This beach has been on our Oahu "to try" list, but we somehow always ended up in Lanikai and Kailua…read morewhen on the eastern side. Waimanolo is a bit further south from Lanikai and is every bit as gorgeous and even more secluded!! Same dreamy waters, blue skies, low hanging clouds, and soft sands.... Without the chaotic parking and with less crowds. It was pretty easy for us to find street parking here and it really felt like the entire beach was ours.

Waimanalo Beach is a stunning beach on the eastern shoreline of the island of Oahu…read more It is not too far from Waikiki and the drive here is absolutely beautiful. It is also far enough that there aren't many tourists, and there's plenty of parking and even a small playground for kids. However the bathrooms at this beach seem to be under renovation and are not the best, so just beware. I highly recommend coming prepared with chairs and snacks, since there's not much around this area. Also, the waves here can get very rough which is not ideal for small children so beware of that. However, we had an amazing time building sand castles and just playing with the sand. I recommend coming here just for a few hours and then moving to another beach.

Resurrected from swamps and marshland, this 119-acre beach park is a popular spot for both local…read moreand tourists alike. Set against the backdrop of the bustling Hawaii metropolis on one side, and the majestic blue Pacific Ocean on the other. This mile-long stretch of man-made beach consists of golden sand and protective coral reefs. Allowing for very safe and calm waters, great for many water-based activities for kids and adults alike. The facilities here consists of restrooms, BBQ grills on the grass areas, picnic tables, as well as outdoor showers. There are also lifeguards stationed at various intervals for additional safety. Located just west of Waikiki, this beach is easily accessible by car for tourists staying nearby. And parking here is both free and plentiful in the very large, open lots.

Happy President's Day fun day for son son and me at the beach…read more Today's review comes from the eyes of my son. As soon as we get to the beach he meets a new friend. Asks if she wants to dig in the sand, be his friend, and the rest is history. The two knock it out of the park. Digging, playing, talking, laughing, and having a grand ole time. We've been here two hours and it feels like we just got here. Now they're eating sandwiches and oranges I made for lunch. He shared one half of the sandwich and his oranges with her. It's such a wonderful and delightful sight to see my child and another play so well and connect so quick. We usually choose the same spot and he has made a handful of friends here. It's a great place to bring your kids to have fun.

It was a nice clean beach. Had wonderful views. Would recommend. A plus was it's clean clear water.read more

If you prefer a quieter local beach over a busier one, this is the perfect spot. My favorite on the…read moreisland, hands down!!! Our tour guide at Kualoa Ranch told us about this hidden gem. This is the beach that locals go to and I am so glad she told us about it. The water is turquoise, the waves were calm and we sat under a huge tree that I didn't want to leave. I really wished someone told us about this beach on day 1. I loved how the shore was so short and it was definitely family friendly. I enjoyed hanging out here and wished we could've spent half the day here. It's beautiful, just look at the pictures.

5-17-2020 Our first venture out since beaches opened up recently. The 2020 pandemic had residents…read moreand visitors alike sheltering i n place. There are still certain restrictions to follow for beach goers but to be able to see the Pacific Ocean here at Mokuleia Beach was a blessing. It was a welcome escape from being what seemed like a mini house arrest for the past month and a half. A perfect day- the weather, the deepest hues of the ocean and the waves unfurling white water breaking onto the shoreline was priceless. A magnificent sight to behold. It was the first time we took our fur baby galavanting for her very first holoholo adventure. On the drive we passed horses, tropical flowers and lush greenery. Dillingham airfield held memories of a flight adventure hubs and our daughter went on. We drove as far as Camp Erdman where my family camped during my childhood years and later I went to summer camp and shhh, had my first kiss. We were playing tourists today bringing along with us the leis and balloons that were delivered to our home from our graduating daughter. It was reason to leave the house and celebrate with freedom and a long overdue basking of sunshine and eye candy of the beauty past Waialua. Hubs said as a Jeep pulled up aside of our car: they are laughing at us. No wonder, we had leis on and were taking photos of ourselves and our Fur baby against the backdrop of the beautiful ocean. Yes, pretty comical but they stayed in their vehicle til we took a few snap shots. What a day to celebrate!!! Congrats to all the 2020 grads who had or will be having virtual graduations. Big mahalo to our newly graduated PhD daughter, we are proud of you and thank you for loving us in every conceivable way

If you are old enough to remember the heyday of beach-going at Mok's you are probably over 40, and…read moreby that I mean the days when Mokuleia Beach had a full bathroom complex with shower stalls, toilets, changing rooms and BBQ grills, and because of this the beach was pretty popular with local families and tourists before the days of Yelp, IG and Tripadvisor. It was a place you could always go to for the same familiar, predictable beauty of a beach- it had rough, secluded, rugged, windswept shores with a wild beauty to it and you couldn't help but feel a certain romantic quality every time you came here. I remember childhood days when we'd trek out from town to Mokuleia as a family and spend all day here because the drive was so long. We'd BBQ, swim, play, look for shells, watch the parachuters come down from the sky, sleep under the towels in the warm sun, shower in the lava rock encrusted compound, then head home by sunset. I'd haunt this place in the summer time as a teenager when I first learned how to drive, and me and a friend would come out for an all-day tanning fest and watch the sun go down while eating our sandwiches and drinking our cans of Hawaiian Sun fruit drinks. Maybe of all the beaches, this beach held so many fond memories for me. As the saying goes 'all good things must come to an end' and so it did -the bathrooms and shower stalls were all razed down to the ground years ago because the state of Hawaii could no longer maintain the property. They also wanted to deter the many homeless that had set up camp and permanent residence around the perimeter of the beach park. The state figured if there were no showers and no flushing toilets the homeless would leave, and they did. Now all that's left are porta potties dotting the landscape. There are no more BBQ areas and the parking lot pavement is falling apart. The place is no longer romantic to me as the landscape has changed so much and what I remember from my childhood and young adulthood is so much more different. There doesn't seem to be as many families anymore and the park is not a hotspot of activity as it used to have, but the place still holds onto its wild rugged beauty and manages to survive without the presence of humans. If you want isolated, limited, windy, wild and rugged, come here to a beach with limited resources. It's only a few hundred feet from the main road and it seems like a few hundred miles from Honolulu.

Peaceful and secluded. Definitely not the prettiest beach in the world, but in a place where the…read morecrowds seem to take over pretty much everything, it's nice to find some solace in the sand. And the reason why it's so peaceful?! It's tucked behind a residential neighborhood. Parking is on the street only and there's not much of it. So, it'll be a short journey to get there, but this is what also deters the big crowds. The sand isn't the softest and the views aren't amazing, but the sunsets are pretty and the water feels good. There are no facilities here either (except for one large garbage can near one of the entrances). You gotta pack it in, pack it out, and use the restroom before you go unless you're a local who lives in the area. Had a little picnic here and it was really enjoyable. The few people that I come in contact with were really friendly. Most of them were walking their dogs on the beach, so I feel like this is the local dog beach in town. There's a nice breeze on this side, so it's a great beach to come to when that hawt Hawaii heat attacks. It's also really clean. If you're looking to escape the crowds and don't mind a longer trek, Hunakai Beach will do you right.

Hunakai beach was our third destination to go to a couple of weekends ago. My daughter wanted to go…read moreto the beach. First we went to Ala Moana beach park but there was some paddling competition so there was no parking. Then we drove to Waikiki and there was a craft fair at the park so there was no parking there either. So we just yelped a place closer to home and found Hunakai beach. You just park on the side of the road and walk down a beach access road. It was surprising because there were quite a few people there. People were all spaced out so that was good. The beach itself is very beautiful. There was just a lot of coral and rocks. Not really the best place to go swimming. That didn't stop my daughter though, she just took her floatie and pulled it in the water and kicked her legs so she floated down the ocean. She had a great time. Great for parking and sunbathing but if you want to swim, you should probably try to find a new place.

Lots of parking around. Pleasant and quiet area. Has 2 portable toilets that usually has toilet…read morepaper. To be safe, use the beach car and dont leave valuables in the car.

Not a good spot for swimming, but pretty quiet even on the weekend. Great place to relax on the…read morebeach, but you'll cut up your feet if you get in that water.

Another great place to pull off the road and enjoy. There are wild chickens and this one happened…read moreto have a few chicks. Such a beautiful beach to enjoy.

Punaluu Beach Park is small park but has some beautiful views of the ocean and surrounding area…read more The views are calming and relaxing! A good place for an restroom break.

One of the most memorable experiences of our trip!…read more You can tell locals and tourists alike enjoy this spot, but PLEASE do not attempt to jump in the water if you're not a local, as the current can be strong. Instead, please enjoy the views and be respectful to others. Parking can be a little tricky as this is on a residential area but with a little patience and willingness to walk, you'll be rewarded with stunning views! We went there a couple of hours before sunset and it was starting to get busy with people setting shop to watch the sunset there... can you blame them?! The entrance can be a little steep so be careful if not wearing appropriate footwear and take your time. No matter what pictures I share here, they won't do justice to the stunning natural beauty of this place!

Not sure if a lot of tourists know about this spot for sunset and views but I highly recommend you…read morecoming here on your next trip. This has to be one of the most fun places to watch the sunset and it makes you feel like a local. Been here every time I've visited and it's such a vibe. There's music playing, people cliff jumping and drinking while the sun's going down. The majority of the crowd is on the younger side too. Be sure to be mindful in the neighborhood and to get there before sunset because it gets crowded.