Big Island Beach Guide + Map

The Big Island has more sand colors than the rest of Hawaiʻi combined: black lava sand, coral white, salt-and-pepper, gray, and olivine green. Papakōlea, near South Point, has sand that is roughly 90% olivine crystal, and reaching it takes a hot, shadeless 2.5-mile hike each way. What you will not find here are the long white powder beaches of older islands like Oʻahu. As the youngest island, Hawaiʻi has fewer beaches and trickier access, but far more variety.

Start with the map, then work through the four regions, beginning at the southernmost beach in the country and going counter-clockwise: Kaʻū and Volcano in the south, Hilo in the east, Kohala and Waimea in the north, where Hāpuna and Kaunaʻoa hold the white-sand resort beaches, and Kona in the west. Many of the prettier coves have strong currents and are unsafe to swim, so check lifeguard status and hazards on each entry before you go.

A few questions come up again and again about Big Island beaches. Click any question to open the answer.

Map of Beaches on the Big Island

The map below plots the most-visited beaches on the Big Island. Zoom in, explore by region, and click any marker for details. The same descriptions appear in the regional listings below, ordered from the southernmost beach in the country counter-clockwise around the island.

Beaches near Volcano (South coast)

The south coast has only a handful of beaches, but they are some of the most distinctive on the island. Our favorite green (Papakōlea) and black (Punaluʻu) sand beaches are both on this side of the island. Our guide to Hawaiʻi’s hottest beaches has more.

Green Sand Beach / Papakōlea

Roughly 90% of Papakōlea’s sand is crystal, most of it olivine. That heavy volcanic mineral weathers out of the eroding ash ring behind the beach and settles in the bay. Reaching it takes a 2.5-mile hike each way across exposed, windy coast from the parking area near South Point, with no shade and no facilities once you start walking. Few make the hike, so the cove stays quiet. Our guide below has the directions and what to expect on the way:

Green sand beach (Papakōlea)

At Papakōlea roughly 90% of the sand is olivine crystal. Reaching it is a hot, shadeless 2.5-mile hike each way from South Point on the Big Island.

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Punaluʻu County Beach Park

Reaching Papakōlea takes a hard hike; Punaluʻu is easy to reach. It is the most famous black sand beach on the island, and you reach it straight from the parking lot rather than after a long hike. The jet-black sand sits between Kona and Hilo, easiest to get to from Volcano Village, and green sea turtles often haul out to rest on the warm sand. Give them plenty of room and resist the urge to get close for a photo.

As of November 2026 the county beach park here is closed until a pending county purchase of the land goes through, so don’t count on a lifeguard, restrooms or the parking lot. A strong rip current runs out through the boat channel, and the water is rougher than it looks from shore.

Turtles, Swimming and Snorkeling at Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach

Green sea turtles bask on the black lava sand at Punaluʻu, the most accessible black sand beach in Hawaiʻi. What to know about swimming, snorkeling, and honu.

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If black sand beaches are your thing we recommend that you have a look at our 7 favorite black sand beaches in Hawaiʻi.

Beaches near Hilo (East coast)

These are the most popular beaches in and around Hilo. The east side has black sand, lava rock, and tide pools instead of wide open sand, so here you snorkel calm protected coves rather than swim big beaches. Our Hilo beaches guide has more on the east-side beaches.

Kaimū Beach Park

In 1990 a lava flow buried the old Kaimū beach, once a famous black sand beach, under about 15 meters of rock. A new black sand beach has since formed on top of the hardened flow, reached by a short walk across the lava. Strong currents and unpredictable waves make this a beach for walking and watching rather than swimming, but few other places show new land forming this directly.

Kaimū black sand beach in Kalapana

In 1990 lava buried the old Kaimū beach and most of Kalapana. A new black sand beach now sits 50 ft above it. Parking, the eco-path, and what to expect.

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Isaac Hale Beach Park / Pohoiki

This is the youngest black sand beach in Hawaiʻi, and you can almost watch it age. When Kīlauea’s 2018 eruption poured lava into the ocean here, the waves ground the fresh rock into black sand and piled it into the bay within weeks. The result is the Pohoiki black sand beach, at the end of Highway 137 in lower Puna.

Swimming is off-limits: a dangerous shore break, strong currents, and lava boulders line the water’s edge. There are picnic tables, a playground, and a lifeguard on duty during park hours.

Several naturally warm thermal ponds sit at the same park, though the Department of Health flags them as unmonitored and a bacterial risk if you have any open cuts. Our hot ponds guide covers these thermal ponds.

Pohoiki Black Sand Beach

The 2018 eruption transformed Pohoiki's black sand beach in weeks and left a new beach behind. Strong shore break, no swimming, plus the drive out to lower Puna.

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Ahalanui Park

Ahalanui, also known as Puʻalaʻa County Park, is on this list as a memorial more than a destination. Until July 2018 it was a volcanically heated pool, partly walled off from the ocean, and one of the warmest, easiest swims in Puna on a day when the sea felt cool. The same eruption that built Pohoiki’s black sand buried Ahalanui under lava for good.

Our Ahalanui guide has more.

The Ahalanui hot ponds in the Puna district before 2018. The pool was partly separated from the ocean to create a lukewarm swimming pool.

Kapoho Tide Pools (destroyed by the 2018 LERZ eruption)

Before 2018, Kapoho was the best snorkeling many visitors did on the Big Island: a sprawling network of tide pools up to 10 feet deep, threaded with lava rock and crowded with fish, all calm and protected from the open ocean. The same lava flow that reshaped lower Puna filled them in completely. Like Ahalanui, Kapoho is here so you know what the eruption took.

Our Kapoho tide pools guide has more.

Richardson Beach Park

Richardson is the black sand beach closest to Hilo and the most reliable snorkeling on this side of town. A natural lava rock breakwater calms the swimming area, so the water stays manageable even when the open coast is rough, and green sea turtles are a regular sight along the rocks. It is one of the few Hilo-area beaches with the full set of facilities: showers, bathrooms, picnic areas, and a lifeguard. Our guide below has directions and photos:

Richardson Ocean Park

Freshwater springs keep Richardson's shallow and nearly current-free: the best snorkeling on the Hilo side. Black sand, tide pools, lifeguard on duty.

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Leleʻiwi Beach Park

Leleʻiwi, also known as Waiʻuli, trades sand for a rocky shoreline and freshwater-fed tide pools, the structure holds a lot of sea life close to shore, good for snorkeling. It is one of the better underwater spots near Hilo and often overlooked, with plenty of picnic tables on land and a lifeguard on duty during the day. Bring lunch and plan to stay a while.

Our Hilo beaches guide has more on this beach.

Carlsmith Beach Park

Carlsmith is a protected white sand lagoon ringed by black lava rock, which keeps the water calm and clear and the snorkeling close to shore. The lava walls knock down the swell, so it is one of the gentler places to get in the water around Hilo, and a good choice for families. County lifeguards are on duty daily, 9:30am to 4:45pm. Restrooms and a picnic area round it out.

Carlsmith beach park (Four Mile) in Hilo

Fresh water seeps into the lagoon at Carlsmith, cooling a few spots even as the reef keeps the rest calm for swimming. Turtles are regulars here.

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James Keʻaloha Beach Park

James Keʻaloha is a roomy family beach with a rocky shoreline that works for snorkeling on calm days and surfing when there is swell. A deep, protected basin with white sand pockets and natural freshwater springs sits at its center, though the footing is uneven lava and there is no lifeguard, so it runs rougher than nearby Carlsmith. There is a large picnic area and restrooms, and plenty of open space to spread out. Watch the water during high surf, when rip currents along this stretch get strong.

Our Hilo beaches guide has more on this beach.

Onekahakaha Beach Park

Onekahakaha is the Hilo beach parents pick first. A lava rock seawall shelters a shallow, sandy-bottomed lagoon that stays calm enough for small children to wade in, the gentlest swimming on this side of the island, and nearby tide pools give older kids something to snorkel. A lifeguard is on duty during the day. Add grassy areas, picnic spots, and the occasional ice cream stand, and you can easily spend an afternoon here with a young family.

Our Hilo beaches guide has more on this beach.

Coconut Island

Mokuola, better known as Coconut Island, is closed. The footbridge connecting it to Hilo’s shoreline collapsed in November 2025, and Hawaiʻi County has the park shut down while engineers assess repairs, so there is no way across right now. When it reopens, this small island in Hilo Bay has a few pocket beaches, a grassy lawn, picnic tables, water calm enough for an easy swim, and a stone tower about 20 feet high that keeps local kids jumping all day.

Coconut Island (Mokuola) in Hilo

The footbridge to Coconut Island (Mokuola) in Hilo collapsed in November 2025, so the island is closed. A temporary span is targeted within about two years.

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Beaches near Waimea / the Kohala resorts (North coast)

The white sand beaches on the Kohala coast are the closest thing the island has to the classic resort-beach experience: wide, calm, and reliably sunny. Add a couple of dramatic black sand beaches tucked beneath thousand-foot cliffs at the north end, and

Waipiʻo Valley Black Sand Beach

Reaching Waipiʻo beach used to mean walking or driving down one of the steepest roads in the country. Hawaiʻi County’s ongoing emergency rule now closes that road to all pedestrians and to any vehicle except a resident’s, a permitted tour operator’s, or a Native Hawaiian exercising customary rights, so a visitor can no longer walk or drive down on their own.

The Waipiʻo Valley Shuttle is the practical way in, $67 for adults and $36.50 for kids, about 1.5 to 2 hours round trip. Once you are down, the black sand beach beneath the valley’s high walls is a dramatic place to rest, though rip currents and high surf, especially in winter, make swimming dangerous.

Read more about the road closure and how to visit in our guide to Waipiʻo valley.

Overview of Waipiʻo Valley from the ‘opposite’ side. You can see the steep Waipiʻo Valley access road, the black sand beach and taro fields.

Pololū Valley Black Sand Beach

Pololū sits at the opposite end of the Kohala coast from the resorts, and it is nothing like them. The beach itself is more often fist-sized stones than sand, with murky water and strong currents that rule out swimming or snorkeling. People come for the view and the walk down to it.

To reach the beach you descend about 400 vertical feet from the parking lot. The path has some of the best coastal views on the island. It is one of our 5 favorite hikes on the Big Island. Our Pololū Valley page has more.

The beach in Pololū valley is a good place to rest after the hike down. It is one of our favorite 5 short hikes of the Big Island.

Kapaʻa Beach Park

Kapaʻa is a rocky shoreline where you can snorkel and dive well once past the entry; the swimming is poor. Locals come mostly for the park behind it: restrooms, picnic tables, and BBQ grills facing west, which makes it a popular spot for a sunset cookout.

Mahukona Beach Park

Mahukona is an abandoned sugar-era harbor with almost no sand, one of the more interesting places to snorkel on the island. You climb down a steel ladder into the bay, and below you sits the wreck of the SS Kauai, a steamship that sank in 1913, with its engine, propeller, and scattered cargo still on the seafloor at depths to about 40 feet.

Turtles, eels, and octopus have moved into the machinery and concrete pilings. In winter, the same calm bay is a good spot to watch for whales offshore. There is no lifeguard, so save it for calm summer conditions.

Samuel M. Spencer Beach Park

An offshore reef and the harbor just to the north calm the surf at Spencer, which makes it one of the calmest, most kid-friendly swimming beaches on the Kohala coast. County lifeguards are on duty daily, 9:30am to 4:45pm. The park behind it has a picnic area, BBQ facilities, and tent camping with a permit.

It also sits right next to a national park and a national historic trail.

The first minutes of the video below show the beach and the camping spots at Spencer Beach Park:

Right next to the beach park is one of the island’s four national parks, the Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Park. Spencer is also the trailhead for a 15-mile stretch of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, which runs south to ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay.

Kaunaʻoa Beach

Kaunaʻoa, the beach in front of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, is a quarter-mile crescent of soft white sand on calm water in summer: a quarter-mile crescent of soft white sand on calm water in summer. You can snorkel at the rocky ends and body surf gently in the middle, though winter swells can bring a strong shorebreak and rip currents, and there is no lifeguard. Public parking is limited and fills early, since the hotel only releases a set number of beach passes each day. More information about Mauna Kea beach:

Kaunaʻoa (Mauna Kea) Beach

Mauna Kea Beach is public, but the lot belongs to the hotel and the few non-guest stalls go early. How non-guests get in, and where to park if you miss out.

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Hāpuna Beach State Park

Hāpuna is the big one: a half-mile of wide, open white sand that regularly appears on ‘best beaches in the world’ lists, and usually the easiest swimming beach on the island. County lifeguards are on duty daily, 9:30am to 4:45pm, and worth checking in with: the shore break here has caused broken bones and spinal injuries, especially when winter surf picks up. The rocky points at each end hold the snorkeling.

In summer the beach can be 200 feet deep from tree line to water. It also has the fullest set of facilities of any beach here: restrooms, showers, picnic tables, snorkel rental, BBQ, and food concession stands. More information about Hāpuna beach:

Hāpuna Beach

Swim, snorkel, and bodysurf off half a mile of white sand, with a lifeguard, shade, and a picnic pavilion. $5 per person plus $10 parking, free for HI residents.

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Waialea Bay Beach

Waialea, better known as 69 Beach, is Hāpuna’s quieter neighbor: a more sheltered, tree-lined white sand cove just to the south. When the surf is calm the snorkeling around the rocks is better than at Hāpuna, and the shade makes it easier to stay all day. It is smaller than Hāpuna and fills up on weekends. More information about Waialea Bay Beach:

Waialea Beach (Beach 69)

Waialea Beach (Beach 69) is a shaded, quieter alternative to Hāpuna, with white sand that returns each summer and a protected bay for snorkeling.

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ʻAnaehoʻomalu Beach

ʻAnaehoʻomalu, almost always shortened to A-Bay, fronts the Waikoloa resort area and backs onto a pair of ancient Hawaiian fishponds, so a short walk takes you from snorkeling to archaeology. An offshore reef keeps the water calm for swimming, diving, and snorkeling, and the sand here is salt-and-pepper rather than pure white. It is also the south end of the Ala Kahakai trail that starts at Spencer.

Anaeho’omalu Beach

A Bay (ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay) at Waikoloa has calm, sandy-entry swimming and a free lot 2 minutes from the sand. Murky for snorkeling; we come back for the sunset.

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Beaches near Kona (West coast)

The Kona (west) coast gets the most sun on the island, and the most traffic as a result. These are all good places to spend a warm afternoon:

Beach highlights: see our list of 10 best Kona beaches to see where we like to hang out.

Kīholo Bay

Kīholo is a bay where cold fresh water springs up through the seafloor and mixes with the ocean, so the water can look milky and turn noticeably cold in patches. Most of the shoreline is private, but a public access trail leads to the beach, and at low tide the bay fills with tide pools worth snorkeling. Green sea turtles are common here. You have to walk in from the highway; there is no parking at the sand.

Kīholo Bay has tide pools, wildlife, ancient ponds and rock formations. Photo by Paul Blessington on Unsplash

Kukiʻo Beach

Kukiʻo is one of the better beaches on the island for seeing green sea turtles, which gather along its long stretch of white sand. The same lava rock that makes it good turtle habitat, scattered above and below the waterline, makes it a poor swimming beach. Come to walk the sand and watch wildlife rather than to get in the water. Access is through the Four Seasons, which hands out a limited number of free public passes when there is room.

Kukiʻo Beach is one of the quieter beaches on the Big Island. Enter from the Four Seasons Drive where the “gate keeper” will give you a no-charge pass if there is room. Image credit: Mark, source.

Kikaʻua Point Beach

Kikaʻua Point is a sheltered lagoon with almost no current or waves. That is a rare enough combination on this coast that families with small children pick it out specifically. There is little to snorkel here, so come for the calm, shallow water for wading. There is no lifeguard, so keep an eye on young kids yourself.

Kekaha Kai State Park

Kekaha Kai is a stretch of coast holding three of the best beaches: Mahaiʻula, Makalawena, and Kua Bay. All three set white sand and blue-green water against fields of pitch-black lava, far enough from Kona to stay quiet. white sand and blue-green water set against fields of pitch-black lava, far enough from Kona to stay quiet.

The 3 beaches in the Kekaha Kai state park are (from North to South): Maniniʻowali Bay (a.k.a. Kua bay), Makalawena beach and Mahaiʻula Bay. Image adapted from Google Maps.

Getting there means a rough, rocky, winding road across lava that not every rental car is allowed on. If you have a rental, check with the company before you drive in.

Kua Bay Beach

Kua Bay, officially Maniniʻowali, is the brightest-looking of the three Kekaha Kai beaches: white sand and clear water reached by a short walk from a paved lot, the easiest access in the park. On calm days the swimming and snorkeling are excellent. In winter it can turn into a shore break that tosses people around, so respect the surf when it is up. There is no lifeguard. More information on Kua Bay Beach:

Maniniʻōwali Beach Guide (Kua Bay)

As of 2026, Kua Bay charges $5 per person plus $10 per vehicle, paid on site by QR code. What to know about the white sand, summer snorkeling, and parking.

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Mahaiʻula Beach

Mahaiʻula is the relaxed, shady option in Kekaha Kai: a curve of white sand backed by coconut palms, quieter than Kua Bay because you reach it by the rough road rather than a paved lot. A lava shelf just offshore makes swimming awkward, so this is more a beach for lying under the palms with a book than for getting in the water.

Mahaiʻula beach is the most southern beach in the Kekaha Kai State Park on the Kona coast.

Makalawena Beach

Makalawena takes a hot, exposed one-mile hike across lava beyond Mahaiʻula, and it regularly places on best-beach lists for the whole state. Few make the hike, so the dunes and water often stay near-empty. Bring everything you need, because there is nothing out here.

Mahaiʻula beach is the southernmost of the three Hawaiʻi Big Island beaches making up Kekaha Kai State Park.

Aiʻopio beach

Aiʻopio is a small, protected beach where ancient Hawaiians built a fishtrap whose stone walls still hold calm, shallow water, ideal for young children. It sits inside Kaloko-Honokōhau National Park and is easiest to reach from the Honokōhau small boat harbor. If you have booked a boat tour that departs from this harbor, arrive early and walk over to take a look at this small beach.

Old Kona Airport Beach Park

You park on a runway here: Kona’s first airport closed in 1970, and its airstrip is now the parking lot for this long beach park right at the edge of town. The shoreline is rocky and the ocean is often too rough to swim, but the convenience and the west-facing view make it a local favorite for bringing food and watching the sunset.

Kamakahonu (King Kam) Beach

Kamakahonu, nicknamed King Kam after the King Kamehameha hotel behind it, is the most central beach on the island: a small, calm pocket of sand right in downtown Kailua-Kona on the north side of the pier. The protected water is gentle enough for beginners, and the snorkeling around the pier is decent despite the downtown location. It is the easiest swim to fit between other things in town. More information on King Kam Beach:

Kamakahonu (King Kam) Beach

A sheltered white-sand beach between Kailua pier and the King Kam hotel, best for an early swim or snorkel. Kona Boys rents gear on site. Parking is paid.

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King Kam beach in downtown Kona is a good place to take a quick dip in between activities. You can find decent snorkeling on the other side of the pier

White Sands Beach Park

Magic Sands is named for the sand itself: during big winter swells the surf can strip the entire beach of sand overnight, then deposit it back weeks later. When the sand is in, it is a compact, lively town beach with a punchy shore break that bodyboarders love and swimmers should respect. County lifeguards are on duty daily, 9:30am to 4:45pm, with showers, a bathroom, and a volleyball net on site.

About 4 miles south of central Kailua-Kona, this small beach (also called White Sands and, officially, Laʻaloa Beach) has clear blue-green water, great sunsets, and an often dangerous shore break. Image credit: Steve Shupe, source.

Kahaluʻu Beach Park

Few places on the Kona coast give you a better chance of snorkeling with green sea turtles than this protected cove. The reef sits close to shore in shallow, mostly calm water, forgiving for first-timers, though the entry is rocky enough that you will want water shoes. Two lifeguard towers mark the safe zone, and the pavilion has reef-safe sunscreen dispensers.

A northbound current runs out of the bay and picks up with bigger swells, so check the flags before you swim out. It is one of our 3 favorite snorkeling spots on the Big Island.

Read more on our website about snorkeling, surfing and going to the beach at the Kahaluʻu beach park.

Kealakekua Bay Park

Nāpōʻopoʻo, a rocky beach in the state historical park, and Manini Beach a third of a mile south, with a patch of sand and a lawn made for sunsets, are both poor swimming spots.

Kealakekua bay however is one of the best snorkeling and kayaking destinations on the island. Spinner dolphins often rest here, and the monument to Captain Cook across the water is reachable by a challenging trail, by kayak, or on a boat tour. Kayaking requires a permit. Read more about snorkeling at Captain Cook or about visiting Kealakekua Bay in general on our website.

Nāpōʻopoʻo Beach is a small rocky beach in the Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park. Image credit: Nnachappa64, Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Two Step (Hōnaunau Bay)

Two Step is the snorkeling entry to Hōnaunau Bay, 40 minutes south of Kailua-Kona by car and just outside Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park. You step in off a lava shelf beside the county boat ramp, with boats launching alongside. There’s no lifeguard. The county lists the footing, currents and waves as hazards, and the park service warns that large waves can arrive with little warning as you get in or out.

Parking near the ramp is limited and the only facilities are portable toilets. The park service asks snorkelers to park outside the park gate so its small lot stays open for people visiting the puʻuhonua (place of refuge).

Snorkelers at Two Step, with Hale o Keawe, the temple at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, on the point behind. Surf was breaking over the lava shelf that September afternoon. Photo: Gerrit van der Plas, Sep 2026.

Swimming and snorkeling are not allowed anywhere inside the park, including Keoneʻele Cove, where green sea turtles rest. Snorkel gear and towels are not allowed in the Royal Grounds or the puʻuhonua either. Spinner dolphins rest in the bay during the day, and federal law requires you to stay 50 yards from them.

Our snorkeling guide shows where on the reef to start, and our Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau guide covers the park walk, fees and history.

Hoʻokena Beach Park

Hoʻokena is a community beach first and a visitor beach second. In the 1880s this was a busy steamship landing with a wharf, school, and courthouse, until storms wrecked the landing and most villagers moved upland. Today the local non-profit Friends of Hoʻokena Beach Park co-manages it with the county, so you pay a small fee that goes back into the park.

The sand is fine black-and-white ground to a dark steel-gray that gets hot, so bring flip-flops. Snorkeling is good at both ends of Kauhako Bay, with the sandier, calmer swimming down the south end. Tent camping is by permit only. Give the fishing canoes on the beach a wide berth, since they are culturally important here.

Water and Beach Safety

The ocean here deserves more respect than it usually gets. Water that looks calm can still pull hard, and the swimmers who get into trouble are often the confident ones who underestimated it. Strong currents move beneath the surface, coral can cut your feet and is easily damaged, and sea urchins wedge into the rocks where you least want to step. Never turn your back to the ocean, and always follow posted signs.

More practical tips are:

• Some beaches may be closed because of high surf and/or dangerous currents. You can find up-to-date hazard ratings for the Big Island beaches at this website of the county of Hawaiʻi.
• The Hawaiian sun is stronger than it feels this close to the equator. Apply sunscreen generously and often, and wear a shirt if you go out snorkeling.
• Though the crime rate in Hawaiʻi is low, visitors should be as cautious as they would be at any other destination. Do not lock valuables in your vehicle. If you must, pack items out of sight before parking.
• Please make sure to clean up after yourself.

7 tips for going to the beach in Hawaiʻi

Beaches here come with a few rules and conditions you will not have met back home: stronger sun this close to the equator, black sand that can get hot enough to hurt, local laws on what you can bring, and fragile coral reefs ringing every island.

1. Use reef-safe sunscreen. Hawaiʻi state law bans the sale of sunscreen containing oxybenzone or octinoxate, and Hawaiʻi County goes further: only mineral sunscreens, active ingredient zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, are legal to sell here. Check the label before you buy.
2. Bring a hat to protect your face and your eyes. Sunburns can cause premature aging and UV rays can also damage your eyes. Prevention is the key.
3. Bring a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated and minimize plastic waste.
4. Wear shoes or flip flops. Sand on our beaches gets hot, especially the black sand, and sharp pieces of shell and coral can cut your feet.
5. The Hawaiian sun is intense. Lip balm with a high (30+) SPF gives extra protection to your most vulnerable pieces of skin such as your lips, earlobes, etc. (this tip also features in our list of 11 mistakes most tourists make in Hawaiʻi)
6. Smoking and drinking alcohol is illegal on beaches and in state parks. If you want to enjoy any of those things, please don’t do it on the beach.
7. Some beaches have far more amenities than others. With young children especially, double check for available bathrooms before you go.

Things to do on the beach

Big Island beaches are emptier than those on Oʻahu or Maui. Hit a remote one on a weekday and you can have the sand to yourself. The quieter the beach, the less likely it has water, shade, or restrooms, so pack your own.

Take your snorkel gear and spend your time swimming between fish in every color of the rainbow. Green sea turtles turn up at more than a dozen beaches on this list, and manta ray night dives run out of Kona. Read more on snorkeling and buying or renting gear. If you like playing in the waves, bring along a bodyboard, SUP board, or surfboard.

A big group will not run out of things to do at the beach. If you are not the sun worshiper your travel companion is, bring a book (any of the books on our list of 18 books to read on Hawaiʻi would be a good fit), good food and drinks, snorkel gear, or whatever you enjoy doing, and do your thing.

Green Sand Beach in the Kaʻū district, near the south point of the island.

More Hawaiʻi beach guides

Ask a Big Island resident about the beaches and many will shrug and tell you to go to Maui or Oʻahu. Do not listen. The variety here, black, white, green, and salt-and-pepper sand within a couple hours’ drive, is something the other islands cannot match. Our Oʻahu (28 beaches), Maui (23 beaches), and Kauaʻi guides map the beaches on each island:

• Our favorite 28 Oʻahu Beaches (+ Map)
• Our 23 Favorite Beaches on Maui
• Kauaʻi Beach overview