This is a small park on the South point of Kealakekua Bay. Across the bay is the much more well known Captain Cook monument, which is a popular snorkeling destination for tour boats and hikers who are used to the heat. During a previous visit to the Manini Beach area a couple of years ago, we saw that the water was so milky that visibility was only about a foot and not worth snorkeling. This time, there must have been a longer stretch of calm, dry weather, since the visibility was pretty good. Manini Beach Park has a grassy area with some trees for shade, a short walking trail around the lava point and a tiny sandy cove where you can enter the water. There are only a few parking spots next to the park, so we parked farther away and walked a couple of blocks in. When we went, there was a minder sitting by the entrance to the park, keeping track of the number of visitors. I forget the number, but if the number of visitors exceeded a certain amount, they wouldn't let people in and you had to wait until somebody left. We came here a couple of times after snorkeling at nearby 2 Step. Manini Beach is a great, laid-back small park to relax in and has some decent snorkeling when the visibility is good. There was the usual fish and coral (although there is less coral here compared to more sheltered spots) and some small arches in the lava.
