If we could give Makua a 12/10 we would. Some of our fondest memories were made right out in this bay. As you can probably tell from all the images, this is the best spot to try and spot wild dolphins. Swimming with wild dolphins is easily cemented in thetop 3 of our favorite experiences of all time (both of us & anyone we take there). We have easily been to this bay over 10 times and it is still as good the last time as it was the first. We've free dived with sharks, turtles, whales, sea lions, and more and there is something different about dolphins. They will come right up to you and check you out and there is more of a palpable connection between the interaction. You never really know how good you're going to hit it, so the gamble always keeps us coming back
The pod usually spends the mornings in this bay and is usually outta there by 11am absolute latest. So as with pretty much everything else, the early bird gets the worm. You can usually just park along the street and look out for breaching dorsal fins. If you don't spot em at first give it a little bit of time. Sometimes if you're patient you'll luck out. However, the best days we've had out there, we usually arrive at 7ish am and spot the pod almost immediately.
This part of the island is pretty notorious for car break ins. The parking lot on the southern end of the bay is safer. However, DO NOT leave anything valuable in the car. We have only had one incident where someone pretty much stalked us to see where we hid our car key and rummaged through our car while we were in the water. This is honestly best case scenario. We hid all our valuables well enough to where we didn't lose anything major. But in less fortunate scenarios, you might come back to broken windows if you leave anything valuable in sight. If you are driving an obvious rental (i.e. jeep wrangler haha), you will get targeted. So don't say we didn't warn ya.
The current can get pretty strong out here. If you aren't a good swimmer, do not get in over your head. Stay close to shore and always check every 5ish min that you are in the same position you were last time you checked. I have gotten a little blasé about the current out there before and have had 30-45 min swims back to shore. We surf regularly and are relatively really strong swimmers and have cut it a little closer than we'd like to a couple times. So unless you are EXTREMELY confident in your swimming abilities, be aware and play it safe. Don't be a dummy and you'll be fine. The pod WILL come in pretty close to shore (probably 12-15ft deep is the closest from our experience) so you don't need to be out in deep water.
This is a pretty life changing spot. We originally didn't share this one for years because it was just too good and it was relatively unknown. However, over the years this spot has been discovered en masse. So at this point we just want the people that go here to be respectful to the pod, other swimmers, and the beach. Can't stress this enough.....DON'T BE A KOOK and chase the pod. Respect nature and you along with everyone else will have a better experience. Just bob in the water at a depth you're comfortable with, don't make aggressive movements, and you'll be rewarded. It's also ILLEGAL now to chase the dolphins, so just don't be that guy. You also run a pretty high risk of getting your car broken into so leave any valuables you can at home, and hide any valuables you bring as well as you can.