Nestled on the golden Kohala Coast, Waikoloa offers easy access to many of the beautiful beaches along the coastline. Each of the resorts offers at least one beach, but there are several located outside of the resorts that we recommend checking out.
1- Hapuna Beach
Hapuna Beach is the most popular beach on the Big Island of Hawaii. Located a short 15 minute drive from Waikoloa you will find this white sand beach that is great for families. It is a a state park so there are lifeguards, restroom facilities, and picnic pavilions there for guests to use.
The beach itself spans roughly 1/2 mile in length making it great for early morning strolls along the beach. There are not too many rocks at this beach making it a great place for children to play in the sand. It is probably the best spot on the island for boogie boarding. During some months such as the summer the waves can be minimal at times, but on the other hand some months in the winter the waves can be too large. The majority of the year it is pretty nice for boogie boarding.
2- A’Bay
A’Bay is a great spot for people staying at Waikoloa due to it actually being in the Waikoloa Beach Resort. A’Bay is a crescent shaped white sand beach with the portion being nearest the best area to swim being the busiest and the area being near a non-swimmable area being not as popular.
Due to this beach being on a bay, you will not find much surf here, but will find some amazing snorkeling on the edges near the reefs.
For people that love this beach, Kolea at Waikoloa Beach Resort is a great place to stay as it offers direct beach access to A’Bay.
3- Beach 69
Beach 69 is a fun, secluded beach on the Kohala Coast. For adult couples that like to just lounge near the ocean, this one is the most popular. Beach 69 offers calm waters due to it being on a bay and natural shade by trees making it a great place to read a book and take some dips in the water. There are areas of the water that offer more sand, but also areas that are rocky. If you snorkel around the rocky areas you can typically see some nice marine life. A lot of the shade is offered by kiawe trees, which have very thorny branches. Due to this, we highly recommend wearing shoes with a descent shoes and it also makes for not the best area for small children.
Beach 69 is roughly a 10 minute drive from Waikoloa Beach Resort. You will find the entrance to Beach 69 on the right after you enter Puako. It is not far from Hapuna Beach State Park and is part of that state park system so offers many amenities while you are there.
Author: Rob Dalton owns Waikoloa Vacation Rentals and has lived on the Big Island of Hawaii for over 20 years.