Kauai beaches
The island of Kauai has a coastline of about 90 miles (145 km). Kauai beaches are known for their powdery white sand and uncrowded atmosphere – some are hardly visited at all, which means that you can easily find your tropical paradise beach on this island. Many beaches on Kauai offer great swimming, snorkeling, surfing and kayaking conditions.
Kauai’s north shore has many popular surfing beaches, such as Tunnels Beach and Lumahai Beach. Hanalei Bay with its fabulous vista to Bali Hai has been made world-famous in the movie South Pacific. Poipu Beach on Kauai’s south shore is a popular beach among locals and visitors alike, while Polihale Beach on the west shore doesn’t know crowds and is known for its amazing sunset views and “barking sands.”
Kauai beach list
| ANAHOLA
BEACH PARK |
 Located
south of Anahola Bay, the local favorite Anahola
Beach Park has something suitable for everyone.
The white-sand beach is protected from high surf by a reef. The nearshore ocean bottom has a few pockets of sand, so even kids can swim here. There is a surf break at the outer edge of the reef.
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| ANINI
BEACH PARK |
 Anini Beach on Kauai's north shore is a 3-mile-long (4.8 km) beach sheltered by one of
the longest and widest reefs in Hawaii measuring 2 miles (3.2 km) in length and 1,600
feet (488 m) at its widest point. The protective reef creates a
beautiful and calm blue lagoon, which is ideal for snorkeling and other water activities.
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| DONKEY
BEACH |
| Some years back, Donkey Beach was considered
one of the best nudist or clothing optional
beaches because of its secluded location. But
even then, the beach wasn’t great for swimming,
but it was popular among sunbathers who wanted
it au naturel. The beach’s secluded location made it a perfect spot for nudist or clothing optional visitors.
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| GLASS
BEACH |
 Sea
glass is found all over the world, but it’s
found in unusual numbers on a beach located in
the middle of an industrial part in Hanapepe. Because of its unusual abundance, the
beach has been appropriately named Glass Beach.
The shoreline here is covered with
colorful sea glass - brown, aqua-colored,
clear and blue.
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| HAENA
BEACH PARK |
| This beach on Kauai’s north shore is also known as Maniniholo Beach, named after the large schools of convict fish (manini fish) that feed on the coral here. Vegetated sand dunes bake up the backshore of Haena Beach. Offshore are two large reefs, the Makua Reef to the east and the Hauwa Reef to the west.
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| HANALEI
BAY BEACH |
 Hanalei Bay is the largest bay on
Kauai and considered one of the best beaches in all of Hawaii. Surrounding the bay are 1,000- to 4,000-foot-high
(305 m to 1,219 m) mountains covered with mist. Behind it, waterfalls
provide a breathtaking backdrop.
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| HIDEAWAYS
BEACH |
| Kauai has a number of secret gems and the appropriately
named Hideaways Beach is one of them. It can be accessed only after a difficult climb down
a steep path. The beach is lightly visited. For those
who know its beauty, a little trek down is definitely
worth it. The beach is crescent shaped and the large, grainy sand is a
golden yellow where sea turtles can often be seen.
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| KALAPAKI
BEACH |
| Kalapaki Beach, located near Lihue at the entrance of Nawiliwili Harbor, is one of Kauai’s most popular beaches. It offers great swimming conditions as the ocean bottom is sandy and gently sloping. Kalapaki Beach is also home of a 40-acre (161,874 sq. m) lagoon area called Kauai Lagoons. It is enclosed by stones and said to have been built by the legendary menehune.
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| KALIHIWAI
BAY BEACH |
| Kalihiwai Beach is a wide, white-sand beach and is located at the head of Kalihiwai Bay on Kauai’s north shore. The only time you can safely swim on
Kalihiwai Beach is in summer when the waves are
small and the ocean is calm. An alternative
option is to take a dip instead at the shallow
tide pools, which are also are used by locals
for fishing or raft-floating.
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| KEALIA
BEACH |
| Kealia Beach is a 150-foot (46 m) wide and 0.5-mile (805 m) long sandy beach
located on Kauai’s Coconut Coast (east shore). Kealia means “salt bed” or “salt-encrusted area,” a name referring to
the traditional Hawaiian method of collecting and drying salt.
Kealia Beach has been a site of salt mining for centuries.
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| KEE
BEACH PARK |
| Ke'e (pronounced Kay-ay) means “avoidance” in Hawaiian.
However, the beach is far from being avoided by people.
In fact, Ke'e Beach Park is one of the most popular
beaches on Kauai. Located on the north shore, it has beautiful reddish-golden sand and marks the end of Highway 50 and the beginning of the
enchanting Na Pali Coast.
Read More |
| KEKAHA
BEACH PARK |
| Located along Kaumualii Highway on the southwestern shore of Kauai, Kekaha Beach Park encompasses 15 miles of gorgeous
white sand.
Local residents love running 4-wheels down the expanse of the
beach. This is also one of the best places for
beachcombing, sunset walking and for anyone seeking
solitude.
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| KILAUEA
BEACH |
| Kilauea Beach is located where Kilauea Stream empties into the Pacific Ocean on Kauai’s north shore. This small beach is bordered by a densely vegetated hill and a rock quarry, which is why Kilauea Beach is more famously referred to as Quarry Beach or Rock Quarry Beach.
Read More |
| LAWAI
BEACH PARK |
| Lawai Beach Park is a tiny strip of land that sometimes disappears
during high surf conditions. The beach
is a top snorkeling destination on Kauai’s south shore, sheltered by a fringing reef barrier.
With little wave disturbance, snorkelers enjoy clear views
particularly during calm summer months.
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| LUMAHAI
BEACH PARK |
 Lumahai Beach Park’s claim to fame is in the 1957 film South Pacific. The beach is where Mitzi Gaynor “washed
that man right out of her hair.” Partly because of this
history and partly because of the beach’s picturesque
beauty, Lumahai Beach Park has become one of the most
photographed beaches on Kauai.
Read More |
| LYDGATE
BEACH PARK |
 This is one of the most popular beach parks on Kauai, located on the island's east coast. The beach park's main attraction is the large, double-sections lagoon that is protected from ocean swells by an artificial reef. The inner
lagoon is shallow and ideal for children, while the
outer lagoon is deeper and ideal for swimming.
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| NUKOLII
BEACH PARK |
| Nukolii Beach Park, with its two miles (3.2 km) of
white-sand shoreline, is the longest beach on
Kauai’s east shore. It provides fair swimming
conditions because the bottom is rocky and
shallow. However, Nukolii Beach offers wonderful
snorkeling, scuba diving and fishing
opportunities.
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| POIPU
BEACH PARK |
 Poipu Beach Park is a 100-foot (30 m) wide and 3-mile (4.8 km) stretch
of white-sand shoreline. In 2001, the renowned beachologist Dr. Stephen
“Dr. Beach” Leatherman, picked Poipu Beach Park as the
best beach in the U.S. Travel Channel also named Poipu
Beach Park as one of America’s and the World’s Best
Beaches.
Read More |
| POLIHALE
STATE BEACH PARK |
 Polihale Beach
is one of the longest continuous sand beaches in all of Hawaii, stretching 15 miles (24 km) along Kauai's western shoreline. The beach is also one of the widest in Hawaii, averaging 300 feet (91 m) during the summer months. It is backed by sand dunes, some of them are 100 feet (30 m) above sea level.
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| PUU
POA BEACH |
| Puu Poa Beach, located on the north coast of
Kauai, is the most famous beach near the
Princeville Hotel. To reach Puu Poa Beach, one
has to take 192 steps that start near the
parking lot of the Princeville Hotel. Hotel
guests have an easier way of accessing the beach
as they can just take the elevator to the ground
level.
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| SALT
POND BEACH PARK |
| Salt Pond Beach Park is the only place in
Hawaii where salt is still gathered in the
traditional Hawaiian way. It is a wide,
reddish-golden sand pocket beach that is
generally safe for swimming all year round. At
both ends of the beach are rocky outcrops; a
natural rock ridge connects the outcrops,
creating a small lagoon.
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| SHIPWRECK BEACH |
| Shipwreck Beach on Kauai’s south shore got its name from the small wooden boat that used to lie at the water’s edge for many years. It deteriorated badly over the years, was hit by storms and people stripped it for firewood. Also, there are some ancient petroglyphs that have been carved into the beachrock shelves here.
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| TUNNELS
BEACH |
| Tunnels Beach is a postcard-perfect,
two-mile (3.2 km) stretch of golden sand fringed with
ironwood trees and tropical palms. It is unique
for having an inner and an outer reef. The inner
reef is shallow and a good spot for kids and
novice snorkelers. Advanced divers and
snorkelers explore the outer reef, which has
more lava tubes, arches and coral formations.
Read More |
| WAILUA
BEACH |
| Wailua Beach is a wind-swept, white-sand beach lying at the mouth of the Wailua
River on Kauai’s Coconut Coast. With no reef to
protect the beach from high surf and the strong
tradewinds, the swells are always large – all the reason why surfers and bodyboarders love
Wailua Beach, despite the fact that the water
here tends to be murky because of the river
water.
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| WAINIHA
BEACH PARK |
| Wainiha Beach Park is one of the very few
Kauai beaches that is off limits to swimming at
all times of the year. Like other Kauai beaches
located near a river, Wainiha Beach has no reef
to shelter the bay from big waves coming from
the center. Anyone who dives into Wainiha Beach has to deal with
dangerous rip currents, powerful backwash
and a pounding shorebreak.
Read More |
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