If you are looking for a picture postcard beach, a little slice of heaven on Earth, you are looking for Hapuna Beach. Hapuna Beach is a half mile of pristine white sand alongside stunning multi-hued ocean water. It is simply jaw dropping spectacular! At the time of our visit, the ocean provided just enough waves to be fun; it is a great place for body surfing or boogie boarding (we were there at the end of May, in the winter it is a different story). There are some rocky outcroppings which provide good places to snorkel, and there are bathrooms!
If you want shade, bring your own
This is one of the most crowded beaches on the island. It also has no shade, unless you set up in the grassy area directly behind the beach. The very north end of the beach is located in front of the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. The hotel rents boogie boards, snorkeling equipment, chairs and umbrellas, but only if you are staying in the hotel. Our guidebook was misinformed on that account, which we found out when we walked all the way to the end of the beach to try to rent boogie boards. If we were ever to go back, we would choose to spend a night or two at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, mostly for its location. Parking at the beach is $5. The concession stand was being completely renovated and was closed. Since our visit the concession stand has re-opened and also rents out chairs, umbrellas and boogie boards, you can click here to check out their website.
Be Careful!
In this photo, besides enjoying the vibrant contrast of the ocean against the vegetation, you can also see two of the three warning signs that we encountered at the beach. These are warning of dangerous shorebreak and strong currents, neither of which were a problem during our visit. There are lifeguards at this beach. The sign that I wish I had taken a picture of, that stopped me in my tracks, was the warning that the beach was a former military training area and unexploded ordnance may be present, with a lovely picture of a hand grenade. I was not prepared for that sign and had not delivered a “don’t touch hand grenades” lecture to my children. I called my family over to the sign so we could decide what to do….really, so they could talk me into going down to the beach. After my husband pointed out the hundreds of people on the beach, including many children, I was convinced that we were relatively safe. A brief, don’t touch anything lecture ensued before we proceeded to the beach. At least it got my mind off of sharks for a while.
Shoreline at Hapuna Beach
We picked a spot in the center of the beach. The first time we visited the beach, it was a bit windy. We had a hard time getting our towels to stay put. We eventually put our shoes on the corners to hold them down while we went swimming. In the photo above you can see some of the rocky outcroppings in the water. We tried to pick an area that had a mostly sandy bottom, as we were more interested in swimming and my husband was trying to teach my kids how to bodysurf, since our boogie board rental didn’t pan out. I was watching how much fun they were having and decided to give it a try…once. I thought I had perfectly timed my launch into the wave, but I just plopped right down through the wave, got water in my eyes, water up my nose and while not exactly dragged across the bottom of the water I was definitely below and not on top of the wave. My kids were both staring at me when I finally managed to upright myself and emerge from the water and they both said, “You were so close, try again! I said, “That was in no way close, I was flipped over and rolling towards the beach, how was that even close?” My son said, “Well, you were in the water and there was a wave.” I ended my bodysurfing adventures and retired to the beach, which was not a bad place to be.
A Day at Hapuna Beach
I had as much fun on the beach watching them and taking pictures as they had in the water. In the photo above they are wading out to catch the next wave. We all loved the beach so much that we decided to return a few days later. However, on the day we returned the water was so still that they got bored and were ready to leave in less than an hour. If you are visiting the big island, this is a must do beach, especially now that the concession stand is open and rentals are available to the public. Bathrooms, showers, water fountains, food stands, lifeguards, equipment rental, this beach has it all….minus the one negative regarding potential explosives. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
(All pictures are available as Fine Art Prints or Digital Downloads for purchase at full resolution through Alamy. If you see something you like, click on the link. If you are unable to find it, use the Contact Me page and I will make sure the image is available.)
Want to read about more beaches on the big island? Check these out!
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Hapuna Beach, Hawaii
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