Usually, you will know that it is too dangerous to swim in the water because there will be signs posted and you will notice that the water tide line will come really high up the beach. As far as snorkeling, there is not much to see since there is no reef close to shore. Also there is too much people in the water so they will scare away any fish that might be cruising around. Luckily, there are a lot of turtles along the South Kohala Coast, so if you are lucky you might be able to see several turtles swimming by. Most people swim by the beach near the parking lot but you can also walk and swim in the beach area that fronts the Hapuna Prince Hotel. You should bring your own snacks and beverages because there is only one concession at the beach (which is very expensive) and there are no fast food restaurants in the area (the nearest general store would be in Puako). You can forget about kayaking, windsurfing, jet skiing or camping because these activities are not aloud close to shore at this beach. Both locals and visitors frequent this beautiful white sand beach.

There is an excellent place to eat here -- Senor Frog's. They have amazing fish tacos and good smoothies, and it's worth a trip to Hapuna just to have lunch here.

The drawback of Hapuna Beach? It's crowded, even on weekdays. If you have a beautiful, quiet beach at your hotel, you will probably prefer it to the wall-to-wall beach towels on Hapuna. (We did.) If you like crowded beaches, this is one of the best on the island.