My wife and I are looking to go to Hawaii in late July. We have heard great things about the Big Island, but we really like sandy beaches. Does anybody know of condos on sandy beaches or can you drive relatively short distances to nice sandy beaches ? If anyone has any ideas on decent 1br condos, I would appreciate it.

Only sandy beach I know is at the Mona Kea Hotel, but I am far from an expert. No idea on condos, sorry.

Do not have first hand experience as I am not going to the Big Island until this Fall. However, I found a chart on the KONAWEB site that outlines the Beaches on the Island of Hawaii. It provides name, type of beach (rocky, sandy, etc.) a map location and ratings on swimming, snorkeling ,etc. Hope this helps. Also heard that the Aston Waikoloa condos were nice though not directly on the beach.

Your in luck. There is a small beach in the Kohala area inbetween Puako and Hapuna beach which has private homes for rent. We rented a small 1 bedroom home 2 years ago and are going to be staying at another home later this month. Our 2 bedroom/2 bath home runs $1,400 a week and I believe that the 1 bedroom is a little cheaper. This may seem like a lot but the rooms in hotels in this area run over $300 per night. The beach, called Wailia (sp) bay or 69 beach, is small and not very wide but is very private. It is used mainly by the 15-20 homes along the bay. It has very fine sand and shade from Kiawa trees. It is very calm and has excellent snorkling and even giant sea turtles you can swim with. When we were there in May 95 is was almost empty and we would just leave our stuff on the beach and walk back to our house for lunch. All of the homes are just down a sand path to the beach (no roads to cross) and most have ocean views and are very private.

The rentals are handled by a realty company in Puako called C&H Properties. I don't have their number but you should be able to get it from information. Their main office is in Waimia.

Hope this helps. If you need further info please e-mail me back.

i once believed that the big island had no or few beaches, because that is commonly believed. Good news!!! the big island has incredible beaches!!! green sand beaches(tough to get to) dozens of easily accessable black sand beaches, and gorgeous white beaches. don't miss Hapuna beach, the beach in fron t of the waikoloan resorts, or the black sand beaches. enjoy!

Hi, I run KONAWEB here on the Big Island. I would recommend the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel as a first class place with a white sand beach. I can also recommend the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. Both have excellent golf and are close to fine restaurants. -Aloha!