I believe Ehu & Kai adventures is the closest, with direct access to the water without having to transport your kayak yourself. They are super friendly and by far one of the cheapest rentals. From their launch point it’s about a 20 minute paddle to the Capt. Cook monument area. They are also permitted to send kayaks there. We showed up around 10am and rented without booking ahead of time and were fine. But we rented a 2 person kayak.

yes there are boats, buts what better is kayaking to it, from the area across from the monument. We had a great I'm and Mike knew everything about the island!! very informative!!

Previous posts cover it pretty well....although the "couch potato" thing seems a bit harsh. We went by kayak using one of the 2 outfitters that go - the "party boats" are another easy option. I could see the hike back up being a long one with younger kids on a hot day after snorkeling for several hours. In the late morning that we went - parking on the roadside was pretty full. Have fun!

I have been to the islands 14 times and have never seen a shark , I did in Vancouver 40 years ago. I snorkle every day I am in Hawaii and have been to Cooks monument many times , it is an extinct volcano caldera and is quite deep in the centre , but there are no fish in the deep area so sticking to the shallows offers great views if all kinds of fish , including eels and octopus and the dolphins drive off the sharks so sharks pretty much stay away from that side of the islands , I have never seen turtles there . there is a bay 5 miles from downtown with change rooms and a natural volcanic reef to keep the waves down and the locals call it turtle bay as there is always turtles there and no way for sharks to get in and it is FREE , we have been there hundreds of times and just love it .

there are inflatable kayaks of quite good quality available