Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 1938h 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.
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shore
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Lisa Davis
Jan 9, 2016, 12:00 AM
scuba
We were looking for an easy location as our first Hawaii dive to ensure proper weighting- we really enjoyed this location! It has portable bathroom facilities, free and paid ($5 at the church for VERY close parking) parking. Did 3 dives here over the course of our trip. The first was a two step off the rock to 80' at the North (right) part of the cove; coral and fish galore. The next two we entered further to the South (left) on the rock in about 20-40' of water and saw turtles, trumpet fish and puffers. Visibility in January was easily 100' with no surge and no waves. We were told that a dive float was required so we towed one. There is a small boat ramp so be advised that there are occasionally boats. Locals and tourists hanging out on the rocks. There were also a lot of snorkelers near the entry/exit but moved out of the way as we were exiting. On exit, there is one part of the rock that is a bit of a shelf so step on up!
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