While this blog focuses mainly on my hiking adventures, it didn’t seem quite right to label this only as a hiking entry. Sure, I did hike from my hotel to this spot and back, but the real treasure here is the amazing snorkeling at Queens Bath in Kona, Hawaii.
Queens Bath – or Keiki Beach – is a hidden gem nestled in a quiet, upscale oceanside community in Kona. There’s a public access trail to the beach directly across the street from the baseball field. To get in, I relied on the Google Maps aerial view to find my way.
Reviews online mention that it’s a great spot for families due to the calm, shallow water. I was initially worried that it might be overrun before I arrived. I’m not sure if it was the time of year or the relatively earlier morning hours, but I was lucky to have the spot to myself the entire time I was swimming.
Queens Bath is a series of connected tide pools protected from the waves by ancient lava flows. You can climb those flows to the west and get some spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean crashing up against these lava rock formations.
These tidal pools are calm and crystal clear, and an excellent snorkeling spot. I spent a few hours swimming through each one, getting good use out of my underwater camera. (In fact, I was so smitten with my experience that I jumped back in the water in front of my hotel later that afternoon. You can see more photos from both spots in my original blog entry here.)
You can read more about my trip to Kona, Hawaii, in my “Looking Back” blog series entry here.
<< Previous: Kailua Beach | Next: Volcanoes National Park >>