Hawaii's Best Beaches

Hawaii's Best Beaches

It's the most common question we get from new visitors to seasoned veterans, "What are Hawaii's best beaches?" We're here to answer that question for you with a sampling of top beaches on each major island.

Oahu's Best Beaches

We've included a little something for everyone here, so have a look at our top picks for Oahu's best beaches.

Kuhio Beach Park @ Waikiki
Kuhio Beach is the most family friendly of the Waikiki beaches. Protective sea walls shelter swimmers from the waves, making it one of the best choices for for families with youngsters.

Banzai Pipeline / 'Ehukai Beach Park
This is the famed Banzai Pipeline you've heard about or seen pictures of. Massive waves, crazy surfers doing their thing. Come during the summer months and that all changes and it's a very calm and peaceful beach.

Lanikai Beach
A classic Hawaiian picture perfect beach on a perfect setting with perfectly clear water on perfect powder sand. You could almost say it is perfection, because it is.

Waimea Bay Beach Park
A great place to watch the pounding winter waves and professional level surfing. In the summer you can play in the ocean but considering how bad the parking is and how murky the water is we're not sure why you would want to with great beaches just a couple of miles away.

Keawa'ula Beach (Yokohama Beach)
Another beautiful Hawaiian beach. It's long, has tons of sand to play on, and has good waves most of the time (the other times it will have waves that will kill you if you go near them). Just an all around great beach even if you never go in the water.

Maui's Best Beaches

Big Beach (Oneloa/Makena Beach) at Makena State Park
Super long and wide beach, excellent views, a great place to hang out but not for little kids.

H.A. Baldwin Beach Park
A very nice beach park with great sandy beach that usually isn't crowded.

Ho'okipa Beach Park / Ho'okipa Lookout
This is the place for windsurfing. Only professionals should attempt the actual windsurfing, but everyone should come to watch the show.

Kama'ole Beach Park III
Good for swimming when the ocean is calm. Smallest of the three Kama'ole Beaches but most kid friendly due to playground equipment.

Ka'anapali Beach
This large crescent shaped beach is probably the most famous beach in Maui. Great for pretty much any water sport with clear blue water and a fine sandy beach.

Kauai's Best Beaches

Anini Beach Park
Beautiful beach tucked away far from the crowds of Poipu and Hanalei. Locals visit here, but it never feels crowded, with calm waters and good amenities.

Ke'e Beach Park
Ke'e Beach Park marks the beginning of the Kalalau Trail and the Na Pali Coast. Best for swimming and snorkeling during the summer months in the shallow lagoon.

Keoneloa Beach (Shipwreck Beach)
A great beach for watching cliff jumpers and it's a blast to play in the shoreline break.

Secret Beach (Kauapea Beach) / Secrets
A not-so-secret secret beach on Kaui's north shore. It's quite popular but also large enough to handle a crowd without feeling crowded.

Makua Beach / Tunnels Beach
Secluded beach that's great for snorkeling during calm seas. Parking situation is pretty terrible, but we have a solution.

Big Island's Best Beaches

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Park
The beach has black sand made of basalt and created by lava flowing into the ocean which explodes as it reaches the ocean and cools. Not a great swimming beach, but you can see a lot of sea turtles.

Hapuna Beach State Park
The beach has black sand made of basalt and created by lava flowing into the ocean which explodes as it reaches the ocean and cools. Not a great swimming beach, but you can see a lot of sea turtles.

Waialea Bay (Beach 69)
A great little beach with perfect blue waters and gentle waves with powdery sand.

Kua Bay / Manini'owali Beach
A salt and pepper sand bay beach.

The Big Islands Telescopes

Human beings have always been prone to a spot of stargazing. Staring up into the night's sky can fill a person with an all-encompassing sense of awe, and can help them rediscover their sense of perspective.

Those who enjoy stargazing will find no better place to do so than Hawaii's Big Island. With powerful telescopes and a mountain that offers a brilliant view of the night's sky, the island is in a league of its own when it comes to getting a glimpse of the astronomical.

Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea was built for viewing the heavens. While it's a naturally occurring landmark, it seems like it's been designed by mankind for the sole purpose of looking up into the sky.

Up on the mountain's summit sit the JCMT and CSO telescopes, some of the most powerful in existence. These telescopes are held in locally run observatories and are available for the public to use. Tours run taking people up to the summit of Mauna Kea (which is 13,000 feet above sea level). Of course, you're free to travel up to the top alone, where volunteer astronomers will wait to teach you more about the equipment and what you'll be seeing.

Check out this great resource on The Big Islands Telescopes.

Outrigger Canoe Club

The Outrigger Canoe Club is located on the Diamond Head side of Waikiki. It's a beautiful facility with amazing views of the Waikiki Beach. They provide dining with indoor and outdoor seating and a bar with a hand made outrigger hanging overhead.

The core of the club of course is their canoeing activities and events. However, it's interesting to note that beach volleyball originated at the Outrigger Canoe Club.  The club was first established in 1908, and has had many notable members. Most significantly to Hawaii was surfer and Olympian Duke Paoa Kahanamoku.

Check out this great resource on the Outrigger Canoe Club.