Tag: beach

Surf’s Up!

Where are the waves?
This morning, the Kaanapali Beach was the calmest beach ever on Hawaii, so we were not convinced if that’s a good day for surfing.

But let’s face it, we’re newbies and have booked a 2-hour beginner course, and it turned out to be a good choice. After having covered the basics (paddling, falling, standing up) on land we tried our luck within the waves. The instructors were really good. Reading the waves and timing is difficult but crucial, and our experts really did a good job to give us a quick push at the right time. We both were able to stand up and ride some waves before falling.

  • Shaka!
  • Yes!
  • Splash!
  • Yeah!

Message to Miss Sea Turtle: Gerry is really sorry for surfing over you, hope your shell didn’t get a nasty scratch.

Despite some scratches and minor injuries, we had fun and got some cool pictures. Shaka!

Road to Hana

Every guidebook on Hawaii lists the Road to Hana as a must-do on Maui. Usually, they also warn you not to start driving late, so we set our alarms to 6 a.m. Still, we were not the first ones on Hwy 336, which makes things a bit… hectic. The road’s purpose was to connect smaller towns around the island and not to achieve a touristic target. This means: many one-way bridges, hardly stopping / parking possibilities at the points of interest and sometimes dangerous traffic situations. Also, some spots are difficult to catch, even with google maps app running, or they are on private property and are now closed for public.

Nevertheless, it was still a joyful ride to Hana and beyond. Waterfalls, rainforest, beaches, lava tubes and valley overlooks – it was worth the time, even though we didn’t even get out of the car in Hana as we gave up finding a convenient parking space.

  • How to park
  • Waterfalls
  • Black Sand Beach
  • Sea arch
  • Stay out!
  • Road to Hana
  • Lava stalactites
  • Waterfalls

“Disneyland” on Hawaii

So far, we hadn’t written much about our hotels, as we are more attracted by natural landmarks than man-made buildings. But today wasn’t that spectacular on this aspect. The turtles and petroglyphs at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park were worth a visit but nothing new to us anymore.

But the Hilton Waikoloa Village got the nickname “Disneyland of Hawaii”, and we had to agree: a monorail train within the hotel complex? Ok, fits the cliché of Americans who can barely walk anymore. 🙂 But then, a boat on a canal to your hotel wing? Flamingos in one corner, turtles in the marina, dolphin shows just next to the restaurant? Swing bridge over the pool with an artificial waterfall? Playstations in each room? It’s just huge, it’s… American.

Well, it all comes with a (hidden) price tag. $30 / day for the parking space, $40 / day resort fees, $25 / person if you want to sit outside in the restaurant during sunset.

Green Turtles at Black Sand Beach

On our way to Kona we stopped at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach to see, well, a black sand beach. Not surprisingly, the black sand has volcanic origins and one can still see the typical ripples on the bigger lava rocks.

Black sand from Black Sand Beach

It was also nice to observe several green sea turtles, in the water and ashore.

Green turtle on black sand

Next, we headed to Ka Lae (aka South Point), the southernmost point of the United States. (Key West is just the southernmost point of continental US). Teenagers demonstrate their courage by jumping either from the cliffs into the sea or into a blowhole and swimming through an underwater cave.

South Point – who’s gonna jump next?

Further plans had to be postponed due to the rain on the “almost guaranteed sunshine”-west coast of Big Island.

Shipwreck Beach

First day without rain on Hawaii! Having already completed our bucket list for Kauai, we didn’t expect much of this day. But it turned out really well. We googled “Kauai easy hikes” and stumbled across Maha’ulepu Heritage Coastal Trail, close to Shipwreck Beach.

Red coast on Kauai

It was a nice coastal walk with remarkable coastal sceneries and a cave to visit (Makauwahi Cave).


  • Makauwahi Cave
  • Rock formations

On our way back we have been rewarded with whale sightings on the horizon.

Didn’t have the zoom camera with us…

And we finally went into the sea and had some fun with the breaking waves. 🙂

Road Closed

The plan was to explore the northern coast of Kauai, especially doing a hike on the Napali coast. But we got to know that the Kalalau Trail was closed since January due to flood damages:

Nevertheless, we drove northwards and got to the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge – which was also closed, but at least had an overlook on the lighthouse and an albatross colony.

  • Albatross
  • Kilauea Point Lighthouse

Our tour came to an end at Hanalei: road closed. So instead of visiting the Maniniholo Dry Cave, Waikanalo- & Waikapalae Wet Caves or Tunnel Beach we browsed through souvenir shops and relaxed with coffee and banana bread in Hanalei. Besides, many Hawaiian beaches aren’t THAT inviting, anyway.

Hope to find less deadly beaches soon…