Travel Tips

Hanauma Bay deserves its top ranking as one of Hawaii’s best spots for snorkelling, with hundreds of tropical fish in shallow coral reefs and a protected bay. But this pristine beach is so popular that reservations are now required, so let’s take a moment to cover what you need to know so you don’t miss out on your next trip to Oahu.

The Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is open to the public from Wednesday to Sunday, and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. You’ll want to plan your arrival time carefully – the park opens at 6:45am and closes sharp at 4:00pm, and there’s no entry after 2:00pm. Only 1,000 guests are allowed each day, and so you’ll want to book your tickets in advance. Walks in without a reservation are allowed, but are VERY limited so we highly recommend making a booking to avoid disappointment.

Online reservations can be made two days in advance starting at 7:00am (HST) – that’s Hawaii Standard Time – and will sell out in minutes. Once the reservations have been made, no changes are allowed and you’ll need to make sure to bring your ID with you on the day for confirmation upon entry.

Entry fees apply for adults, and children 12 and under are free. Parking is available on a first come first serve – and it’s cash only, so make sure to bring a few coins with you. Having a reservation is not a guarantee for parking, and the small parking lot fills up early so it’s best to book an early timeslot. Other options are to take “TheBus” (Oahu’s public transport system) or Uber/Lyft. Snorkelling gear is available for rent on-site if you don’t have your own, but make sure to bring your beach gear, reefsafe sunscreen, and a cooler for drinks and snacks.

And remember, everyone is required to watch the 9-minute educational video to learn about the park’s marine life, safety rules and conservation efforts.

Now start practicing… humuhumunukunukuapua’a…

Headed on a road trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks? Depending on when you’re going, we wanted to give you a heads up that there’s some areas inside the parks that you won’t be access in a private vehicle, and you’ll want to take a shuttle to reach some of the popular trailheads and viewpoints. But don’t worry, these free shuttles are included in your park pass and you don’t even need a ticket.

In popular Zion National Park, all visitors must use the Zion Shuttle System to access the Zion Canyon Section of the park during peak season. There’s no shuttle system along the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway or the Kolob Canyon section of the park, and you’re free to drive yourself along these roads at anytime of year (just bear in mind that there are size limits for the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel).

You can check the exact dates that the Zion shuttle is mandatory on the National Park Service website, but typically it runs from March to November, on weekends in February, and during the last week in December. The first shuttle leaves the visitor center at 6:00am and stops at numerous viewpoints and trailheads in the park until the last shuttle leaves the Temple of Sinawava at 8:15pm. And it’s okay if you miss one, shuttles depart every 6-10 minutes at each stop and you can just jump on the next one. To get the shuttle, it’s easiest to park at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center or in designated parking areas in the town of Springdale (and get the free Springdale Shuttle in to the park).

When you reach Bryce Canyon, the park shuttle runs from April to mid October to the most popular overlooks, amenities and trails along the Bryce Amphitheater section of the park. Unlike Zion, the shuttle is optional (except for vehicles over the size limit) although it’s still a convenient way to get around, especially for day hikers. The best place to park your car and get the shuttle is from the Shuttle Station in Bryce Canyon City, and shuttles run every 15 minutes throughout the day from 8:00am to 6:00pm.

So buckle up and let’s head off to two of Utah’s most popular national parks.

Heads up travelers, currently Yosemite National Park is requiring reservations for entry.  Now it’s pretty straight forward you can make your reservations online at recreation.gov. The ticket will include your day use permit entry as well as the reservation fee.  It’s valid for a 3 consecutive day timeslot from 5am on the first day, until 11pm on the final day.  And if you’re an existing National Park Passholder, make sure you specify that so that you only pay the reservation fee. The ticket is per vehicle and includes all passengers.   Now if you are staying in a campground or lodge inside the park, or have a backcountry wilderness or Half Dome hiking permit, good news, you do not need an additional reservation. Ticket dates are released 7 days in advance at 8am PDT.  And as you can imagine, they go quickly.   There are no same day reservations. Cancellations are offered up to 24hours prior, less the reservation fee. Inside 24hrs, sorry no refunds.  And they are not transferable. Even with the reservations in place expect the lineups to be long.  You can help everyone speed up the process by having your print outs, photo id and Park Pass ready at the gate.  And as always, save any questions for the Visitor Info Centers, they’ll have lots more time. Alright, move it along folks, keep on moving, everyone got all their id’s out right, save your question or no Park for you….