Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 2354h ago)
Max Depth
70ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Place of Refuge (Pu'uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park)
The Place of Refuge (also known as Two Steps) is a 'must-do' site. The drive to get there is wonderful, the entry is easy, and the diving is great. Turtles abound! The facilities are a little sparse. Take some water and a picnic lunch. There are porta-potties on the site.
Directions: From Kealakekua Bay, you can continue to travel South on Highway 160 for 3.2 miles to find the turn off. If this is your first destination of the day, you can take a faster route: from Kailua, drive south on Highway 11 for about 19 miles, well past Captain Cook. Take a right on Highway 160, Ke Ala o Keawe Road, (about mile mark 104) to Kealakekua Bay, and wind your way about 3.5 miles down to the ocean.
Access
shore
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Tide Report
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David R.
Jul 29, 2017, 12:00 AM
scuba
Here is the deal. Of the three sites we went shore diving on the Big Island in July, the other two being Mile Marker 4 and Puako Village End, I would actually rate this the hardest entry/exits of the three. There are two problems. The place can be overwhelmed by snorkelers all of whom are trying to enter and exit from the same place. So it can be a waiting game because of both the volume of people and the inexperience. But on top of that, when the tide is low, getting out is difficult because finding the leverage to get onto the first 'step' is not easy. If the tide is high, it is much easier. Once in the water, it is easy enough to get far away from the snorkelers. And you don't have to go far to hit the wall and be able to achieve as much depth as you might want. We bottomed out at 70 feet or so, but could have easily gone deeper and seen some nice things. We dove south along the wall to hit the second and deeper 'Aloha' sign on the sandy bottom at the edge of the way. A large reef shark was resting there. We saw turtles and a lot of marine life. The visibility was excellent. Very enjoyable dives. Beat the crowds if you can by getting there early. Also it is worth paying the $5 for the parking right by the site. It makes everything easier.