Mahaiula Beach

Located between mile marker 90 and 91 north of the Kona Airport you will come across an unpaved and often difficult to maneuver road that will lead you for one-and-one-half miles over and through what must be one of the most desolate, barren and rugged yet most interesting topographies on earth, a Hawaiian lava flow. After what seems to be an eternity (probably just a half an hour) you will come to a parking area where you will leave your car as you make your short trek to Mahaiula Beach. A four wheel drive vehicle will manage this drive the best however a number of regular cars can be found at the parking lot as well. Not hitting high center on your car is an art however as will be obvious when you view the extended drips of oil bursts on the road that were caused by someone rupturing their oil pan when not successfully negotiating the road but should you make the journey there without incident you will be rewarded by a beautiful series of beaches.

Be careful on the lava road to Mahaiula and Makalewena Beaches in Kekaha Kai Beach Park

After a short walk from the parking area you will be able to arrive at the north or the south end of Mahaiula Beach. Save yourself the trouble and just head to the south end beach and you will arrive at the incredibly beautiful white sands of Mahaiula. You're fantasy's of a desert island will come true here as the clean and clear waters of Mahaiula Beach will send you into a state of "vacationers ecstasy". If you arrive on a weekday you will probably have much of the beach to yourself (on weekends and holidays the local population will be out in greater force) and the gods in charge of beaches in this area have provided plenty of overhanging trees and branches to provide you with shade when you need a reprieve from the delicious sun which glistens off the beautiful waters.

Makalewena Beach

If this beach pleases your sensibilities you might want to conjure up the energy to hike just another fifteen minutes more on a trail along the lava to what our long time Kona resident friend and charter boat captain calls "the most beautiful beach on the island", Makalawena Beach. This beautiful beach is two half-moon shaped beaches joined at the tips to form one spectacular white powdery sand beach. Since you've invested a bit of time to get in this far you would be wise to have planned to haul in enough necessities to allow you to make it through a few glorious hours on what may for all intents and purposes be considered the "end of the earth" in a timeless nirvana.

Aside from being beautiful Makalewena and Mahaiula Beaches can be dangerous!

Now, for the flip side of nirvana. Though the ocean can be idyllic at both Mahaiula and Makalawena beaches, it can also be the reverse with large and treacherous waves and difficult rip-currents. In addition to being beaches that have no life guards at all with very few other souls around to assist at a time of serious ocean problems, you also need to remember that you are essentially hours away from any signs of modern civilization or medical assistance. You're on your own out here so you have to be smart with regard to your relationship to the ocean in this area. Strong waves and shore-breaks have even been known to scoop people directly off the beach here and drag them into the water. You're safest and wisest play is to not even enter the water at all. Each day here, and in fact each hour here, can be different and an ideal setting can change to horror in an instant so be mindful of your location at all times. The old saying about Hawaii beaches "when in doubt, don't go out" goes double here. Take this heeding seriously.

Ocean Caution

Be advised that all beaches and ocean locations in Hawaii can be dangerous including this one. Be completely aware of the ocean conditions prior to entering any Hawaiian waters however it is not advised that you enter the water at this location. Also, all shorelines and beaches in Hawaii, including this one, can be frequented by sharks, jellyfish and other sea creatures which can provide potential harm to people entering the water. There are no lifeguard towers at this location.

Big Island Beaches

This may be a first experience for you, but if it is it certainly won't be your last. Ahalanui Park pool is actually a thermal heated spring fed swimming area that is partially natural and partially man made. Although Ahalanui Park is located right along the ocean the experience here is not an ocean experience at all. In fact the ocean fronting the pool here is very rough and potentially dangerous and you should avoid getting in. The naturally thermally heated pool is another story. You …(more info)

When you speak of Anaehoomalu Bay on the Big Island's Waikoloa shoreline you are talking about history of the first magnitude in Old Hawaii. This bay was a spot of large population primarily because of its ocean resources and its spectacular fishponds. Lying to the mountain side of the sand bar that contains the bay are two enormous fishponds containing a mixture of both seawater and fresh underground spring water. This was the site of probably the largest aquaculture project in all of ancient …(more info)

As viewed from the air, the next beautiful beach to be found north of the Mauna Lani in Waikoloa is the gorgeous beach found in front of the Fairmont Orchid Hotel. As is the case with most Waikoloa beaches you will not be allowed to enter directly from the hotel abutting the beach unless you are a guest there. In this case your gateway to the Fairmont Orchid Beach is through the Holoholokai Beach Park. …(more info)

Hapuna Beach is practically a legend on the Big Island. In fact many people believe that Hapuna Beach is the most beautiful beach to be found here, and a good case could certainly be made for that. On several occasions a number of the travel magazines have listed Hapuna Beach as the number one beach in the world. Hapuna is a half mile in length and during the summer months the white sands can extend to a full 200' wide. In the winter months the sands will recede and quite often the beach …(more info)

Isaac Hale Beach Park is really quite a different type of beach park. Essentially it is divided into two sides. On one side is the only loading boat ramp on the entire Puna coastline. If you are going to be catching a commercial lava boat excursion or fishing trip it is likely to leave from here. This is also where many of the local fishermen will depart from and any form of pleasure boating in the area will depart from this area as well. The boat ramp enters into Pohoiki Bay and this point …(more info)

Perhaps the very best and the most famous beach for snorkeling on the Big Island is Kahalu'u Beach Park. The variety and volume of fish found at Kahalu'u will rival any spot in Hawaii. I found this out first hand on one of my very first trips to the Big Island. I was looking for a place to swim distance one morning and was erroneously referred to this beach which was too shallow to swim without scraping knuckles on coral but when I jumped in I was immediately surrounded by all types of …(more info)

Kahena Beach in the Pahoa district of the Big Island is amazing for a couple of reasons: First because of the spectacular nature of the beach itself, and secondly because of the people who tend to go there. We'll deal with each topic one at a time. …(more info)

One of the most famous black sand beaches in the world was found in the area called Kalapana in the district of Puna on the Big Island. "Was" is the operative word here as this beach was completely covered by lava in 1990. Today, what was once a spectacular black sand beach lying before the small Hawaiian village of Kalapana is now covered by a lava flow perhaps sixty feet deep. The photo above shows the lava flow that now covers the once beautiful Kaimu Beach in Kalapana. …(more info)

Kikaua Point Beach is a tiny but very beautiful beach that is located about ten miles north of Kailua-Kona. Kikaua Beach is perhaps the calmest beach on the Big Island being protected from the open ocean by a series of huge boulders and rocks that provide a rim for the pond-like beach within. This beach is really perfect for just two activities: it is fantastic as a place to bring children or people who can't swim well because it is so calm with no wave action and it is a favorite place as …(more info)

If you're searching for a beach with excellent swimming, great snorkeling and crystalline brilliant clarity, Kukio Beach is probably not the beach for you. Located just north of the small cove at Kikaua Point, Kukio Beach unfortunately is riddled with numerous near-shore rocks which make entry into the water very difficult on even the calmest of days and downright dangerous when the ocean swells are generated. Murky conditions also persist here so better choices could be made for your day's …(more info)

La'aloa Beach Park in the town of Kailua-Kona is also referred to as Magic Sands Beach, White Sands Beach and Disappearing Sands Beach. Though its Hawaiian name has implications suggesting it is a beach of sacred nature the other three more popular names refer to the propensity of the beach to lose its sand each winter and early spring to the currents, waves and storms that extract the white sands from the shoreline portion of the beach and temporarily deposit them further out to sea exposing …(more info)

The single most beautiful beach closest to Kailua-Kona that you can get to without having to travel on an unpaved road over lava is Maniniowali Beach which is also known as Kua Bay. This beach and bay are spectacular. It's not really all that far though as it is about the same distance from the Kona Airport to Kua Bay as it is in the opposite direction from Kona Bay to downtown Kailua-Kona. Taking the drive from Kona is truly worth it however because the beach is generally considered to be …(more info)

Mauna Kea Beach ranks right up at the top of great beaches on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is very close to its sister beach of Hapuna and shares many of the same attributes. The beach is long and it is wide. The sand is a luscious golden color. The sand extends out into the water so the water entry here is very simple. Actually the beach remains remarkably shallow for a long way out and it takes a while just to wade out to waist deep. Snorkeling is good but really only at the two extreme ends …(more info)

Both Mauna Lani Beach and Makaiwa Bay are located in this same description because they are entered from the same public parking access parking lot. Both are quite beautiful and snorkeling is excellent at both but they require a fairly long walk to get to each.
…(more info)

The Old Kona Airport landing field became obsolete in the early 1970's but the one-mile landing strip still exists. This huge stretch of asphalt lies right next to the ocean just north of the city of Kailua-Kona and today serves as the gigantic parking area for the Old Kona Airport Beach. …(more info)

Many beaches are great for swimming but that is not true of this beach. Pololu Beach is located at the entrance of the Pololu Valley which is the last in the series of valleys beginning with Waipio Valley that guard the northern flank of the Big Island of Hawaii. All these valleys are giant with huge escarpments descending to the valley floors and to the ocean below. These valleys are so large in fact that they are impassable and no system of roadways connects any of these valleys. The main road …(more info)

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach is the largest black sand beach in the state. Located south of the Volcanoes National Park on the coastal Highway 11 it is a beach that is basically fairly far from populated areas and most people will decide to enjoy a quick visit when they take the southern route to visit the volcanoes if they are staying in the Kona region. This is good because, although it is a beach that would easily find its place on any "top ten" list of beaches to see in Hawaii, it …(more info)

If it wasn't for the fact that Spencer Beach was located so close to Hapuna and Mauna Kea Beach, it would receive more notoriety than it does. Although it is a beautiful white sand beach with a sand bottom allowing for an easy water entry, it just lacks some of the luster and beauty associated with its nearest beach neighbor. The strong suit for Spencer Beach however is its almost always present calm waters as it is protected from the open ocean by a large reef and also to a degree by the neighboring …(more info)

Waialea Beach is one of the most perfect all-around beaches on the Big Island's western coastline. One of the best things about the beach is that it is not located on or near a hotel so there is no problem with access directly from the road. Local people and visitors alike make good use of this beautiful beach for this reason. This gorgeous light-brown sand beach consists mostly of sand but does have a number of interestingly placed lava segments and the trees that line this beautiful inlet …(more info)

One of the first signs you will see when you arrive at the Wawaloli Beach Park just north of the town of Kailua-Kona is a sign that says "Low Flying Aircraft, No Kite Flying". This odd sign gives testament to the fact that Wawaloli Beach is located just south of and in the flight pattern of the Kona International Airport. This may be the most unique and interesting feature this beach park may provide as it is in most ways unremarkable and not particularly inviting. …(more info)

One of the oddest County parks on the Big Island is a small park called Whitington Beach Park. It is located at the 60 mile marker on the circle island Highway #11 and is a good spot to visit if you are traveling from Kona to visit the Volcanoes National Park. The name is a misnomer at the very least as there is really not a beach here. Where the water does come up to the shoreline it crashes against rocks and the likelihood of any swimming in the area is next to nil and should not be attempted …(more info)

Related Information

A listing of all Big Island Beaches can be found on these pages. Check for the Big Island Beach that will be perfect for you! …(more info)