Snorkel with Sea Turtles near Waikiki

We snorkel at Turtle Canyon, a natural reef about 2 miles offshore where Hawaiian green sea turtles gather to get cleaned by reef fish — locals call it a "turtle car wash." It's not reachable by swimming from the beach, which is why every trip here departs by boat from Kewalo Basin Harbor, just minutes from Waikiki.

Yes. We offer a 100% turtle sighting guarantee on our snorkel tours — if we don't spot a sea turtle during your trip, you're welcome to rebook another tour for free.

No. Every guest gets a flotation vest, gear, and a briefing before getting in the water, and our guides stay with the group throughout. Most of our guests are first-timers.

The Turtle Snorkel Adventure runs aboard the Big Kahuna, a 49-passenger vessel — but we intentionally cap this tour at just 20 guests per trip, well under capacity, so there's still plenty of space on deck and more attention from the crew than a full boat would allow. The Semi-Private Catamaran Snorkel takes that a step further aboard the smaller Keanuenue, which holds a maximum of 6 guests — our highest level of attention and service, with a much higher guide-to-guest ratio and a more personal, flexible pace in the water.

Not at all — both our Turtle Snorkel Adventure and Semi-Private Catamaran Snorkel run a full 2 hours on the water, so there's real time to snorkel and enjoy it rather than rushing from one thing to the next. Just as importantly, keeping groups small means our experienced guides can stay hands-on with everyone throughout.

A swimsuit you can move in, reef-safe sunscreen (applied before you board), a towel, and a change of clothes for after. We provide all snorkel gear. Note we keep a barefoot policy on all our boats, so you'll go shoeless onboard unless you need to keep shoes on for medical reasons.

Yes — for smaller groups, a private charter aboard the Keanuenue gives you the boat to just your party. For larger groups, the Big Kahuna also offers private charter snorkel tours.

Shore snorkeling near Waikiki is convenient but limited — visibility is lower and turtle sightings are much less consistent than at Turtle Canyon, which is why it's only reachable by boat.

It's not the focus of the tour, but during whale season our small-group snorkel trips build in extra time on the water to look for whales and dolphins in the area. It's common to get a two-for-one experience — turtles in the water and whales on the surface — even though sighting whales isn't guaranteed on the snorkel tour.