Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, Honaunau

The grounds were gorgeous and historically interesting, yet my favorite part was the midly advertised trail that leads you along the shoreline and up to a cliff with expansive views. Well worth the $5 per vehicle you pay to get it, which is valid for seven days.

In addition to the Place of Refuge itself (the historical monument - an extremely sacred Hawaiian site where people who violated the "kapu" code and were thus condemned to death could come to seek safety and be cleansed of their transgression), the small park next door is one of the best - if not THE best - snorkeling spot on the Big Island. Access is easy over the smooth black lava rock ledges lining the shore (there is a "two step") access point in about the middle) or via the boat ramp into the shallows. There are underwater fresh water outlets that attract a lot of fish and you can in many spots see the freshwater floating and shimmering several inches deep (and cold!) on the surface and dive down under it where it's clearer and warmer. There are absolutely incredible coral formations mainly of the shorter/stouter variety (due to the effects of twin hurricanes within the last ten years) at an average depth of maybe 3 meters; some nice rock outcrops covered with coral the come to within a couple feet of the surface; crevices and at least one easy arch you can free-dive through; the whole area sloping down at about 30 feet to a drop-off into the clear deep blue approx. 100 yards from shore. There were also suba divers using the easy shore access, and it was so cool that we snorkelers could easily see them cruising around - the water is just so amazingly clear! What a place - maybe even better and much much easier to get to than the nearby Kaelakekua Bay / Captain Cook monument.