Sue and Kevin Mullen wrote:
>
> We stayed in Waikiki for about 2 weeks last May and everytime we
> passed Hunauna Bay the parking lot was closed because it was full.
I went Hunauma Bay this past December, and by 10am, the lot was
completely full and there were around 40 vehicles waiting in line.
This was consistent with local advisories that we had received, as well
as our observations from driving past that area and seeing lines at
other times of the day, plus Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanauma_Bay
The restrictions on park access exist because 3 million visitors per
year (roughly 10,000 per day) used to try to get in there. From their
official website:
" Plan to get to the bay early. The parking lot often fills early and
you will be turned away if it is full. By getting an extra early start
you will avoid long lines at the ticket booth and snorkel concession."
cite:
http://www.honolulu.gov/parks/facility/hanaumabay/information.htm
The current restrictions are 2,000 max, plus IIRC a daily limit, plus
restricted parking & tourbusses, plus no parking allowed up along the
road. Despite all this, I've seen some snorkel tourvans circumvent
these restrictions by dropping their customers off at the #22 bus (a 45
minute ride from Honolulu) to walk in, and then park their vans over in
the unrestricted 'scenic overlook' lot a 1/2 mile down the road (West).
Regardless of if the crowding problem is real or not, I'd not really
recommend Hunauma Bay to the OP, because the amount of time to get over
there, into the facility (mandatory video, snorkel rentals, changing
rooms, etc) will probably eat up 3-4 hours of their "4-5 hour" total
time budget. IMO, that's not a very big bang for the buck.
-hh
|