A Snorkeling experience by Roberts Hawaii. Back to all Oahu tours.
Tour Summary: Guaranteed Hanauma Bay admission booked up to 60 days ahead, with round-trip transport from Waikīkī. The required orientation video plays on the coach, so you skip the line at the entrance.
The dark patches inside the bay are the reef shelf. The walk down starts at the rim, and the tram runs the same route back up. 
The inner flat is shallow enough to stand in, which is why the bay works for first-time snorkelers and kids. Honu turn up inside the bay often enough to be worth watching for, though nothing on the reef is guaranteed. The coach parks at the upper lot. Wristbands are handed out on board before anyone steps off. When a monk seal hauls out, staff cone off a buffer and that stretch of sand closes until it leaves.
6 Tour Highlights:
- Book a guaranteed Hanauma Bay date up to 60 days ahead instead of two
- Watch the required orientation video on the coach and walk past the on-site line
- Ride a fully electric, air-conditioned motorcoach with room for beach chairs and gear
- Get coastline narration from the driver on the 25-minute run out from Waikīkī
- Pick your own return shuttle at booking, from the 3-hour default to a longer stay
- Use the free tram between the upper parking area and the bay entrance
Important: Your admission wristband is handed out on the coach and cannot be obtained at the bay, so driving yourself is not an option on this booking.
Tour Information:
| Price: | Adult | Youth |
|---|---|---|
| (excluding taxes & fees) | $72 | $44 |
Price note: Kamaʻāina, active military and children 12 and under enter the preserve free but still pay for transportation; bring the original ID to the Waikīkī pickup, as photocopies and phone images are refused.
Tour Provider: Roberts Hawaii
Activity: Snorkeling
Tour start time: 6:15 am, 7:00 am, 8:15 am, 8:45 am, 9:35 am, 10:05 am, 11:00 am, 11:25 am
Duration: 3 hours
Location: Hanauma Bay
Pick-up available? Yes, round-trip transport from Waikīkī is included. Seven stops on two alternating routes: Ala Moana Hotel, ABC Stores #83, Ka Laʻi Waikīkī Beach and the Hyatt Regency on the Honu route; Hotel La Croix, Ross Dress for Less on Seaside Avenue and the Waikīkī Beach Marriott on the Kai route. The stop nearest your hotel determines which route you ride.
Included: Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve admission. Round-trip Waikīkī transportation. Orientation video shown on board. Priority-entry wristband
Cancellations: Roberts Hawaii handles all cancellations and refunds directly. There is no free cancellation on this tour: cancel more than 48 hours before your service day and you are charged a 10% cancellation fee, and refunds take 10 to 12 working days to reach your card. Inside 48 hours the booking is non-refundable at 100%, and no-shows are charged in full.
Read more: about snorkeling in our Oahu snorkeling guide.
Read more about the Hanauma Bay package
Hanauma Bay’s County reservation system releases tickets two days ahead at 7 a.m., and they’re gone in minutes. Roberts Hawaii sells that same admission up to 60 days out, and their inventory drops on the 1st of each month for the whole following month. You’re buying a date you can plan a trip around.
Every visitor to the preserve has to watch an 8-minute orientation video before entering, and there’s a queue for it at the entrance. Roberts plays it during the 25-minute drive from Waikīkī, so you walk past that queue and go straight down to the water. Drivers narrate the coastline too, past Diamond Head and around Koko Head.
Honu turn up inside the bay often enough to be worth watching for, though nothing on the reef is guaranteed.
The wristband is the ticket, and it only exists on the bus
Wristbands are handed out on board after everyone is seated. They get checked at the entrance to the preserve. You can’t buy this ticket and drive yourself down: no wristband, no entry, and parking at the bay doesn’t change that. Kamaʻāina, active military and children 12 and under enter the preserve free but still pay for the seat, and the original ID has to come to the Waikīkī pickup, not a photo of it on your phone.
The coach parks at the upper lot. Wristbands are handed out on board before anyone steps off.
Eight departures run Wednesday through Sunday across seven Waikīkī stops, on two alternating routes: the Honu at 6:15am, 8:15, 9:35 and 11:00; the Kai at 7:00am, 8:45, 10:05 and 11:25. Which one you ride depends on the stop nearest your hotel. The preserve is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so the shuttle runs exactly the days the bay is open. Walk to your stop the day before if you can: several of the bigger hotels have three or four entrances, and the right one isn’t obvious before sunrise.
What to bring, and how long you get at the bay
You pick your return shuttle when you book, and if you leave it blank the system defaults to 3 hours at the bay, plus about 25 minutes on the coach each way. Allow 30 minutes to get from the sand back up to the Hanauma Bay Information Kiosk, and another 20 to 30 if you’re waiting on the free tram. The path is uphill the whole way. We’d rather wait at the kiosk than jog up it.
Bring a card. Every concession at the bay is cashless, and snorkel gear is not included in the fare: Dive Oʻahu rents it on site. Bring a towel too, because you have to be dry to board the return coach. Shade on the sand is thin and the air conditioning on the coach is strong, so pack a light layer.
Two things carry this tour: the video playing on the way out, and drivers who treat the drive as part of the trip. The return leg is the weak point. Every one-star review is a pickup or a return that went wrong, a bus that broke down, a party left standing at the kiosk. When a shuttle runs late, guests wait with little information, so check in early rather than at the last announced time.
About Roberts Hawaii
Getting a Hanauma Bay ticket is harder than getting to Hanauma Bay: the County drops a small batch two days out and it’s gone in minutes. Roberts Hawaii holds the City and County shuttle contract and sells that admission 60 days ahead, released on the 1st for the month after. At $72 per adult that’s roughly three times the $25 non-resident walk-in fee, and it covers the admission ticket itself plus the coach from Waikīkī. Skip it if your plans are loose enough to gamble on the County release.
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