Snorkeling at Aulani

[DisSarahK]

We are in the final countdown to our trip to Aulani and I have a quick question for *recent* Aulani visitors about the snorkel equipment.

I've read in past trip reports about people borrowing snorkel equipment from Aulani to use in the lagoon and then keeping it the rest of the day--even taking it off property--as long as they returned it by 5pm.

I have also read that you cannot take snorkel equipment off property at all.

Can anyone tell me what the current policy is? I'd love not to pack snorkel equipment if I don't need to!

 

[Cinderpamela]

Makiki Joe's is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily at the Aulani beach.

Snorkel Sets: $20 for a full day and $15 for a half-day

I have read that folks have rented from the beach rental shack listed above, Makiki Joe's, and then used those sets off site... but since the shack closes at 5pm they would need to be returned by then. You can't take the Rainbow Reef gear out of the Rainbow Reef area.

We actually rented for our entire 10 day stay from Snorkel Bobs. So if you envision yourself snorkeling off site more than once, and you don't want to bring an entire suitcase of your own snorkel gear, it might be worth looking into renting for your entire stay from Snorkel Bob's rather than paying day by day rates.

 

[DisSarahK]

Thanks for the info, Pam. This helps a ton!

 

[Sur]

Thanks for that info- we'll be using it too!

DisSarahK, I LOVE your sig pic of Alaskan cruise and that you're next trip is Hawaii! Very cool!

 

[DisSarahK]

Thanks for that info- we'll be using it too!

DisSarahK, I LOVE your sig pic of Alaskan cruise and that you're next trip is Hawaii! Very cool!

Thank you--I just love that picture of them with Minnie! We have gone to Disneyland since our Alaska cruise but I didn't change my pic!

 

[jaimeadk]

Can I get more info on snorkel Bob's? Where is it located?

 

[Cinderpamela]

Their shop is located in Honolulu, that is where we picked up our gear.

Here is their website page on the different gear packages:
http://snorkelbob.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/sbservices_packages.html?L+scstore+rtcd0539ffba59ba+1395631608

The gear comes in a nice mesh carrying bag so it was easy to pack around to our different excursions.

 

[funhouse8]

Their shop is located in Honolulu, that is where we picked up our gear.

Here is their website page on the different gear packages:
http://snorkelbob.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/sbservices_packages.html?L+scstore+rtcd0539ffba59ba+1395631608

The gear comes in a nice mesh carrying bag so it was easy to pack around to our different excursions.

I was told that you could take the disney gear off site as long as you get it from the beach return it at night. Does anyone know if you can still do this and what time it needs to be returned. thanks

 

[Cinderpamela]

I was told that you could take the disney gear off site as long as you get it from the beach return it at night. Does anyone know if you can still do this and what time it needs to be returned. thanks

If you see my post above (the first one, post #2) I stated that folks have done this, but the shack on the beach needs them returned by 5 pm when they close.

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

Rainbow Reef gear cannot leave the Rainbow Reef area. If you rent it from the activities stand by the beach it needs to be turned in by 5. When we were there in February we just bought snorkel gear from Costco for like $25. Came with flippers, mask and a snorkel that didn't allow water in. Aulani's snorkels are the open hole ones that let water in. The Target across the street also had gear sets for cheap. Overall it was cheaper than renting and better gear. We found a family to pass it off to before we left so we didn't have to pack it home.

 

[owensamo]

We actually picked up Costco snorkel gear to take with us (managed to get it into the carryons fairly non-invasively so far). However, what they didn't come with is vests - are vests available to use for free at Aulani like on Castaway Cay (DCL)? DH found some vest-only rental places, but as we'd need them for 2 weeks, the rental rates were the same as buying them ourselves!

Actually, I imagine we'll have to get them anyway, since we want to snorkel off-site and won't always be with an excursion, etc...

 

[DisSarahK]

However, what they didn't come with is vests - are vests available to use for free at Aulani like on Castaway Cay (DCL)?

We just returned from our trip. The vests at the beach rental are only for use with Aulani snorkel rentals--and Rainbow Reef gear can't leave the Reef.

However, anyone can borrow life jackets for free from the towel stand and a couple of other places up near the pool. You can take those life jackets down to the lagoon or even, I supposed, off-site…you just have to return them before the towel stand closes for the night. They have adult and child-size jackets.

 

[lovetotraveltx]

I thought I read on a thread on here that if you get the Rainbow Reef Length of Stay pass you can rent at the beach hut for free too? Is that true?

 

[Ambassador]

From the Aulani website,
"Rainbow Reef admission includes a life vest and a mask and snorkel set. Pricing is as follows:

One-Day Rental: $15 per adult (ages 10 and up); $10 per child (ages 9 and under)
Length-of-Stay Rental: $20 per adult (ages 10 and up); $15 per child (ages 9 and under)"​

But that means a Guest can return many times to RR, but probably cannot remove equipment off-site?

 

[JeffR]

If you can be pretty sure of finding gear at Costco, I think that's a great option (Costco is very close and their gear is pretty decent).

We were there the week before last, and as a scuba diver, I had brought my gear "just in case".

There is a lagoon very close to the property that has some very good snorkeling, but may not get that much attention (or maybe it does, I'm not on these boards very often).

Attached is pic of where we went, and you can get there either along the shore (not easy for the very young or very old), or via the public access area at the Luau place (I think - it's so hard to tell on the map).

I've been on reef dives where I haven't seen as many fish, and so consider this a a real gem, especially given that it's free!

The water isn't nearly as clear as you'll find on the resort, and it's actually not much bigger. But it's very safe and shallow, sea turtles seem to almost always be there, and all three of the lagoons north of the resort are seal beaching areas (usually only one at a time, and they are roped off by volunteers).

In the water, stay above the sand, just to the shore side of the rocks, and you'll see all the little fishes you could hope to see (early morning is best, before the water is too stirred up).

Enjoy.

 

[kkmcan]

We were there last month and decided to just buy cheap sets at one of the ABC stores. They didn't come with fins but we didn't need them. We used them at Hanauma Bay, Aulani's lagoon and the secret lagoon shown in the map above. We loved both Hanauma bay and Aulani. The fish are plentiful out by the rocks. The secret lagoon as I like to call it seemed about the same to me as the Aulani lagoon as far as fish but it is a lot smaller. We went over there in the late afternoon around 4ish and the waves were starting to come in a bit stronger. I was trying to watch a sea turtle that my dh spotted between two big rocks and the waves were throwing us back and forth and I was way out of my comfort zone. I freaked out! I thought I was going to drown or hit the rocks. I screamed "I can't do this" and swam so fast back to shore.

Maybe if we hadn't gone when the waves were starting to come in it would have been calmer.

Anyhow the cheap snorkel sets have the thing at the top so the water doesn't come in. They were about $20 each, I think. We also ended up with one set that was $29 because we needed four sets and they ran out of the cheaper ones. The Costo sets for adults were $44.99. So way too much for us. Our kids are too old for kids sets so we were looking at 4 adult sets which really adds up.