What honu are and why they are everywhere now

The Hawaiian green sea turtle is the most commonly seen sea turtle in the islands. Adults graze on algae in shallow water, which is why you find them on reef flats and in sandy channels rather than out in open ocean.

They are protected under the Endangered Species Act, and the population around the main Hawaiian Islands has recovered substantially since that protection came in — which is why they now seem common. That recovery is also precisely why the rules about approaching them are taken seriously.

Honu breathe air. A turtle on the bottom is resting, and will come up on its own schedule, often every few minutes to half an hour or more. If one surfaces near you, stay still and let it.

How close you can legally get

NOAA Fisheries and the State of Hawai‘i both recommend staying at least 10 feet (3 metres) away from sea turtles, in the water and on land. That is a recommendation rather than a specific codified distance.

What the law prohibits is harassment. Touching, picking up, restraining, riding, chasing, blocking the path of, or otherwise disturbing a turtle’s natural behaviour can be a federal or state violation — regardless of how far away you started. The test is the effect on the animal, not the tape measure.

The practical version: do not swim at a turtle, do not reach out, do not position yourself between a turtle and the surface, and do not use flash. If it changes what the animal was doing, you were too close.

Where to find them near Waikiki

Turtle Canyon, about a mile off Waikiki, is the most reliable spot close to town. It is a shallow reef with sandy channels where honu come in to be cleaned by reef fish. It is boat access only — you cannot swim out to it — which is a large part of why the turtles there are undisturbed enough to be predictable. Our Turtle Canyon snorkel tour goes there twice daily.

Closer in, Queen’s Beach and the Waikiki Marine Life Conservation District at Kapi‘olani Park have turtles, with the caveat that they are heavily used and visibility is variable. Hanauma Bay, further east, is a nature preserve with reservation-only entry and its own rules.

Sightings are never guaranteed anywhere. Honu are wild animals, not an exhibit.

Sunscreen: this one is actually law

Hawai‘i Act 104 (2018) banned the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate in the state, effective January 1, 2021. Both chemicals are linked to coral mortality and bleaching.

The ban is on sale, not on possession, so sunscreen you brought with you from the mainland may well contain them. Check the bottle before you get in the water over a reef. Mineral sunscreens using zinc oxide or titanium dioxide are the usual alternative, as is simply covering up with a rash guard — which also works better and does not wash off.

Reef-safe sunscreen is provided on all three of our trips, so you do not have to solve this before you arrive.