Garden eel cove

I know this is suppose to be near the airport but all maps and such only show the Hawaiian names not what an area is called in reference to it. And is it accessible from shore?

Garden eel cove

while.....everything is acessable form the coast if you swim far enough this is the name of a dive site that is frequented by boats.

As such there are problems inherent is swimming into heavily traveled boat areas....like getting hit...

Local hawaiian names are not good for reference as many dive operator calls '; his sites'; by a different name. to keep it hard to compare........ not all do this.

get a scuba diving guide to the big island

Garden eel cove

Aloha,

Garden Eel Cove is north of Honokohau Harbor. It is also the site for a popular Manta Ray night dive.

The areas relation to the harbor brings another not talked about topis. Big fish.... and we are not talking about Mantas. Incoming charter and fiishing frequently have overboard discharge of fish parts and blood.. The result is a magnet for things that like to eat a lot.......... last year there was one of these ';big fish ';( 12 ft) crusing about in the marina......he sandy bottom and shore attracts a lot of turtles as well........ turtles are on the top 10 list of these big fish..

Id stick to a boat tour........... and its another reason why I prefer diving south in the Keauhou area... ( the first manta site here).

By theway.. if you drive all the way to the end of the marina road, there is a little sand/rock cove protected from boats and surge.

about a 100 year walk from the left side of the parking lot.... has shade trees too!!! gets deep fast

The ';get a dive guide'; is right on.

A trivial google search produced this

See http://www.konacoastdivers.com/divesites.html

which says the eels are in 50 feet of water and that there is always a .25-.75 kt current and it%26#39;s easy to go too deep. So does not sound ideal for snorkeling or for diving alone, large hungry fish aside.

However, the suggestion for the protected cove at the south of the harbor is a nice one in that I have seen MANY eels (not garden eels) there among the rocks.

What I%26#39;m trying to figure out is where the cove is if I%26#39;m looking at a map of the island. It says it%26#39;s near the airport. South of it near Wawaloli beach park. Or North of it near Mahaiula in the Kekaha Kai state park. Or somewhere in between.

HD, we were planning on doing the Manta snorkel at Keauhou since it%26#39;s a very short ride and next to where we%26#39;re staying at Holua Resort. Is the cove you are talking about by Keauhou?

The ';cove'; I am talking about is very small and you need a good map to see it. It is to the south of Honokohou harbor entrance. It is a few minutes%26#39; walk from the fuel dock/gas station/store on the south side of the marina...the south side road ends a bit farther and that is where you park.

If you go here http://www.hawaiifishing.com/boatlocator.html and look at the picture, the cove I am talking about is above the numbers 28-42.

There is also a beach park on the north end of the harbor but it%26#39;s always been too rough to go in when we%26#39;ve been there (seasonal).

Hounu is correct.......... but go all the way to the end of the dirt road way past the fuel dock.

on the south or left side of the channel 100 ft past the last place you can drive to. on the left... the road veers to the right to the parking area.... and to red sails charter... thats is NOT the place I am talking about......names here have very littel importance as 3/4 of then begin with K.... and there are no signs

In my opinion the Keauhou manta dive is the best....I also like it because I can sit in the Blue Crystal bar at the Sheraton and watch the mantas with a Grey Goose instead of a snorkel..... a great palce for non- participants to observe... and I hasten to add its not a case of the more you drink the more mantas you see.