Fees for nonresidents at Hanauma Bay will more than double

Starting Thursday, the entrance fee to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve will more than double for nonlocal visitors, rising to $25 from $12 per person age 13 and above, the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation has announced.

Admission will remain free to Hawaii residents with valid identification, children age 12 and younger, regardless of residency, and active-duty military members, the department said Tuesday, and parking fees will stay the same, at $1 per vehicle for locals and $3 per vehicle for nonlocals, with higher fees for licensed motor carriers of groups.

All proceeds from entrance fees go directly to support maintenance, education and research at Hanauma Bay, the department said, noting that the admission hike “is part of ongoing efforts, including minimizing human impact, to improve management of natural resources and visitors within the preserve,” which is designed to sustain itself on its revenues.

“Hanauma Bay is uniquely positioned to be an example of how we can better manage our natural resources as we rebound from the pandemic,” DPR Director Laura H. Thielen said in the statement.

“The measures we have taken this year with the online reservation system and fee increases are designed to ensure the nature preserve’s mission of education and conservation are supported just as much as the recreational aspect,” Thielen said.

The incomparable nature preserve and top tourist attraction, formed when half a volcanic crater collapsed into the sea, reopened to the public in December after eight months’ corona­virus closure, which gave its fragile coral reef ecosystem a break from an average 3,000 snorkelling and wading visitors a day and up to 840,000 a year.

During the closure, scientists from the Coral Reef Ecology Lab in the Marine Biology Department of the University of Hawaii at Manoa who have been conducting ongoing studies regarding the bay ecosystem’s carrying capacity for human use reported the water clarity in the bay was 64% better than it had been pre-pandemic.

The preserve now allows up to 1,600 visitors a day, up from 720 visitors a day when it first reopened, with no more than 240 admissions per hour; they must view a mandatory 15-minute safety and conservation video in the preserve’s theater before being allowed down to the bay.

Also new, and operating in tandem with traditional first-come, first-served admission, is an online reservation system, in place since April 26, “to improve visitor experience and reduce impacts on the surrounding community,” DPR’s statement said; before then, adjacent neighborhoods had complained of increased traffic and parking congestion from turned-away visitors waiting to circle back the next hour.

Currently, 25% of entry is set aside for walk-ins and drive-ins, “with demand for both online and walk-in entry remaining extremely high,” the department said in a statement.

“We want to reassure the public that we are actively monitoring both entry procedures to ensure that access is as fair and equitable as possible,” DPR added.

Personal entrance fees are collected before visitors can enter the lower portion of the nature preserve, which includes the education center, theater and beach. The upper portions of the nature preserve include the lookouts, bathrooms, parking lots and picnic areas.

The preserve is open from 6:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays and closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

The current fee increase follows the City Council’s passage June 16 of Ordinance 21-17, introduced by Chairman Tommy Waters.

The department said further improvements to the system were forthcoming and that the public’s patience and understanding would be appreciated as changes are implemented.

The online reservation system allows people to select an educational viewing showtime two days ahead of their planned visit to the nature preserve; for example, beginning Monday at 7 a.m., the public can begin reserving a time slot for Wednesday.

Reservations will remain open until the spaces are filled or until midnight the day before, so for example, reservations for Wednesday will close after 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.

Reservations can be made for up to 10 people at a time — no more than five children and/or five adults.

Currently, reservations are made free of charge, with entry and parking fees collected upon arrival.

However, according to the parks department’s website, the system will in the future install a payment portal to collect fees for nonlocal visitors to the nature preserve.

ADMISSION INFORMATION

>> To reserve admission to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, visit honolulu.gov/parks-hbay/information-fees.