Local Beaches

Kamaole III Beach Park Directly across the street, life-guarded Kam III is divided by rocks into two sections: a small cove and a broader beach good for boogie boarding when the trade wind swell is up.  Good snorkeling at Kamaole Point at the north end of Kam III.  Usually very calm in the morning hours. Keawapaku A picture postcard perfect beach just south of the Five Palms Grille. Two parking lots. Ulua Good snorkeling and shore dive spot but very popular and often crowded. Very limited parking--arrive at 8 (yes, 8) or you’ll wait for a spot. If the crowds bother you, just move south a few yards. Snorkeling is good only at the north end. Wailea Another wonderful spot with more parking. Fair snorkeling. Polo Nice beach with lots of parking. Mala’aku Drive past the Maui Prince resort a ways and then make a sharp right back to the parking lot. Fair snorkeling on the reef to the left.  When the reef gets too shallow to swim, turn right and swim into deep water past the under-water arch. Bear left in deep water and look for turtles and perhaps a manta ray.  Don’t attempt the swim unless the water is calm and the trades are calm. If you do swim out, swim back if the wind line (white caps in the distance) approaches. Oneuli (Big Beach Maui’s most popular “local” beach. Don’t think of body surfing Paraplegic Beach here unless you have good medical insurance. The waves are slammers. If you must body surf, head south toward the end of this long and beautiful beach. Little Beach over the lava flow at the right side of the beach has much gentler waves and is Maui’s unofficial (and illegal) clothing optional beach. Good snorkeling between Big and Little Beach, and directly off shore of Little Beach. Two parking lots. The beach closes at sunset. Review of Maui's Beaches Maui has beautiful beaches, so do not miss this thorough review.   Sands of Maui A popular Maui souvenir is a bottle filled with layers of Maui sands of different color. You can collect the sand and do the same thing, except using larger decorator Italian tapered bottles. Each of the beaches listed has a different color. Red Sand Beach--Kaihalulu Beach (Hana) beautiful red cinder sand Makena Beach--Oneloa Beach (Makena) light tan sand Little Black Sand Beach--Oneuli Beach (Makena) two shades of gray & peppered sand Wai'anapanapa Beach Park--Pa'iloa Beach (Hana) black sand Kamaole Beach Park III (Kihei) tan sand The Little Black Sand Beach is on the north side of the Puu Olai cinder cone. It is accessed by a rutted dirt road just south of the paved access road to Mala’aku Beach. (This access road is past the Maui Prince turn-off). The rutted road will be a right turn in the Kiawe trees. If you miss the road, you will be at the Makena Beach parking lot access. Although the dirt road seems nearly impassable, and many cars park up front near the road, you can drive the road all the way to the beach. One color sand is to the right, the other to the left. The Red Sand Beach is accessed near the community center and the graveyard in back of the Hana Hotel bungalows. Just park at the dead end road near the graveyard (but not on hotel property). The trail is slippery in spots and signs warn visitors that they risk their lives using the trail. The trail has some wonderful spots to admire the seascape. Notice the Japanese grave stones that have tumbled into the ocean or are slipping downhill. Do you wonder what happened to the graves? Collect the sand in plastic bags and when you get home, dry it out and layer the sand, tilting the bottle one way, then another, for the best effect. Multiple layers of each color work best! The inexpensive Italian tapered bottles are wonderful for displaying the sand. It is best to make sure to settle each layer before adding the next. The finer sand has a tendency to fill the spaces between the coarser sand. The filled bottles do not ship very well, as the colors seem to merge together.