Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 2204h 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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Lynlee
Jan 1, 2008, 12:00 AM
scuba
This is my favorite Big Island spot. Really breathtaking with lots of species of fish, corals and plants due to the several depths you can enter. I like it best early in the AM as you can get good sunlight, and also because it can get crowded later in the day. Visibility is almost always great; I am guessing I could see 100 ft. We enjoyed snorkeling above divers in very deep water and still seeing them below--and the schools of dolphins seemed to be teasing them by swimming above them undetected. Turtles were everywhere as well…but the spinner dolphins were the stars- so many schooling and playing around us one day you just lose count . Very special place. We stayed at the Manago Hotel in Capt Cook as a base camp, and it was a good choice because we wanted to return several times while on the Big Island.
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