49 Black Sand Beach is also known as Honoka'ope Bay Beach.

This black sand beach has amazing snorkeling and is located in a gated community in the Mauna Lani Subdivision.

It's free to visit, but you have to get a pass and there has to be available parking.

We went in the morning, but it was full. We came back at lunch time and a lot of people had left so we got in.

This beach is located on the northwest side of the Big Island of Hawaii.

We turned off the main highway into the subdivision of Mauna Lani and followed the road to the gated subdivision.

We got to the gated subdivision at about 8:45am. The guard at the gate said that the beach filled up by 8am. 

We came back at around 12:30pm and there were plenty of spaces as many people left to go eat lunch.

We drove in and went to the free public parking lot.

Once we parked, we followed the paved trail to the beach. It is well marked with signs saying Honoka'ope Bay Beach.

There are public bathrooms too.

As we were walking in I was sad to see the sign that said it was a no drone zone, but I obeyed the rules.

It's a short walk to the beach. This black sand was really fine and super soft. Most other black sand beaches were more rocks and pebbles, but we really liked this one.

We explored the beach first and then got in the water to go snorkeling.

We couldn't believe how many colorful fish we saw. It was so fun.

You can see on the map where the best snorkeling is located.

Overall, we loved this beach. This was one of our favorite beaches that had amazing snorkeling. It's totally worth the visit, even if you have to come back multiple time to get a parking spot.

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

49 Black Sand Beach/Honoka'ope Bay Beach is free to park. You do need to go through a gated entrance and get a pass to park, but it is free.

Total Cost: $0

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring your own snorkel gear.
• Bring some drinks and snacks.
• Bring reef safe sunscreen.