Lanai Beach Guide

Discover Lanai’s best beaches on a beach holiday or romantic getaway, including:

Hulopoe Beach (South Shore) – Relax on Lanai’s best beach, a gorgeous palm-fringed, golden-sand beach that gently shelves into the stunning clear turquoise waters of a Marine Life Conservation Area that teems with tropical fish.

Calm water in summer means great swimming, body boarding and snorkelling, with good diving found offshore amid colourful reef fish and pristine coral formations. Look out for acrobatic spinner dolphins throughout the year and humpback whales during the winter months, during which the sea can be rough and swimming is not advised.

Explore volcanic tidal pools full of marine life, including asteroids (sea stars), holothurians (sea cucumbers), barber pole shrimp and opihi (limpit), a favourite local delicacy. Facilities include the creature comforts of the Four Seasons Manele Bay as well as a beach park with picnic tables, barbecue grills, restrooms, showers and grassy hiking trails. There are no lifeguards.

Huawai Beach (South Shore) – This tiny salt-and-pepper sand beach is dwarfed by the impressive surrounding sea cliffs. It offers great snorkelling, diving and swimming in summer when the deep crystal blue waters are calm. There are no facilities and no lifeguard at Huawai. The beach is usually accessed via the Po'opo'o Fisherman Trail.

Lanai’s other great beaches are best seen as part of a hiking adventure: with no lifeguards and strong rips in winter they are often best enjoyed for their scenic beauty.

These beaches include Polihua Beach on the North Shore, a wide white-sand beach with stunning views of Molokai; Shipwreck Beach, a long golden beach backed with sand dunes fronting the Kalohi Channel, which separates Lanai from Molokai; Sharks Bay Beach, just east of Hulopoe Beach, with a red lava cliff face and beautiful sandy beach perfect for a picnic or sunbathing; and Huawai Beach, good for snorkelling.