I grew up here. It started when it was Kauai Surf. Then the Westin. I believe the area near the…read morecliff at the lighthouse was called "Donkeys". Near the wall closest to the foreground is wear I stepped on a sea urchin in the 8th grade. And the shore at the hotel was where I leisurely swam.

The Kalapaki Beach is located in front of the Royal Sonesta Resort, and it provides convenient…read moreaccess to dining and shopping. I like the protected and calm water, although it's often overwhelmed with tourists from cruises.

Come early to score a parking spot in the crowded public lot…read more Easy swim & snorkel beach. Small waves, no dangerous currents. Lifeguard on duty. Reef has many colorful fish to see. Monk seals often snooze on beach. Saw several sea turtles within 4 feet of shore today. Often is overcrowded with people. This is not a peace & solitude beach. Hence this 3 star rating.

I was last here during the early pandemic and it was a beautiful, peaceful beach that was perfect…read morefor families with little kids. Now, spring of 2026, it's a bit of a mad house. Ironically, we got here early around 9:30-10am, staked out a good spot a solid several yards away from a turtle sunning himself on the beach - and then 15+ turtles joined him over the next 3-4 hours (clearly the pandemic and social distancing is also a thing of the past for the turtles). Ironically, because of this (I'm presuming), the beach quickly became hectic and crowded with dozens of tourists coming over to take pictures and forming a seemingly solid wall of butts of all shapes, sizes, and coverage now between us and the ocean. Lots of butts right in front of us. Meanwhile the well-meaning conservation folks "protecting" the turtles (the turtles, who seemed like they couldn't care less about people) were SHRIEKING at kids and adults who absent-mindedly stepped between the Cone Guardians and the turtles. Got a special treat of a huge monk seal floating by and peaking at all the daytime soap drama too; that was fun. Snorkeling here is meh if you find a zigzag line to get through the turtle brigade to the water without being tasered by the Turtle Keepers (jk, sorta). I'm all for experiencing nature but honestly this beach is too much for me. Peek at the turtles for the turtle experience, but don't come here for the beach itself.

This beach was so dirty and totally full of broken plastic bits, water bottle lids and other debris.read more

The only beach that we actually took a nice wild dip. LoL…read more Located on the East side of Kauai island, Kealia's long stretch of white sand beach is a great spot for beach strolling & popular beach for surfing. Known for its strong currents, this beach is not kid-friendly so better not let those lil keikis come in the ocean coz this beach even scared the hell out of me. Many times I've been dragged offshore coz the waves are just unbelievable! Though I enjoyed it so much to the point that I never wanted to get out but too bad, bandit is so weakling and he wants us to get out of the water. Hahaha. LoL. Biking along the Ke Ala Hele Makalae Path you'll pass this beach & don't forget to stop and watch those surfers playing with the waves. Fun as it is, don't forget to take some shots too! Good thing Kaelia Beach is lifeguarded! Picnic tables, restrooms & showers are available facilities in the area. Plenty of parking space makes it great too! Fond of sunset? Perfect! Not the best place to witness but it will still give you that amazing artwork from above! Mahalo & happy juandering fellow yelpers. @hello.juanderpinay www.juanderpinay.world

10/30/24 Stunning, unspoiled beauty, one of the smaller beach parks but definitely worth a visit…read morefor swimming, snorkeling & picnics. This beach park is located adjacent to an actual salt pond that is operational for locals. There are a few benches & shaded structures you may have a barbecue or picnic. There is a manned lifeguard tower. Parking is plentiful. There is a homeless encampment here, you don't bother them, they won't bother you. Enjoy the beach!

Very nice beach with shower and bathroom. I like that there are a lot of palm trees for shade on a…read morehot day. Also some tables and shaded areas here.

My wife loves turtles so this was a must go to place for us. We went in the evening and there were…read morea lot of people and the lot was pretty full. The beach was pretty nice and looked clean and well kept. The turtles were off to the left of the entrance. Easy to spot since there were so many people around. The turtles were just lounging around. So nice. I think there were six of more hanging out. Signs up to stop people touching the turtles. It was a nice place and highly recommend this place for turtle watching.

Now I know why this was on the list of the best beaches in the US in 2026! This is clearly one of…read moremy favorite beaches in Hawaii and maybe the US. Plenty of parking (gets busy during sunset so come a bit early). There are clean restrooms and lifeguards on both ends of the beach. Monk seals and turtles come very morning to sunbathe and you can see tons of turtles in the evening as well. It's got shaded picnic tables and grassy areas as well. Also has a nice protected area if you have little kids. Be mindful that the waves can be crazy during the afternoon but that made for a fantastic day at the beach for me. I came here 5-6 times, some times alone in the morning when my family was still sleeping and sometimes with everyone for a beach day. Be prepared to wait for a long time if you plan to get puka dog for lunch which is across from the beach. There are also lunch options in the shopping area 5 min drive (or 15 min walk) near by. Overall, I love love this beach! I will be back in Kauai again next year just to come here.

Initially coming here to kill a little time before a reserved tour, my wife and I really admired…read morethe planning and execution of the building/landscaping of this family park. Named after a pillar in the community who came to Kauai in the late 19th century, Lydgate Beach Park is 62 acres, with the Lydgate Park pathway encompassing 2.5 miles, a small part of the much larger Ke Ala Hele Makālae costal trail. There is plenty of parking, with both dedicated surface lots and street parking on the paved road. We immediately noticed surfers on electric surfboards out pretty far, even on this windy day. At the northern part of the park is where most people gather, close to modern facilities and a manned lifeguard station and a large covered event area with plenty of parking. Closer to the shore, we saw a seal just lying on the land, bathing in the sun, completely ignoring the people milling by. The very large safe man-made swimming/tide pools are great for the kekei and others, with constant refreshing of sea water over the lava rocks. There are picnic tables nearby as well with a lot of green space. My favorite feature are the man-made protected swimming pools, What I loved about it was how spread out everything was, with so many amenities. It just never felt crowded, even if a lot more people came. As we were leaving, my wife mentioned that Lydgate Beach is one of those rare parks where an ocean-loving family would intentionally live close by, just to be near this park.

Two parks on one place! What a dream!…read more There was a wooden park that was large, had many different places to explore and separated by age interests. There were a lot of swings which my kids love and slides. Although one of the slides we found does a downward dip at the end that isn't very good for getting kids to come out of the slide. There is also an accessible park right next to it for kids that may need special equipment to play. But my kids enjoyed that play area just as much. The park is located next to the beach with lots of parking. There is also public restrooms which I don't use. I also saw many picnic benches around that would be great for a picnic or birthday party.

A beautiful, relatively empty beach accessible only via Barking Sands Missile Range on the west…read moreside of Kauaii. It was wonderful but I don't think it is worth visiting if you are not a DoD CAC badge holder, given the relatively nearby and far more accessible Kekaha public beach. Majors Bay is known by several names, but the Navy held a renaming ceremony in 2024 to return to the beach to its historic native name, Waiapua'a Bay. The beach there has ample paved parking, very nice restrooms and shower facilities, and nearby beach cottages available for rental by military, military retirees, and DoD employees with reservations prioritized for active duty personnel. The wide, beautiful beach offers gorgeous views of the sunset and the water looks remarkably calm most of the time. However, swimming is not advised due to potentially rough surf and lack of lifeguards. Most recently, a military father sadly drowned while saving his child caught in sudden 9' foot waves at this beach in November 2025. https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/11/26/loving-navy-father-dies-while-trying-save-his-son-kauai-waters/

This was such a beautiful beach and I had it all to myself! I ate at a restaurant then walked down…read moreto the beach and enjoyed the view. It's spectacular if you can get on base. Also, the restaurant was really good too. I dont remember the name.

Very nice hidden gem in Anahola on the north shore of Kauai! Pretty quiet as well and not very…read morecrowded. Aliomanu Beach is not the easiest beach to access, as you will have to park at the designated parking lot, then hike about 5 minutes through tall grass and weeds, then another 5-10 minutes boulder-hopping until you reach the sand. But it's well worth the effort and you get beautiful views of the bay!

Growing up in Anahola, Anahola Beach was always a go to for sun, surfing and fishing. Very relaxing…read morebeach!