Place of Refuge (Pu'uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park)

Place of Refuge (Pu'uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park)

Hōnaunau, Big Island, HI
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Entry Map
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Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 2356h 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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Mike Groves
Mike Groves
Aug 6, 2010, 12:00 AM
scuba
Like many have said, this is a must do dive. Great vis and lots of fish and turtles. It is best to get there early just so you can park fairly close. Otherwise it is a fairly long walk down the road, not a deal breaker by any means, but the earlier you get there the better. It was a very smooth entry in, but on exit the surf had picked up quite a bit and people were getting slammed into the rock steps. I stayed back a bit until it died down, not more than a few minutes and got out without trouble. We will do this dive again. It was one of the best we have done.