SIGN UP FOR UBER OR LYFT USING THE CODES IN YOUR CONFIRMATION EMAIL FOR FREE RIDES.

Please, please, please arrive early! If the lot is full, no worries, simply go to the alternative parking (directions in your confirmation email), call us, and we can pick you up there and drive you in. We do pick-ups 20 – 30 minutes before your tour time. Our guide will call or text you to touch base 30 minutes before your time to check and see if you’re going to need a ride or you’re on public transportation so PLEASE KEEP CELL PHONES HANDY.

During tour times phones ring directly to the guides. Meaning if they’re in the water, no one will answer the phone. If you are going to need a ride from the alternative parking simply leave us a message or send us a text and your guide will touch base as soon as they are back on dry land. If you are SUPER early we recommend looping around once or twice and hoping they open the lot and you can catch a spot as someone else is leaving.

Great question and this one confuses a lot of people. Meeting time is 15 minutes before your Oahu snorkel tour at the bench just outside the gift shop. Hanauma Bay is a nature preserve and we are not allowed to have booths set up or hold any sort of signage so your guide will be there looking for you/calling your name. Gift shop is located just near the front of the entrance line, not down on the beach.

Great news! When you join our guided tour you don’t have to wait in that crazy line! Simply go to the bench and have a seat and your guide will meet you there 15 before your tour time!

Yes, all guests must watch a quick seven-minute video about the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. Although we agree it’s a little cheesy and could use a revamp, it gives you some awesome information about the Bay, wildlife, and dos and don’ts while being a guest at one of the greatest places to snorkel in the world!

Yes, entrance fees will be paid direct to Hanauma Bay upon arrival. Please bring cash and your guide will meet you 15 minutes before your tour time and skip the line to purchase everyone’s tickets for entrance and orientation show time. Your tour time is your video time so that’s why you must arrive at the meeting location 15 minutes prior to scheduled tour times.

Exceptions: Kama’aina, Active Duty Military with proper ID, and children under 12.

Absolutely and we encourage it! Just be aware that we do have to “check-in” and “check-out” together. They want to make sure we are keeping our numbers to a maximum of five people per tour and also that we bring everyone out safely and they have it documented we did so. After your Hanauma Bay snorkel tour, you head back up to the entrance where we check-out and also give you the opportunity to see your photos and get anything out of our vehicle that we may be holding onto for you. After that you are free to go back down to the beach and hang out all day, if you like.

Yes, but as with everything in Hawaii they are very expensive. About $10 each. We are happy to lock your stuff in our vehicle to save you some money or give you a moment to go back to your car and leave anything in there you don’t need. Just be sure to keep your cell phones handy until you meet your guide! Very important!

You know it! We take photos during your excursion and usually end up with 50 – 100 photos. Photo packages are $29 per family and includes all the photos from your tour time.

We sure do hope so!! We know where they like to hang out and we can usually find them but we cannot promise or guarantee them. They are wild after all. What we can promise is lots of fish, fun, and friendship!

Well we don’t know why anyone would not want to at least give it a try, but of course. Any non-snorkeler can hang out on the beach and take photos or soak up some of that amazing Hawaiian sun. They will still have to pay the entrance fee, but we do not ask that they pay us anything.

Both Hanauma Bay and our Honolulu Sail and Snorkel have one hour of in water time. But expect to be with us for at least two and a half hours. We take our time and are never in a hurry… as we say, “We stay on Hawaii Time.”