The Lagoon

 
The first thing you will notice as you approach the steps of the pond are all the beautiful fish swimming over to greet you! These numerous fish of all shapes, sizes and colors make swimming in our large private "snorkeling aquarium" a wonderfully unique experience!! There are literally hundreds of exotic and friendly reef fish for you to observe, photograph, feed and swim along side. We believe it is the only one of it's kind in the world.
 
 
View a list of the fish that live in the Lagoon Common, Latin and Hawaiian names.
 

Why Lagoon House is a Great Value

 
The second thing you will notice is the water is delightfully warm and welcoming. In this calm clear water, families can relax, float and frolic without concerns of rough waves, strong currents or getting chilled. The ocean tides come in and out twice daily gently flushing the lagoon and raising and lowering the temperature, volume and depth of the water about 2 ft. There is a stainless steel grate at the ocean end, to keep our fish in and beach debris out.

The lagoon is quite large-- 115 ft. long by 105 ft. wide filled with over 500,000 gallons of geothermally heated water. It ranges from about 2-14 ft deep. Volcanically heated fresh water bubbles up and mixes with the cool tidal ocean water, so the pond is heated to about 87 degrees at the surface, cooler if you dive along the bottom. Because of this constant infusion of heated fresh water, it is only about half as salty as the open ocean. No stinging eyes and dried out hair here!

There are currently 45 species of Hawaiian reef fish in our lagoon and many of the tangs, parrotfish, wrasses, etc. are actively breeding-- approximately 800 fish total. All the fish are extremely healthy with deep vibrant colors. These beautiful fish are accustomed to being fed daily, so rather than swim away from you in fear as in other snorkeling locations, many are very tame and curious and will approach YOU. We provide food for you to feed them and it is totally fascinating watching them feed-- either while you are in the water with a mask on, or from the upper or lower decks. If you've ever had an aquarium you know that some fish have very amusing personalities and interesting interactions and we have lots of those! They love bread crusts, cooked rice and other leftovers and will give you much entertaining pleasure watching them in action. They are just beautiful! Bring an underwater camera for photo memories of your snorkeling experiences at Lagoon house.
 
Snorkeling in our lagoon is a fun, easy and enjoyable way to explore Hawaii's underwater wonders for family members all ages. Even young children who could never swim out into the rough ocean with it's strong currents, love learning to swim and snorkel in our calm, clear, warm water. Parents tell us that their children's swimming skills improve daily. We have many fish identification books so you can have fun learning the names of the many fish you will see. Scuba divers love the opportunity to introduce their children to the joys of the underwater world. Moms happily report that it is the first true vacation they have had in years, relaxing on the lanai overlooking the water, while the kids happily spend hours playing in the lagoon. We provide a large selection of noodles, floaties, boogie boards, etc. for your swimming fun.

As always, parents need to be very watchful about their young ones near the water as neither our pond or our adjacent neighbors are fenced, and of course being a private home, there is no life guard but you. These are natural ponds of lava rock walls so use common sense and caution. No jumping or diving from balcony into pond.

On the upper deck, we have a large handpainted mural depicting many of the fish in the pond, to help with identification.
 
 

SWIM AND SNORKEL WITH THE TURTLES

 
From the Lagoon House walkway, there are steps that lead you into the well known public Champagne pond. Also warm and calm, it is frequented by Hawaiian green sea turtles that come in and out on the tides, mostly morning and late afternoons. The turtles are gentle and rather accustomed to people so you can easily approach for some good underwater photos. It is against the law to touch them. To the left of the Champagne pond, on state land is a long beautiful coastal walk, with hidden coves, crashing waves, wild beaches and shore fishing. At the end of the coastal walk, is the Kapoho lighthouse, where there is a federal Air Quality monitoring station. The air blowing into Kapoho comes in over 2,500 of open ocean and is reported to be the cleanest in all the United States. Breathe deep!

Inside our gated community is also nice walking--explore different ocean accesses, check out local architecture and landscaping, greet neighbors walking friendly dogs, etc. It is so beautiful and safe, many folks even walk at night, moon guiding their way, glistening off the water...


In addition, there are other swimming/snorkeling/fishing opportunities in this oceanfront neighborhood with a map at the house to direct you there. While there is obviously NO fishing in our private lagoon (these are pets, not dinner!), there is lots of good fishing in Kapoho Bay, where local anglers catch snapper, jacks, chub, etc. We have even added some of our pond fish that way...

 
 
 
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Guest Rating

Sitting on a 10,000 square-foot thermally heated ocean fed 87 degrees tidal pool, the Lagoon House is the #1 vacation rental in the Big Island and the ONLY Snorkeling Aquarium of its kind in the World!