Waikiki: Glass Bottom Boat Cruise with Local Crew & Views

4.64

(2142 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I almost missed the boat because I got lost in Kewalo Basin — there’s a big red sign but somehow I still wandered past it twice. The crew saw me looking confused and waved me over, joking that I was “on Hawaiian time” already. It felt good to laugh before we even left the dock. The Haleiwa Queen is bigger than I expected, with this shaded deck that smells faintly of sunscreen and sea salt. There’s bottled water and plenty of space to sit, which is nice if you don’t want to be elbow-to-elbow with strangers.

As we pulled away from the harbor, our captain (I think his name was Kaleo?) started sharing stories about Waikiki — how chiefs used to live right where all those hotels are now. He pointed out Lēʻahi (Diamond Head) in the distance. The way he said it made me try repeating it under my breath. Probably butchered it. The water under us was so clear you could see patches of coral even before peering through the glass bottom windows. Kids pressed their noses right up to the glass, squealing every time a honu drifted by. I didn’t expect to get caught up in their excitement but… yeah, it’s contagious.

The sun kept slipping behind clouds and then bursting out again, making everything look different every few minutes — sometimes sharp blue, sometimes almost silver. At one point someone spotted a reef shark gliding below us and everyone crowded to one side (the crew just grinned — apparently this happens every trip). You could smell someone’s coconut sunscreen mixing with that deep ocean air, which for some reason always makes me hungry. We didn’t see dolphins or whales this time (they said it depends on the season), but honestly just cruising along Waikiki Beach toward Diamond Head with local guides telling stories felt like enough.

There was this moment when everything went quiet except for the hum of the engine and the slap of waves against the hull — I still think about that view back at Honolulu, all those buildings tucked between green mountains and sky. Not sure why that sticks with me more than anything else we saw through the glass.