Most Beautiful Beach in Hawaii!
 

I apologize for the major delay in posting this report of our trip to Hawaii in Feb 2009 but I wanted to get it posted nonetheless to help any first timers out there who might be planning a trip. We always get such good advice from everyone on this site I thought it's the least I could do!

Anyway, here goes:

We went to Oahu for a week and Kauai for a second week in Feb 2009. After this trip we have been to all of the major islands and have pretty much seen all of the major tourist attractions, beautiful beaches, snorkeling spots, etc. The next trip we take back to HI will be strictly for relaxation now that we have that part out of the way!

With this said, the MOST BEAUTIFUL beach (in my humble opinion anyway) in all of Hawaii is Lanikai Beach. We rented the upstairs of a house in the Lanikai neighborhood. Here is the link if anyone is interested: http://www.lanikai-vacation-home.com...m_hideaway.htm.
It was very clean and a well-cared-for home with a parking spot included and lovely owners/rental manager. They had local treats waiting for us upon our arrival and their rental manager made herself frequently available for any questions we had throughout the trip. I would definitely stay there again as Lanikai is a residential neighborhood and there NO RESORTS in the area (which makes it a nice, quiet retreat and much more room on the beach compared to other more touristy areas) and even home rentals are few and far between. The few rentals that are available are VERY pricey and I thought the rates at Beach Bum Hideaway were very reasonable, especially when you rent the 3 bed upstairs unit and split it between 2-3 couples as we did. Be warned though that it does have SEVERAL dozen stairs up to the front door as it's perched alongside a ridge overlooking the ocean. This was not a problem for us but would be for anyone that requires handicap-accessible accommodation. It also provided a very nice view (from a surprisingly LARGE lanai) of the neighborhood and ocean. The home is only a 5 min walk to the actual Lanikai Beach (again rentals here that are directly ON the beach are VERY expensive) and the neighborhood has a little park in the middle for kids to play (there seemed to be playgroups there frequently which is nice for those with children).
The only way to access Lanikai beach by land is via several beach access pathways they have throughout the neighborhood. It is also a great place for stargazing (of the Hollywood variety and celestial ) as many movie stars and cast members of the 'LOST' series have/rent homes here according to the locals.
Now getting back to the beach....we have found the sand to be coarser in Hawaii on most beaches than in say, the Caribbean, and understandably so considering Hawaii is composed more of volcanic rock than coral. Lanikai has the finest, whitest and softest sand of any beach my feet have had the pleasure of coming in contact with in Hawaii! It feels wonderful to walk on this beach and since it's a residential neighborhood the beach is usually groomed and well cared for by the residents (I assume?). Now the water.....clear, blue in various shades of turquoise that was (even in Feb) a very comfortable temperature to swim in. Sandy bottom, no rocks or nasty seaweeds, etc to contend with either. It is also pretty shallow and very calm for quite a ways out which makes it ideal for couples like us with young children. All of this is topped off with a gorgeous, serene view of the 2 Mokes spl? (Offshore islands) in the distance that make you feel like you are truly in paradise! Hands down, one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL beaches that I have ever seen ANYWHERE! As I mentioned previously, when we decide to go back to HI we would definitely stay here again and I highly recommend Lanikai to honeymooners or anyone seeking an amazing beach and relaxation. Kailua beach is also very nice (white sand) and is only a mile or so down the road from Lanikai so it can be easily visited by bike, etc. Lanikai is only about a 30 min, pending traffic, drive from Honolulu/Waikiki. My final tip is to stop at Island Snow (famous for Obama's visit) in Lanikai to get a delicious shave ice (Lanikai Lime is my personal favorite:) ).

Kauai report in a future post....

<<<Lanikai has the finest, whitest and softest sand of any beach my feet have had the pleasure of coming in contact with in Hawaii! It feels wonderful to walk on this beach>>>

I could not agree more!! We kayaked from Kailua Beach to one of the off-shore bird sanctuary islands, to Lanikai Beach and back to Kailua in early May. What a spectacular day!!

Agree <turquoise>Lanakai<black> is a beautiful beach, though IMHO the snorkeling has always been better at the popular, Hanauma Bay :S-.

We went to Hanauma Bay during this trip as we heard really good things but I'm sad to say that we came away pretty disappointed. It appears that tourists have taken a toll and there weren’t very many fish or brightly colored coral to see compared to some of the other great snorkeling spots in Hawaii. I highly recommend the Big Island, Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park (Place of Refuge) on the South Kona side for snorkeling. It's best just outside of the actual park near the boat launch ramps. Just park and enter the water right off the lava shelves. It had the best visibility, the most fish and brightly colored coral we have found in the state. To top it off there were tons of spinner dolphins streaming through the water below us and turtles floating near the surface…. GREAT SNORKELING!

Yup, the snorkeling at Lanikai was pretty bad - pretty much a one-fish event!

won't get me to talk about my fave - it's a secret

mahalo for posting a report!

Reply to <blue>lewissh3<black>, as the late %%-Ed McMahon%%- would say: <i>"you are correct sir"</i> with regard to the great South Kona snorkeling, mahalo for sharing.

YES, you are right....shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Don't tell anyone!