Some of the most beautiful beaches you'll ever see! Even if you don't snorkel, many of the beaches along here have lounge chairs set up for anyone to use. Some of the beaches even have massage tables set up on the beach. Many tours also leave out of this area. Especially out of A-Bay. Winter is the whale migration season and you can see them breeching from the shore. Not only are these the most beautiful beaches on the island, but they also lend themselves to the most beautiful sunsets. We happened across a Luau being set up on A-bay, too. Unfortunatel, we didn't have tickets to it. Some of the beaches you should check out if you're in the area are:
LAPAKAHI STATE HISTORICAL PARK--A 600-year-old reconstructed Hawaiian fishing village. Exhibits include canoe sheds, a fish shrine, a salt-making area, homesites, and Hawaiian games.
MAHUKONA BEACH PARK--Snorkel the offshore reef and swim off the pier.
KAPAA BEACH PARK--Secluded and accessible - a very quiet spot with a lovely panorama of Maui in the distance.
KEOKEA BEACH PARK--A very picturesque and luxuriant park on the side of a hill going down to the sea.
KAWAIHAE BAY--A well-known breeding and birthing area for migrating humback whales as they head north along the Kohala Coast (December to April).
SPENCER BEACH PARK--The safest and best swimming beach along South Kohala. Excellent snorkeling.
KAUNAOA BEACH (MAUNA KEA BEACH)--Considered one of the best beaches in Hawaii - long and wide with a sandy bottom for excellent swimming. You'll have to get a parking permit here, but it's free. Only a few parking spots are set asside for the public, so you may have to wait in a line at the guards gate until a pass becomes available. We did, but it was only about 20 minutes and well worth the wait. Also be alert for flying golf balls as you walk from the parking lot to the beach! One just missed me by inches.
HAPUNA BEACH--Accessible, wide and spacious white sand beach. Excellent swimming during good weather.
ANAEHOOMALU BAY (A-Bay)---A picture-perfect seaside oasis, with freshwater springs, coconut trees, blue lagoon, and white sand beach. Many archaeological sites including 2 fishponds and petroglyph field. Also where the laua I mentioned earlier was and the charter boats left from. This beach had lounge chairs out free for the public to use.
Another amazing site on the way between these beaches are all the writings along the highway! This is lava rock area so most of the ground is black. But people have writen all kinds of neat things on these rocks by lining up white decorative rocks into words and designs. Many are dated and go back decades. There are also many little stacked monuments our of the black rocks. Very fascinating indeed.