What is the best beach on Kauai?

Colorful sunset over Hanalei Bay Kauai

Hanalei Bay beach on the North shore of Kauai is the best beach on the island! A beautiful crescent shaped bay backed by the majestic mountains and lined with plantation style beach houses. It is 2 miles long end to end, has coral reefs on either end and in the summer has the best swimming on the island. There are lifeguard stations by the pavilion and by Pine Trees Park, with the Hanalei Pier anchored at its Eastern end.  Summer offers calm clear water for every sport imaginable while winter can bring some of the highest surf on the island which brings great surfers! It isn’t always high surf in the winter so don’t write it off, in fact most days you will find the water calm enough o paddleboard and kayak in. Hanalei Bay is great for swimming, surfing, paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing, boating and just relaxing on!

A couple of celebrates have houses on the Bay with its fantastic Bali Hai views made famous from the “South Pacific” movie, the more recent movie “The Descendants” was filmed here on Hanalei Bay! A short walk away is the Town of Hanalei with shops, restaurants (Hanalei Gourmet is my favorite!) and surf board and kayak rentals. The town captures the real essence of Kauai with a very relaxed atmosphere, great food and quaint shops.

Hanlei Bay Pier

Hanalei Pier is a perfect spot for the sunset as you watch it go down over Makana Mountain (Bali Hai!). Nightly it is packed with both locals and tourists enjoying the sunset and calm evening water. Don’t miss Hanalei Bay, plan a day on the beach here, you won’t soon forget it!