A Last Day Before Our Big Adventure

Last night in O'ahu, Turtle Bay

While we were doing all the things I covered in my last two blogs, we were still trying to figure out when and where we could go snorkeling. The more we read, the more we realized that good spots were either far or a bit dangerous, so we decided that a boat-based trip might be better. But, there weren’t many available. 

Turtle Town

We ended up booking a tour with Hawai'i Ocean Charters (through Viator) to “Turtle Town” that guaranteed Green Sea Turtles. 

Green Tea Turtle; Photo: Caty Stevens

Now, we like a good Turtle, but we really wanted pretty reefs and fish, and we were a bit skeptical that this trip would deliver.

It didn’t. And, we should have known better.

I wanted this – or, actually, something better than this; Maui, 2022

We got this

The boat took us to an area right off the coast of Waikiki where many, many tours were already anchored. 

Close to shore

We got in the water, which had a pretty strong current and spent almost all our time trying to keep up with our guide, who kept repositioning to get us out of the way of other groups and avoid being carried away by the current.

It's hard to look for fish when you have to stay focused on your guide

The water was so murky, it was virtually impossible to see anything. They told us that it had been clearer in the early morning (that trip was booked), but I wonder what they meant by clear.

With the crowds, I was getting kicked, my view was getting blocked and I had to be careful to not end up following a different tour. I missed half the Turtles. Yes, they did good on the "guaranteed Green Sea Turtles," but the ones we encountered were hard to see and harder to photograph.

I saw a few, and got only two photos, with only one good(ish) one

Caty was a bit more successful; Green Sea Turtle and Brassy Drummer

We were in the middle of a huge school of Hawai'ian Black Triggerfish ...

They kept running into me

... but, once again the murky water made it hard to get good photos and the reef (if there was one) was too deep. 

We also saw Yellowfin Surgeonfish ... 

And, as I mentioned, Brassy Drummers

The best part of the trip was the pod of Spinner Dolphins we encountered on the way to Turtle Town.

A pretty large group swimming ahead of us ...

... and around us; Photo: Caty Stevens

Fun to watch ...

Otherwise, it was a bust.

Unless, I guess, if you had never seen a Sea Turtle before

I had a similar experience at another Turtle Town in Maui. Fortunately, that trip went to an actual reef as well. This one didn’t.

So, we finished up there and went back to hotel.

We decided to dress up in pretty tropical clothes (we brought them so why not?).

We didn't plan to match!

Turtle Bay

Then, we took off with the intention of seeing the North Shore. We made it to Turtle Bay, but not around the island as we had hoped. 

Located on Oʻahu's North Shore, Turtle Bay is a sprawling resort an hour outside of busy Honolulu. Spanning 1,300 acres of dramatic coastline, lush greenery and pristine coves, it is beautiful.

I think I would have preferred to stay there (but, it's pricey)

Named for the Green Sea Turtles that historically fed in its calm waters, Turtle Bay served as fishing grounds and agricultural lands for early Hawai'ians. The Ritz-Carlton Oʻahu - Turtle Bay opened in May 1972 as the Del Webb's Kuilima Resort Hotel & Country Club.

The resort is private, but the shore is open to the public (all Hawai'ian beaches are public)

We had no real agenda. At this point, we were really just killing time, waiting to head to American Samoa.

We explored the pretty grounds ...

Photographed birds, including Common Mynas ...

... and Western cattle Egrets (nothing exciting)

We took photos ...

... taking advantage of some gorgeous "golden hour" light ...

And, then watched the sun set

By then, it was too late to drive the entire coast, so we headed back, driving back in the dark and the rain after getting delayed by some massive construction.

For the most part, this day was a bust – except some nice photos of us. I shouldn’t have left snorkeling to chance.

Ko Olina

The next morning, we checked out and headed toward the Ko Olina Lagoons at the Four Seasons O’ahu because we had heard that they were good snorkeling. We heard that Lagoon Four was the best (and had the best parking), so we went there. 

Lagoon Four

We had to wait for a space, but managed to park and walk across the manicured lawn to the lagoon. It didn’t look promising enough to get wet before a long flight, so we would just have to get our snorkeling fix in American Samoa.

The Ko Olina Lagoons are four man-made, interconnected ocean beaches on the leeward (west) coast. 

Calm, shallow waters protected by rock barriers; Left: Best of O'ahu; Right: Google Maps

The lagoons are free and open to everyone from sunrise to sunset, but resort lounge chairs and amenities are reserved for hotel guests.

Manicured grounds

Lush vegetation, but not much more

The lack of promise was the fact that the lagoon is not a reef, rather a sandy-bottomed pool. I suspect the fish (and reported octopi) are among the rocks at the outside edge of the lagoon, but it just didn’t seem very busy with critters.

Pretty, but it didn't seem to offer much for snorkeling

We got a disappointing shave ice (too watery and not enough syrup).

Then, we watched some Common Mynas invade someone’s beach bags and snacks

Common Mynas, an introduced species, are, indeed, common

Plus, I got a photo of a Red-vented Bulbul, the bird I missed the previous afternoon. 

Finally, some good shots!

There were a fair amount of birds, but nothing uncommon …

Saffron Finches

Zebra Doves

Even House Finches

Then, we headed to the airport (cruising by the Hālona Blowhole again, but I covered that) so we’d have plenty of time for our flight to Pago Pago.

Airport Drama

While I dropped off our rental car, Caty went to Smarte Carte, where she had made arrangements to store her SCUBA gear so that she wouldn’t have to schlep it to and from American Samoa.

We had enough to carry (Caty called me "Tourist Mom")

Then we headed to Hawai’ian Airlines for the circus that Hawai’ian Airlines always is.

First, we couldn’t figure out where to line up. The two marked lines were marked “First Class” and “Pre-Arranged Tours.” The former had two agents and the latter had one agent who seemed deeply engaged in a customer problem.

Not always easy to decipher; Photos: Hawai'ian Airlines

So, I waited about 10-15 minutes in the first-class line just to ask where to go. The agent directed us to the “Pre-Arranged Tours” line, which by now had gotten much longer. Then we watched the one agent spend another 35 minutes with the same customer! Finally, another agent arrived and the line started to move. SLOWLY, VERY SLOWLY.

You see, almost every Samoan returning home or going to visit relatives has one, two, three or even four giant plastic bins to check. When you travel to a remote island, I guess you take stuff. 

Check in is arduously slow; Photo: Tiffany on TikTok

Standing in line, we learned that it was high school graduation week in American Samoa and that’s a big deal. Many were traveling to see nieces and nephews graduate. Some were taking huge boxes of leis.

When we finally made it to the desk, we were minutes from boarding time and nervously eying the projected time to clear security. We were so “late” that the agent had to call to get permission to check our bags. And, we had been in line more than two hours!

Then, Caty’s TSA Precheck didn’t come through, which would make getting to the gate on time doubtful. 

We got that fixed and ran through the terminal to our gate. I stopped at the restroom and got to the gate as our group was announced. We had planned a leisurely check in and some time listening to a book at the gate. We barely made it! But, we did. That’s good because the next flight was two days away.

Even though Hawai’ian Airlines gate agents have a tendency to arrive late, I still advise going earlier than you think you have to when flying with them.

Friendly?

The plane was lovely. We had two bulkhead seats next to each other in 2-6-2 row. The configuration was interesting. We were the only economy seat in front of the door, so we had a wall (between us and business class) in front of us and a wall (between us and the door) behind us. Basically, a private alcove for our two seats.

Roomy!

The overhead storage was very high and set in above the seats across the aisle and I gave myself a nasty bruise on my upper arm that stayed with me throughout the whole trip when I got my bag down in flight. But, otherwise everything was good.

Our flight from Honolulu left at 4:25 p.m. and arrived at 9:20 p.m., losing only one hour in the process (making it five hours earlier than Colorado).

I’ll begin my coverage of the American Samoa portion of our trip in my next installment.

Pola Island, Tutuila, American Samoa

Trip dates: June 7 - 29, 2026