Waikiki Beach: Glass Bottom Boat Cruise & Marine Life Views

4.71

(313 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest, I thought the glass bottom boat thing might be a bit cheesy. But the first time I pressed my forehead to that cool glass and saw a honu drifting below us—just so calm, like he owned the place—I got it. We’d barely left Kewalo Basin Harbor (look for this huge red sign, can’t miss it) and already the water was that wild blue you only see in Hawaii. The captain, I think his name was Kaleo, started pointing out stuff right away. He had this way of saying “Lē’ahi” for Diamond Head that made me want to try it too, but I chickened out. Maybe next time.

The deck had shade (thank god), but I kept leaning over anyway because everyone kept gasping when something swam by—like a whole school of yellow tangs darting around a coral head. Someone’s kid yelled “shark!” at one point but it turned out to be just a big shadowy fish. Still got my heart going. The air smelled salty and sweet, sunscreen mixed with ocean breeze, and there was this low hum from the boat that felt kind of soothing after awhile. Our guide handed out cold bottled water and snapped a few photos of us; I’m usually camera shy but hey, how often do you get Diamond Head in the background?

We cruised past Waikiki Beach, all those hotels looking tiny from the water, then over what they said was an old shipwreck—hard to make out all the details through the glass but you could see shapes down there if you squinted. A couple dolphins showed up for about thirty seconds (no promises on wildlife, they warned us) but honestly even just watching sunlight flicker on the reef was enough for me. It’s weird how quiet it feels out there compared to the city behind you. I still think about that view sometimes when things get loud at home.