Maui Beaches Near Hana

Hamoa Beach is a black sand beach set in an idyllic half-moon bay. James Michener, famous for his epic book and movie, Hawaii, thought it was the perfect beach. When I first saw it, I drifted off into some sort of contemplative trance, just staring out over the view. When I finally shook this off, I went a little nuts and tried to climb a palm tree (see left).

This beach is maintained by the Hana-Maui Resort, but is open to the public. The Resort maintains very nice restrooms and change rooms at this beach to you to use. Just don’t use their beach chairs. You’ve got to be paying $400 per night for that privilege. Find Hamoa Beach by driving past the town of Hana about 2 miles and into the community of Hamoa. You’ll find the beach down a flight of stairs next to the road in the more residential part of town. Be careful where you park. I wasn’t and got a ticket.

A more complete description of Hamoa Beach can be found at the following sites:
http://www.siamaffiliate.com/hamour.htm
http://www.hawaiiweb.com/maui/beaches/HamoaBeach.htm

At Waianapanapa State Park there is another black sand beach called Honokalani Beach. It will be more crowded than Hamoa Beach due to its Park status. Here you'll see otherworldly rock shapes with blowholes and archways over the water...and some nice caves not far from the beach. To get away from the tourists, you can walk the trail through the lava bluffs along the water. After about a mile, you'll see very few people. Along the way I came across an ancient burial site and a cave walls that led down to the water. See more pictures of this beach at http://www.hawaiiweb.com/maui/beaches/WaianapanapaBlackSandBeach.htm

My favorite and most secluded beach is Kaihalulu Beach, or more commonly called Red Sand Beach. Reaching it involves a 15-minute hike past an old Japanese Shinto cemetery, then over a risky path along the bluff. The toughest part of the trail is covered with small lava rocks on which it’s easy to slip and fall the 30 feet. The path also is washed out at places, requiring you to hold on to the trees not to fall. This trail is definately not for flip-flops. Usually there are just a few people here, mostly locals. You'll probably also find some nude bathers here. The best time to go is either in the early morning or mid-to-late afternoon to avoid the direct sun. During mid-day, the sun makes for high temperatures and tends to make the beach sand look more brown than red. Actually the sand is more like pebbles that get increasingly smaller as you get closer to the water. See more pictures of the Red Sand Beach at http://www.hawaiiweb.com/maui/beaches/KaihaluluRedSandBeach.htm.

What's also unique about this place is the protected pool formed by a row of jagged lava rocks about 100 feet off shore. The waves breaking on the rocks throw up a tremendous spray, but the pool is calm, perfect for snorkeling and swimming.

The Red Sand Beach is located next to the Hana-Maui Resort. Look for the trail on the South side of the Hana Community Center, where it meets the Hotel Hana property.

There are very few restaurants near Hana, except for one at the ultra-exclusive Hotel Hana-Maui. There is a grocery and general store in Hana named Hasegawa General Store. Its been around for close to 100 years. There you'll find a little bit of everything including the groceries to make a lunch for your visit to the beaches.

There are many other sights to see around Hana. The following website has a good description of these: http://hana-maui.com/activities.html .

ENJOY HANA