You might remember how we went to Kauai for our babymoon wwwayyyyyyyy back in September. It feels like a lifetime ago!
We loved our trip – thank you husband for really pushing to go to Hawaii – and I’ve shared some of what we did here. But today I wanted to share more information on the beaches we visited as a bit of a follow up to that broader post!
Northern Beaches
These beaches are some of the most gorgeous and bonus that they’re also pretty quiet. They were definitely our favorites of the week!
Hanalei Bay
This is one of the most famous beaches on Kauai! Photos of their pier are iconic and it’s a truly gorgeous half-moon beach. It’s not the best for swimming because it has strong currents, but it’s beautiful at sunset or just to walk around. The hills that rise on the other side are gorgeous! We walked around here after we had dinner in Hanalei and it was a fun end to the evening.
Hideaways
Talk about a TREK to get down here. I can’t believe the people who did this with small children! You basically climb down ropes (sheer sheer hills) to get to the beach. This beach is at the bottom of the cliff and you basically have to climb down the cliff face to get there – but it’s totally worth it! Just a warning that it’s not the easiest to get to if you aren’t in good shape or aren’t sure-footed.
This beach is one of the smallest we visited – so I wouldn’t expect to spend a whole afternoon here. The waves go pretty far up the beach so there isn’t a lot of space to sit around. It was good snorkeling so that’s what we did!
It was a gorgeous beach (I mean which beach isn’t?) but if you’re wanting to spend a whole day at a beach this isn’t the beach for you.
Anini
I think this was our most-visited beach of the week. We went either two or three times! We loved it because it was easy to get to, required no trek, and was pretty quiet during the week. It also had bathrooms – HUGE perk at the beach!
We could sit right on the sand and then hop in the water to snorkel. It has a pretty big reef and is very popular for snorkeling. But the trees went right up to the water so you could be completely in the shade while you were sitting around. I highly recommend this beach for couples, families, basically anyone. The waves are low key so it’s easy to hang at and spend an entire afternoon!
One note – there is a public landing so you have to be aware of boats cutting thru the swimming area.
Secret
Another beach that is a trek to get to 🙂 This one involved hiking down an incline and I wore my hiking boots. You park on a road by a private residence – it’s pretty obvious you’re in the right place because of all the cars. But once you get down to the beach you have a wide expanse of sand in both directions! It also has shade near the trees which we always appreciated.
The waves were SUPER strong so this is not a good place to snorkel or even swim. My husband hung out in the swells for a bit but I watched from the shore (no thanks!). I would definitely recommend this beach for hanging in the tide pools or just sitting and reading! It’s big enough that even with a ton of people you have your own space.
Eastern Beaches
Lydgate
I’m including this as the only Eastern beach because it is VERY different from all the reviews online. There must have been a storm or something right before we visited (maybe the hurricanes!) because the beach was entirely covered with driftwood and unusable. None of the photos online mentioned this. My husband remembered liking this beach when he was there with family, but it wasn’t really a beach when we visited. So you can definitely skip.
Southern Beaches
Poipu
This is probably the most popular beach on the south side of the island – and it is SO SO busy. Parking is insane, the beach is packed, and honestly it was not my favorite. We just don’t love crowds and I don’t want to sit on a beach 2 feet from another group. It was just too busy for us to enjoy it.
The snorkeling was meh so I wouldn’t even rate it as “good” for that. Basically it’s overhyped, overcrowded, and not even that pretty. The north beaches are SOOO much better!!!
Lawai
This is basically just a tiny beach on the side of the road – but it had great snorkeling! You literally pull over and hop in the water. Nowhere to sit, super quiet, and a fun snorkeling options. It has amazing sunset views also! No pictures because we literally parked, left everything in the car, and hopped into the water.
Shipwreck
Shipwreck beach is fun because it has some great hiking and views – as seen above! You can’t see the actual beach here (it’s to the right) but this is definitely the more scenic part. Walking on the cliffs is super accessible and you get great views out to the ocean. The beach is great to sit on and there were a bunch of surfers to watch. It’s pretty busy because it’s right outside the Grand Hyatt, but it does have a parking lot.
Kauai is fantastic because it has a more authentic feel than Maui or the popular areas of Oahu. You can be on a beach with locals and no resorts!
I would definitely rate Anini and Secrets as our favorite beaches on Kauai. It was great to be able to beach hop and try lots of different ones, but those were our two favs.
I hope this post was helpful if you’re planning a trip to Kauai and need some ideas. I know I looked a lot on Pinterest to find beaches, so hopefully this can find some of you before your Kauai trip 🙂 Enjoy and take lots of pictures!
