The popular Hawaii beach in Pula is located on the Verudela peninsula, just below the Park Plaza Arena Hotel. The real name of one of the most picturesque bays in Istria is Procipina, but it was named Hawaii because of the beautiful pebble beach framed by high rocks, on which high waves rise during strong southern winds.  

A boardwalk passes over the Hawaii beach, from where you can enjoy the entire palette of blue colours when the sea is calm. You can take stairs down to the beach or go by rocky paths on its sides. This snorkeling location goes west, in the direction of the Holy Rock, to the nearby Canyon.  

The itinerary follows a rocky coast that hides a beautiful underwater walkway that cascades down to the deep. The pebble beach resembles a waterfall falling down into the bay, but as soon as you swim towards the side rock on the right, looking towards the sea, you come across a flat wall that bends into a sunken cape.  

The rock is dotted with small crevices in which colourful caves are hidden, richly overgrown with various types of sponges, green, brown and red algae and sea urchins. Starting at a depth of 4 metres, almost under every stone roof there are small coral reefs made of stem-like bryophytes that look like corals, popularly called "false corals".  

The Hawaii West snorkeling location abounds in rich and preserved false coral gardens in all shades of orange, pink and red, which have formed real coral groves on shady areas under rocks and stones. This is precisely why they are a favourite home for nudibranchs, the most colourful creatures of the Adriatic. These harlequins of the sea "wear" unusual colour combinations that can only be admired by detailed close-up observation. Namely, these slugs are very small, ranging in size from one to five centimetres, and are very sensitive to the touch due to the delicate body structure that resembles a crazy gel-styled hairdo.  

Swimming along the very edge of the coast, you will come across a rock which top protrudes from the sea. Here, for those more curious, at a depth of 6 metres, under the elongated roof, hides another wonderful garden of false corals.  

The biggest surprise at this location is the underwater tunnel, located twenty metres further, at a depth of 2 to 3 metres. Its narrowest part can be easily dived through with a mask and fins. Coming out of the tunnel, you will notice flat walls descending to a depth of 7 metres, below which there is an elongated cave with a variety of algae and sponges. These narrow caves shaped like horizontal crevices hide eels, red and black scorpion fish.  

Shells and snails are scattered around on such plateaus, and one of the most beautiful is the ear shell. On the Hawaii beach one can also find a smooth-shelled cowry snail, a protected species of the Istrian undersea. In hidden recesses of this very indented coast it is possible to meet the sea bass, the sea bream, schools of sheephead breams, twoband breams, the Mediterranean rainbow wrasse, painted combers, damselfish and saddled seabreams.  

The snorkeling itinerary leads to the Canyon, a deep cut that hides a secret beach between high rocks. This Pula snorkeling location is a treat for the eyes because of the outer, high gorges that surround you while you swim along the coastline, as well as the underwater walls that reach into greater depth.  

In good weather, one can see the bottom at about 20 metres, which is a particularly beautiful sight due to the steep slopes of the cascading bottom.    

Bear in mind

The Hawaii snorkeling location is just as interesting if you take the shallowest path as it is if you opt for the slightly deeper one. The choice of path depends on your free diving physical fitness!   If you want to explore what lies beneath the stone roofs, it is necessary to put on fins for a more comfortable dive. It is advisable to take an underwater lamp with you, because the spectrum of red, which is the basic colour of our false corals, disappears at a depth of 5 metres.  

Underwater tunnel research

No matter how shallow the tunnel, good personal judgment is required. Dive in at the entrance and take a good look at the distance that needs to be covered. When children want to dive through this tunnel, dive with them at the entrance so they can judge the distance and readiness for themselves.  

Let's protect the Adriatic Sea

Do not pluck the branches of red mosses as a souvenir from the Hawaii beach, because this location would not be so interesting without them. Our sea was there before us and will be there after us, but we want to share the treasures it hides with everyone. The best souvenir is the one you take home with you in your memory or a photograph.