Snorkeling with Sea Turtles Off Waikiki Beach

During Katelyn and her mom’s recent trip to Hawaii, they celebrated her mom’s birthday with a excursion in Waikiki to see sea turtles and it did not disappoint!

We chartered our trip with Charter Oahu, which departs out of a marina in Honolulu. Charter Oahu specializes in a couple different private charters including a snorkel adventure and a sunset cruise. We selected the sea turtle snorkel adventure, which was very affordable compared to other local charters we checked out.

Charter Oahu’s sea turtle snorkel charter included a two hour trip to Turtle Canyon off the coast near Waikiki. It also included some snacks and beverages to enjoy onboard the boat plus all of the top of the line snorkel gear and flotation devices you need to enjoy your time in the ocean. All of the Charter Oahu captains and crew are certified divers, lifeguards, free divers, and surfers—all experts in the water—making safety a paramount for all of their trips.

When we arrived at the marina, we were welcomed by an entirely ALL FEMALE crew including the captains. So we knew we were going to be in for a good time!

After about a 15-minute cruise—where we enjoyed drinks and snacks while we got fitted for gear and got our safety briefing—we arrived at Turtle Canyon. Turtle Canyon is a nature preserve, only accessible by boat, off the coast of Oahu. It got its name from the large number of sea turtles that frequent the reef here but the area is also home to beautiful reef fish. Once we arrived, we hopped right in.

To be honest, there were a few other charter boats in the canyon when we arrived but it wasn’t crowded or overwhelming. There is a lot of area to cover and all of the charter companies seem like they have designated spaces within Turtle Canyon and there is definitely a lot to see.

The water was a little wavy and rough the day that we went out but it didn’t keep us from seeing schools of the most beautiful fish swimming in the reef. Then emerging from the bottom to take in some air at the surface, were these majestic sea turtles swimming gracefully towards us.

Before we knew it, we were back on the boat headed to shore. Our trip with Charter Oahu was the perfect way to spend a day of our short trip to Hawaii and an even better way for Katelyn’s mom to ring in a birthday!