Maui Has 120 Miles of Coastline. Most of It Is Extraordinary.
Maui's beaches range from perfect white sand resort strands to hidden black sand coves to serious bodyboarding breaks. The Maui beaches worth knowing are not always the most famous ones. Here is the honest local's guide.
Wailea Beach
The flagship of South Maui luxury. Calm, crystal-clear water, fine white sand, and the gentle slope that makes it ideal for families and swimmers. Flanked by the Grand Wailea and Four Seasons resorts. Public access via beach path. A consistently beautiful beach with calm, swimmable conditions for most of the year.
Big Beach (Oneloa) — Mākena
A striking half-mile of perfect golden sand with powerful shore break and a backdrop of Pu'u Ōla'i cinder cone rising 360 feet above the shore. Big Beach is stunning but demands respect. The shore break is powerful and has injured many visitors who underestimated it. Swim parallel to shore, not into the break. Bodyboarding is exhilarating here for those who know what they are doing.
Secret Cove — Mākena
A tiny, sheltered cove immediately south of Big Beach accessible through a gap in the lava rock wall. Calm, intimate, and a calm, intimate beach with natural beauty. A local favorite for its peace and seclusion. Popular for sunset weddings.
Hamoa Beach — Hana
James Michener wrote about this beach in his Pacific novels. A crescent of grey-black sand backed by tropical vegetation, with waves that make it excellent for bodyboarding and swimming in calmer conditions. Remote — worth the drive to Hana to experience it.
Kapalua Bay — West Maui
A reliably calm and sheltered swimming beach in West Maui — a sheltered cove that stays gentle even when trade winds pick up. Excellent snorkeling along the rocky edges of the bay. One of Hawaii's most beautiful bays and consistently rated among the top beaches in the country.
Ho'okipa Beach Park — Paia
Not a swimming beach — this is one of the top windsurfing and kitesurfing venues in the world. The cliffs above Ho'okipa offer an extraordinary viewing experience: watching professional windsurfers launch forty-foot aerial maneuvers against a backdrop of turquoise ocean and green mountains. Come at sunset.
D.T. Fleming Beach — Kapalua
A beautiful North Shore beach with a consistent shore break popular with bodyboarders and surfers. Can be rough in winter — always check conditions. Flanked by ironwood trees that provide natural shade. Strong current at the north end — stay in the central, sandy areas.
Jolanta's Feedback
Big Beach on a calm morning before 9am. That is the answer. That is always the answer.
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