Hawaii - Which Island for Snorkeling & relaxing?

My husband and I are planning our first trip to Hawaii. We are interested in snorkeling and to relax. Which island is good for snorkeling and not crowded.

We are flexible on our travel dates also.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

http://www.hawaiisnorkelingguide.com/

Maui. If you can go very soon or wait a year, then a great time to go is January to March (or so) when the whales are there.

The Big Island has some tremendous snorkelling.



DD

Hanauma Bay on Oahu was the single best location to me, but Maui had a broad variety that kept us busy visiting new places for weeks. I actually didn't find that much on Kauai or the Big Island (relative to Maui).

Maui would be my choice, both for snorkeling and all other activities.

The Big Island is by far the best snorkeling in Hawai'i - you'd need to travel to Micronesia to find better.

Which island is good for snorkeling and not crowded.

Snorkeling - Big Island followed by Maui

Not crowded - Big Island and Kaui

+1 for the Big Island.

The reason why it's so good there is because it's the youngest island, very rugged, and there are not many rivers flowing into the water, making it super clear.

My favorite spot was Kealakekua Bay. We rented kayaks and paddled to the Captain Cook monument. The snorkeling was awesome there, and on the way back we were paddling with dolphins.

We prefer Maui. Honolua Bay is our favorite spot because it's calm and sheltered from the waves and has a boat ramp that makes it easy to get in and out of the water.

Two-step in Big Island was easy to get in and out of, but I found the water off of Big Island to be much, much choppier than Maui. Perhaps we just got bad luck, but we headed to Maui shortly thereafter and it was much calmer in comparison.

Even though it's a tourist trap, I still recommend Molokini for snorkeling. On a good day, the visibility is outstanding. Definitely get on a smaller boat that arrives before the big crowds, if you can.