Best Honolulu Snorkel & Swim Beaches

This is a guide to Oahu's best beaches for snorkeling and swimming, starting in Honolulu and written for locals and visitors alike. It covers town beaches near Waikiki and Ala Moana, Hanauma Bay on the southeast shore, Lanikai and Kailua on the windward side, and Haleiwa on the North Shore. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is a protected crater bay with reef fish, coral and turtles in calm water. Kaimana Beach, at the Diamond Head end of Waikiki, has a shallow reef that shelters the water for easy swims. At Ala Moana Beach Park, an offshore reef keeps the long swimming channel flat for laps and families. Shark's Cove has lava caverns and tide pools, but the rocky entry calls for reef shoes.

Mind the seasons: snorkel the North Shore only from May to September, and get to Lanikai early, before the trade winds stir up the water.