Two Step Beach has some of the best snorkeling on the Big Island of Hawaii.

This isn't a sandy beach, but has a lot of lava rock and that is why the water is crystal clear.

We saw all sorts of fish and had dolphins swim right up to us.

Two Step Beach is located on the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii.

There is free parking on the shoulder of the road.

If the free parking fills up, you have two paid choices.

The 1st is to park at Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park. You can park for free if you have a National Parks Pass or you will pay $20 to pay for a 7-day pass. The one nice thing about this parking is that they have nice bathrooms and you can visit this Historical Park.

The second option is a paid parking lot across the street from Two Step Beach.

We parked on the shoulder of the road for free. From there we walked the street to Two Step Beach.

When we got to Two Step Beach we saw that instead of sandy beach it was mostly lava rock. That's why this location has such crystal clear water. We set down out stuff and walked over to the two steps that you take to get in. That's why it's called Two Step.

Then we put on our snorkeling gear and jumped into the water. We snorkeled the shallow area first.

Then we snorkeled out into the deeper water and we had dolphins swim right up to us and around us. It was an amazing experience.

Overall, this was an amazing place to go snorkeling and would highly recommend it on your next trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. We loved it so much that we went twice on this trip.

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

Two Step Beach has free parking on the shoulder of the road.

You can also park using a National Parks Pass or $20 at Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park.

There is also a parking lot across the street from Two Step Beach that was charging $5 while we were there.

We parked on the shoulder of the road for 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.
• Bring some money or your National Parks Pass for parking in case the free parking is full.