Kapoho Tide Pools

Our family had a great time here to snorkel. We saw all kind of beautiful finishes. We cancelled our paid snorkeling trip (to save money) as we found everything we could enjoy here. Thank you so much for all the reviews you posted here to guide us to find this place.

Wow. Just wow. The address seemed to take us to the right place to walk to the tide pools. It’s also pretty well marked now. When we first got there I was a bit leery of the whole excursion. I looked at the pools and thought «what’s the big deal?» Well, you can’t tell just simply from looking at the pools that there is an entire unseen ecosystem underneath. It was breathtaking and this is coming from someone who is a seasoned diver from the islands. In most spots it’s not very deep but the tide pools that are close to the ocean tend to be a little bit deeper (~8ft) with tons and tons of beautiful reef. I highly suggest adding this to your list of things-​to-​do. And wear reef shoes! You’ll be glad you did (no matter how silly you think you look).

We rented a house and spent a week in Kapoho. It was the vacation of a lifetime.
Just a few pointers for day trippers. Hawaiians have a wonderful welcoming spirit called Aloha. This means welcome. But, it also means (you as a guest) are expected reciprocate that kindness. Fifty thousand people visit Kapoho every year. Kapoho is private community recovering from a major hurricane. The streets are narrow and still damaged from a major disaster.
Kapoho is a lovely place, but it is not a state run park. It does not have showers or changing rooms or a lifeguard staff. The residents are happy to share their community with everyone. But, it becomes difficult when visitors are so poorly behaved. Some of daily visitors seemed oblivious to the basic privacy and property of the people who live or rent houses in the area. Snorkelers often walked through our front yard to get to the tide pools. They opened our gate and even used our hose to wash off. Look, it’s called catchment. When our house tank goes empty, we are out of water! If you sunbathe ten yards from somebody’s porch, is to to much to ask that you don’t smoke or yak about your yeast infections?
We saw some fantastic sea life in Kapoho, including whales and monk seals. However, visitors should keep in mind that ocean can be a dangerous place. We also saw poisonous sea urchins, eels, scorpion fish and even box jellyfish. The tide pools are not a place to let your kids run wild, unattended. Everyday, there were people with cuts, scraps, stings, and turned ankles.
To all the jerks on this board who complained about Kapoho: please don’t be a dick and complain about how this community (with limited resources) won’t accommodate your every whim. Stay at the Four Seasons and have your «perfect» Hawaiian experience with Mai Ties, air conditioning and chlorinated swimming pools. If you want some adventure and you can have some basic manners, than the people of Kapoho will welcome you with Aloha spirit. Only please, don’t park in their driveways or piss in their shrubs or take fruit from their trees.

The best snorkeling on the island! Wow! The reef is right up close and you snorkel right among the beautiful fish. There are SO many types of fish and so many of them! The pools are protected from the surf which makes for easy snorkeling. Go our farther toward the surf and you will see even more fish without it getting too much more wavy. Be sure to go at high tide so it will be easier to swim around through the various channels connecting the pools.

It used to be easy to gain access and park closer. We enjoyed the snorkeling and seeing all the sea life. The residence some happen to obviously be Nazi’s and want to own the tide pools, making it hard to share parts of the island. Sure so people parked where they should not have??? This is part of life. People from all over the world came to the tide pools!

Good spot for snorkeling if you’re new to it. Not to deep to feel its intimidatingly dark. You have to park outside of the neighborhood and walk through which sucks. There is plenty of space for people to park near the water on the lava rock road leading to the pools or even along the paved road in front of someone’s wall but apparently it is not «aloha» to do so.

Lovely place but be forewarned… keep your valuables with you and/​or watched. Got my purse ripped off from a LOCKED vehicle. Some native Hawaiians believe that anything on the island belongs to them. These thugs were, however, druggies trying to support their habit. Made us feel very unwelcome. I guess if you remain aware and diligent you will protect yourself.

Cool spot for hanging out on lava rocks and a little snorkeling. The snorkeling was good but not great — water is very shallow. Healthy coral and some fish.
Kind of hard to find because the location on Apple maps was wrong (use Google maps).

Am I the only person that’s confused about this place? First, this address leads to a gated community and you have to park outside and walk in. Second, the actual address is to a house that’s at the end of the cul da sac with no beach entrance or tide pool access. Third, the marker on the map takes you to a little beach cove called champagne pools. Totally separate then Kahopo tide pools. I talked to a resident and he pointed us out to a different road. Take the right before this community. It’s partially dirt and paved. Then find parking outside of a new community with big signs and proceed down to the actual tide pools. The tide pools are also known as wai opae.

We were a little hesitant, having to walk that far and not knowing where we would end up; would it be worth it? HELL TO THE YES! I have snorkeled in Jamaica in deep waters… forget that! We are going back! There were so many variations of fish, the waters were calm, and we got to see a tortoise feeding! Sometimes you have to belly crawl over some shallow water to get to another pool, but I am telling you this is worth it! We bought our own gear at Walmart… worth the $ 40 each! We are going back tomorrow! Definitely wear watershoes. Leave your stuff in the car and just take your gear and a towel. We left the shoes near the rocks into which we slid our buns into the pools. NOONE will touch your stuff and everyone is pretty good about watching out for others’ stuff. WE went on a Tuesday morning, and were one of the first ones there! DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THIS! If you have littler children, be sure they keep your belt or something. the current can be a bit strong for little ones in some areas and you don’t want them wandering off! You can actually see the fish through the top of the water, as well, but nothing like underwater! Take a cheapo camera if you want!

This was one of our stops on our tour of Hilo. It is a very unique place. make sure you take your swimsuit as you can go down and get into a warm pool of water. It’s just like a bath tub. there are restrooms there as well as a picnic area with pavilions for the weather. A great place to relax and unwind.

This place is amazing! Easy to get to, and a short walk to the tide pools from the parking area. The water is delightfully warm and the fish you see are magnificent!
I definitely recommend wearing water shoes or snorkel booties to protect your feet, and bring your snorkel gear, you’ll be glad you did!

I cannot believe I haven’t wrote a review for this place yet! I’ve been coming here for almost 15 years… well I have to say that a lot has changed over that time. Biggest one is that you can’t drive right up to the tide pools anymore as the local residents don’t want all that foot traffic in their subdivision. Understood. So now you have to park outside the subdivision, by the mailboxes and walk in.
Pros:
–beautiful coral, lots of different kinds of fish/​critters (depending on the day and tide conditions tho). I’ve gone on high tide, low tide, and most recently 9÷7÷2015, when it was hurricane surging… not recommended but still fun! lol… Still super clean, super nice.
–not crowded; it does take some effort to get here and there’s no beach, so you have to tread carefully on some sharp rocks and find flat spots to camp at but it’s worth it. Your efforts are rewards. The more effort, the more secluded and private a place you get.
Cons:
–Well, not a con but you must be aware of the tide/​wave conditions before you go. Low tide, limited pools and fish. High tide, more action, more choice.
–You gotta walk in now! That’s my personal gripe because I remember the good old days of literally pulling up to the tidal pool and popping open my trunk and good to go!
Tips:
–When you park outside, just walk straight through the neighborhood, when you get to the end of the road, make a left and you’ll see the clearing for the pools. Or instead of turning left at the end of the road, you could also walk straight into a vegetation type area, this would take you around to the back side of the main tidal pool that has houses around it.
–You need snorkel gear; Tabbies (reef shoes, fisherman shoes with felt bottoms) are extremely helpful here. If wearing rubber slippahs or water shoes, be careful slippery!
–No facilities or shade here so pack accordingly and clean up after yourself! (however, 5 mins down the way there is Alanui State Park with showers, lifeguard, port-​a-​potty).
–Depending on your adventure level, I wouldn’t recommend bringing little babies/​infants as it’s hard to tread over the rocks. That being said, I have definitely seen people bring babies/​infants out here but they don’t stay long and it’s a team effort/​production. I’ve brought my 2– year old and that was okay because he could walk, anything younger than that can stay home at grandpas!
–The closest store for food, water, gas is in Pahoa (15 mins away) so load up there on your way out to the coast.

Beautiful area to snorkel. Be considerate of the people that live there and park in the designated parking spot. It is less than a 10 min walk to the tidal pools, but will help keep the area open to visitors. There are no facilities once you get there. Bring water shoes and gloves as the lava rock can be sharp. Pay attention to weather and tidal patterns. Went while Hurricane Jimena was offshore and there was severe flooding in the area with strong waves; dangerous conditions to swim too far out, despite it being a gorgeous day.

This is a great place for the kids to come swimming. There are shallow pools of water between the rocks, I snorkeled with the kids in these shallow areas and saw so many pretty vibrant fish. The further out you go the bigger the fish get. The hike in is pretty awesome, walking down the quiet neighborhoods, people are friendly around here so they don’t mind the attention this place gets. Parking is away from the residential properties about ½ mile. I backed packed some snacks, water and our snorkeling gear so we stayed for awhile here, hanging out at the rocks and snorkeling. Go potty at the parking lot before you hike in, there are none on this beach. It’s surrounded by properties. When we came it was quiet– maybe two other families here and a guy out surfing.
Bring Water Shoes– it’s rocky and slippery.

Most of the swimming areas are private property and the residents are not only unwelcoming but hostile. Your car will be towed and they also call the police. Don’t go.

It’s quite nice area and free. It used to allow visitors to park in this area. However, the residents complain and now they don’t allow parking in this area. There is still no charge though.
You can park on Kapoho Kai road at the entrance sign to the tide pools and walk about ½ mile to the dead end or stop sign. You will see the blockade with sign states no visiting car passing this point. Then turn left on to Wai’Opae street. Walk for about ½ mile, you will see a wide open beach of tide pools.
Few points to prepare before visiting the area:
— stock up your cooler with drinks and snacks. There is no nearby stores. The closest restaurants or market is Pahoa (about 8 miles away).
— there is no public bathroom!
— The pool can be deep and the lava rocks are razor sharp… so watch your children.
— there is no lifeguard!
— water shoes will make your walk much easier!
Otherwise, enjoy snorkeling, swimming or tanning!

Beautiful tide pools! Very clear beautiful water. The pools are made of lava rocks so they are pretty sharp — definitely wear water shoes or fins to protect yourself. There are lots of beautiful tropical fish swimming around. Some little, some big. Overall, this is a gorgeous place to visit if you’re in the area.
There is no shade around, so it’s recommended to bring a umbrella or a hat.

These tide pools were the highlight of our trip! These are massive pools — you absolutely want to rent snorkel gear to bring with you. The lava rock is also extremely sharp — water shoes including full foot and heel coverage are mandatory! There are a myriad of bright tropical fish here, and as you snorkel on the surface you’ll see them traveling both solo and in large schools. If you look closely in cracks, you’ll also find anemone and other neat sea creatures. The coral or rock at the bottom is pretty too.
The area is open to the public. There is a small donation requested for parking ($ 3) and then you walk a short distance on paved roads from the parking lot to the tide pools. Once you’re there, walk out and find a flat place on the lava rocks to leave your towels and things and then enjoy swimming with the fish! The tide pools are enclosed and sheltered, so it is relaxing, easy swimming. Plan to spend at least several hours here!

The tide pools at Kapoho are cool because its free to visit them (but see below). The pools are part of a system of onshore and slightly offshore depressions filled with marine life. Getting here is a bit convoluted and you go down some iffy roads. The pools themselves are remarkable and easy to enjoy. They are located at the edge of a residential subdivision, so there are homes in the immediate proximity. Because the state of Hawaii requires public access to the Ocean, the residents have put up a small parking area. They request a three dollar «donation» in order to park here.
Because there are no public facilities, one of the residents has put up a porta potty for public use, requesting a donation of $.50 or a dollar to offset some of the $ 120 per month charge he incurs to have this here. I think you can guess why he has this in place. So if you want to come and explore the tidepools, either by snorkeling or walking around them, expect to pay a few dollars. It’s only reasonable in my opinion.