Holokai Kayak and Snorkel Adventures

I had a great time on our kayak and snorkel tour. Our guide Kevin was very friendly and constantly checked in with us to make sure we were ok.
I recommend this tour for anyone looking for a relaxing half day adventure.
Bring a waterproof camera and towels!

Our tour guide, Bailey?, was so excellent. He was the first tour guide we’ve had that I really wanted to tip. He was super thorough in his explanations of everything, and was prepared like a boy scout.
We were on the kayak-​snorkel tour where we get a short orientation to get fitted with life jackets and flippers before getting towed half way out to Coconut Island, which apparently was a filming site of Gilligan’s island. While these were the ‘smoothest’ waters in all of Hawaii they were still a lot choppier than our man-​made Town Lake back home (Austin). Seeing the color difference as we approached and (gently) paddled over the coral reefs was pretty amazing.
After arriving at the island, Bailey was prepared with super warm rash guards (my wimpy one stood no chance) and snacks. Love the guava juice. Our guide hopped one of our kayaks to keep an eye on us while we were snorkeling. The reefs had a lot of dead spots but still a lot of life too. And we saw a turtle! How I wish so much of our family was with us for this excursion, it was fantastic.

Wow! I signed up for their 2-​hour stand-​up paddle boarding lesson with snorkeling, and what an AWEsome experience. The tour guide, Baylie (?), was SO funny, and knowledgeable, and a great instructor. And the lunch they served afterward was exquisite! WELL worth the money! All-​around best experience I’ve had on Hawaii thus far!

This was an amazing experience. My mother and law and I did the Hawaiian canoe, and we had an absolute BLAST. We saw sea turtles, lots of fish, and did some snorkeling by the reef. The water was crystal clear, the weather was perfect, and the guides were super nice. I would highly recommend this to anyone, and want to thank Holokai Adventures for an experience I’ll never forget.

Overall this was a great activity to spend time with the family! Our guide Tomo was friendly, accommodating, and knowledgeable about the area. All profits go to a non-​profit environmental educational program so basically a win-​win. We chose to do the Kayaking/​Snorkel Guided Tour.
They have a pick up option from hotels in Waikiki Beach, but otherwise you can drive yourself for about 40 minutes to get to the location. We left our hotel around 8am and arrived in time for the 8:45 scheduled check-​in.
By 9 we were getting our snorkel gear and getting tips on how to kayak. We were then towed 2/​3rds of the way to Coconut Island and then released to kayak to the reef on the corner of the island. Once we landed on the island we got a small break to eat granola bars and drink water/​juice and then we were off to snorkel.
The water is a little chilly this time of the year especially when you get near the drop off at the edge of the reef, but we had a great time and got to see turtles, sea cucumbers, and all types of fish. Once we finished snorkeling we were given the option to kayak the way back or get towed by boat; I chose to kayak and got to ride over some really shallow patch reefs.
By around 12:30 — 1:00pm we were back at the park and lunch was waiting for us. There were freshwater showers for us to rinse off too. You might want to remember to bring cash if you want to tip your guide!

What a great experience! Read about Sunken Island in Kane’ohe Bay, and decided to go check it out. A quick Unilocal search led us to Holokai Kayak and Snorkel for kayak rentals — such a great place. They are located in a state park (very cool), and all the proceeds go to a kids organization! So great!
Very friendly and helpful staff who gave us great suggestions for hanging out on the sandbar and finding some good snorkeling spots. We also really appreciated the set-​up in that the kayaks are right on the bay and very convenient — no hauling kayaks or having to put them on your car!
A couple tips:
First of all, go do this! When you do, pack a cooler with lunch, snacks, beers, waters, etc so you can hang out on the sandbar all day! Also, make sure to bring lots of sunscreen! And check out a couple of the snorkel spots: the holes in the reef caused by the navy testing bombs back in the day are really cool.
Thanks again, Holokai for a great experience!

We decided use Holokai kayak adventure because it’s a non profit and all the money goes back to the school. They picked us up in front of our hotel and took us to Kane’ohe bay. They gave us some helpful tips on how to monomer the kayak then we all got into the kayaks and tied them up and with a ponton they took us out towards coconut island also known as Gilligan’s island from there they untied us and he guided us around and informed us about the area. then we got to our distention were we got out of the kayak had a snack and drink and then we went out snorkeling. they do provide all the equipment but if you want you can bring your own snorkle and fins if you want. the water was great and we saw a lot of fish and no turtles. I know they can’t do anything about the wildlife but I was a little disappointed the lack of sea life. I did have a hard time seeing because my mask kept fogging up and there was nothing they could do. When it was time to go back we kayak back and since it was my first time kayaking I was nervous but we did it and it was a lot of fun. after showering and changing we had lunch and their BBQ was great. the staff was very nice. we had a great time. I would go back again next. time I’m in town.

Parker is AMAZING! I had the pleasure of going on a hobie cat sailing tour and was blown away. Parker was an exceptional tour guide, showed us so many cool spots in Kaneohe Bay, and was super informative about the bay and its history. It’s honestly worth the cost of the tour just to KNOW about some of the things he educated us on. He even taught us a little bit about sailing and let us sail! We saw a number of manta rays, turtles, and so many other cool underwater creatures. AND got to snorkel with them! The overall experience Parker provided was priceless. BEST TOUR on the island. HIGHLY recommend this to anyone of all ages!

Booked a Double-​Kayak on a self guided tour for 8-​hrs (only ended up using it for about 2-​hrs) and it came with everything: life vests, dry bag, anchor, and snorkel gear. Holokai Kayak is located at He’eia State Park. Very convenient if you’re looking to kayak out to Sunken Island (aka Sandbar).
It was Friday, Sept 4^th and well into hurricane season. The day before we had torrential rains! So, I was hoping the weather would cooperate and it did. Whew! The waves were not at all choppy, just caught a few rolls when other boats would pass us by. So, a little rocking action.
After 1-​mile of some serious rowing, we finally reached the Sandbar. Although it was sunken, you could really tell the difference because the water was so blue and bright! The water was so calm and the scenery was so breathtaking! We were the only ones on a kayak at that time, just floating around in the middle of the ocean. It felt like we had the entire bay to ourselves. At one point though I freaked out because I felt like we could get swallowed up if Mother Nature decided to turn on the rain and wind. She was very kind though. In fact, it was a great way to start off my birthday in Hawaii!
I used my GoPro attached to my chesty and had some good footage of smooth sailing. My hubby spotted a sea lion and kept pointing to it, but I saw nada. Nothing. It’s okay, because we want to come back out in December. Maybe by boat next time because my arms are definitely feeling it today. My hands are feeling kinda raw too — a few blisters on each hand.
Highly recommend this place! There was a 15% discount when I booked online. Check-​in inside the building, window on the right. Then you’ll head out to the bottom of the hill, which can me muddy and slippery so be careful. Your kayak should be ready to go at that point. Oh! We got a lot of mosquito bites while putting our gear on. Owwee.
Have fun!

2^nd time here and it was even better than the first time!
2 years ago, I came to Holokai adventures for a canoeing trip. We canoed to coconut island for 2 miles while we snorkelled around the island. It was fun, but the water was chilly since the weather wasn’t the best– it was June. However, a month ago, we came in July and the weather was hot which made it perfect for a nice dip in the water.
We also didn’t do canoeing– we went on a private sailboat adventure. The sailboat itself can only hold about 6 people at most. But there were only 4 and two were the workers/​guide. It was so much fun.
We learned how to sail the tiny plastic boat a little, but we spent more time staring in awe at the sea turtles and we were able to dock at an awesome sandbar. We were able to cover more of the bay due to the fast sailboat and we even snorkelled too. The guides were extremely informative and very nice and friendly.
I definitely would recommend this activity which is only a 100 dollars a person and it includes a lunch of ribs and chicken. A great way to end the day.

Awesome small group, low key tour. Tour guides were helpful and informative, took free pictures of us and emailed it to us. Lunch was great! Military discount. Great way to introduce yourself to snorkeling and kayaking.

No wonder this place was given 5 stars! It was recommended by a friend and I’m glad my family and I decided to go. Super friendly staff which were very informative especially since we’ve never been here or visited the sand bar. They also provided everything along with a map. I would definitely do this again.

Ok, I’ll confess to a bit of trepidation when signing up for a 3 hour tour… to Gilligan’s Island (aka Coconut Island) (if you’re not old enough to get the reference… move along ;-))
We showed up at He’eia Park a little bit early — checked in and kicked back.
When our group was all present, we headed down for equipment checkout and orientation/​training (short, informative, and well done).
Our guide, Bailey, was very good. Proficient in the skills, knowledgeable about the area, wildlife and history, and a great personality.
We launched and got towed around the corner, then started our paddling. Paddled about half an hour and landed on Coconut Island (which was visible from the deck of the house we were staying at, so nice to get a name for it). (A cool feature for the aviation buffs was the near constant stream of P3 Orions flying over practicing touch-​and-​gos at the MCAS)
We landed on a small beach and had a quick snack and drink, then donned our snorkel gear and hopped in the water. The visibility was not great, and it’s not like snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, but Bailey (on a kayak) was up spotting Honu (sea turtles) — got to see several of them pretty close up, which made the snorkel trip a win!
Back to the kayaks and another quick paddle back to the launch point, then it’s BBQ time!
All you can eat Hawaiian BBQ — what’s not to love?
After filling up on that and enjoying more socializing with our fellow adventurers, it was time to head on to our next Hawaiian adventure.
Give Holokai a shout! You’ll be glad you did!

I had a great time! Bailey and James were super informative of the area’s legends and history. They definitely made the trip better! I saw a sea turtle and lots of fish. Besides that, you get to go to Giligans island! The lunch afterwards was superb! Guava marinated chicken, ribs, salad, rice, and more! Thanks for the great experience!

Great experience and super friendly staff. We had an amazing time at the sandbar and the kayak experience was awesome as well. We came in a group of six and they provide us with everything we needed. life jackets, kayaks and paddles. Totally recommend if you want adventure.

Perfect place to rent a kayak to go to kaneohe sandbar. Double kayak was $ 65 plus additional $ 5 for backrest, anchor, drying, etc each for 4 hours. They close at 4 pm so plan accordingly. Staff is friendly, helpful and laid back. U launch right at the water so its convenient. It took us about 70 mins to get to sandbar because it was kinda windy but once we got there it was all totally worth it. We packed the kayak with icebox, beach chair, umbrella and drybag full of snacks and stuff. We had the sandbar to ourselves! The advantage of kayaking to sandbar over taking a party boat is u have it to yourself!

This is a really fun kayak and snorkel tour on Kaneohe Bay on the east side of Oahu, north of Kailua. The starting point is at He’eia State Park on Kam Hwy, and is easy to find. On the day that we went, the weather was gray and drizzly, but still warm and beautiful, with small craft advisories for the ocean waters. We were tucked inside the bay where it was actually really nice. I’m not sure if all tours are the same, but I suspect that water and weather conditions dictate where the tours go.
Our group consisted of 4 couples. First, our guide, Parker, gave us a brief safety lesson, information about the area where we were, gave us snorkeling gear, and told us the plan for the three-​hour tour and then the picnic lunch afterward. Then, we walked down the hill to the water where we were given instruction on kayaking and then we got in our two-​person kayaks and were hooked up to a pontoon boat that Parker used to pull us out into the bay, upwind and uphill, toward Coconut Island. Coconut Island is famous for being in the opening credits for the old Gilligan’s Island TV show. Once on the lee side of the island, which is now a university research facility, we beached our kayaks and Parker gave us instruction on how to snorkel. The other three couples either had never snorkeled before or were not experienced at it at all. The website says that this tour is appropriate for people of all snorkeling abilities, including no experience, but I would say that if you have never put your face in the water with a mask on and breathed through a snorkel, this might be a little challenging. However, that being said, everyone seemed to catch on. Life vests were required while on the kayaks, but not while snorkeling, however, we noticed that everyone was wearing their life vests except for us and Parker, who wasn’t even wearing fins, yet he was swimming like a fish.
We then started snorkeling around one side of the island, with Parker leading the way, pointing out interesting things. The most thrilling of all was seeing several sea turtles under water, swimming around. In the past, we have seen tons of turtles poking their heads up on the surface, but my husband had never seen them below the water, swimming around. It was awesome. My favorite thing was seeing more Moorish Idols (my favorite fish) than I had ever seen before, and they were bigger than I had ever seen before, also. We saw a lot of other fish, as well. We also noticed how amazing the corals were. This is probably how Haunama Bay was 50 years ago.
After the snorkeling, Parker had water and sodas for us, and everyone found them very welcome and refreshing. We got back in our kayaks and paddled downwind and downhill back toward where we started from. Even though it was downhill, it did take a bit of energy to get home. At that point, we were really appreciating the tow we had had upwind, out to the snorkeling site. After a cold shower rinse, we then went to the picnic area down the other side of the hill by the water. They had a nice BBQ lunch with salad under some tents. They even had veggie burgers for the vegetarians, and they were actually quite good. It was just perfect, as we had apparently worked up quite an appetite with the snorkeling and kayaking. Everyone was recounting their experiences on the adventure, and everyone was really thrilled by it all. Interestingly, the only photo we have of our 10 days on Oahu is the photo that Parker took of us kayaking from the pontoon boat. We will treasure it.
I would definitely recommend Holokai Kayak & Snorkel Adventure to anyone who wants to safely get out on the water, do some kayaking, see the land from out on the ocean, see the ocean from below the surface of the water, and see some beautiful fish and turtles. It was well worth it and I would do it again the next time we are on Oahu.

We had a wonderful time kayaking and snorkeling with Holokai Kayak Adventures. Our guides, Boris and Parker were very friendly and made sure everyone was safe and comfortable. The day we went was a little windy and rainy. It was my 7 year old son and I and we had a tough time kayaking towards Coconut Island when the wind picked up. Boris hooked up his kayak to ours and pulled us all the way to the island. The snorkeling was wonderful and my son was extremely happy that he got to see many turtles near by. Parker made sure my son was safe and he swam close by at all times. On the way back, Parker pulled our kayak Banana Boat style, which my son loved.
Since we had such a wonderful time but wanted to snorkel more, Parker suggested their new sailing & snorkeling tour. It’s their most expensive tour package but their catamaran boat can take you anywhere in Kaneohe Bay so you can snorkel at lots of different areas. Two days later, we went back for their sailing tour. This time we got Garret as a guide. He was super laid back and awesome with my son. We got lucky and had the whole boat to ourselves! He took us all over Kaneohe Bay, including the sand bar. He even showed my son how to sail. We snorkeled in two different spots. Saw lots of turtles from the sail boat.
The people who work at Holokai Kayak Adventure truly love what they do. They are really friendly, great with kids and have lots of great information about the area.
If anyone is looking for a great tour company, you won’t regret going with Holokai Kayak Adventure! All proceeds go to support Kama aina kids, so it’s also for a great cause! Highly recommend from a mom who booked two tours in 2 days!

Had a great time kayaking and snorkeling. The guides were nice and friendly. The BBQ after our adventure was good. We had teriyaki chicken, veggie burgers, salad, corn and pineapples.

Amazing place!!! Great service easy and convenient! Prices are the same as any other place! Nice think is no need to hauling the kayak! Especially if you are trying to go to the sunken islands (sandbar) this place is a perfect place!