Lanikai Beach - Beaches On Oahu Kailua, Hawaii

Lanikai Beach is one of those beaches you've either heard about or seen pictures of. Located on the east side of O'ahu in the town of Kailua, it often calm and ultra clear waters in perfect shades of blue and green, sand that's as fine as baby powder, and beautiful mini islands off in the distance. It's postcard perfect, and why you'll see it on many postcards, but it's real. You could call it perfection, because it is.

As for those two islands you see offshore, they're called the Mokulua Islands and they're actually "islets" which is basically a tiny island. The proper name is Na Mokulua which means "the two islands" in Hawaiian but they're most commonly called The Mokes (rhymes with smokes). Learn more about these fascinating islets by reading Mokulua Islands.

It's great for swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and just relaxing and is one of our favorite beaches in all of Hawaii. The sand here is really unique and fun to play in so kids will love it as well. Lanikai doesn't have any lifeguards, nor does it have any showers or bathrooms so prepare before going! Also, that fun-to-play-in powder sand will stick to you like nothing else when it's time to leave and with no shower that means a powder filled car. Consider buying a small dusting brush to help with that. Or, do what the locals do and bring a jug of tap water to rinse off with.

Lanikai isn't quite as big as it used to be and the story goes like this: Anywhere you have a great beach, ocean, and view you will attract really pricey land sales which leads to expensive houses being built (there are ten million dollar plus houses here). Those house owners build close to the ocean but then need to protect their house and thus they build seawalls to be safe.

Those same seawalls change the wave action a bit and that leads to changes in the way sand gets deposited and moved around and erodes the beach. In the case of Lanikai, there are parts of the beach on the south end where the sand is completely washed away or under water and the beach is completely gone. Will we ever learn? Probably not.

This is important to know because finding parking here is never easy and only available on the street. Even then, you'll see many of the home owners finding clever ways to reduce the parking (planting trees in the way, strategic placement of large boulders, etc). The streets here are one way so you'll drive down to the south end (via Aalapapa Drive) and it will eventually u-turn into Mokulua Drive which will lead you north as you parallel the ocean.

You'll find parking down at the south end and that's because all of the nearby beach access points will drop you into water (literally) rather than a sandy beach. Instead, go passed four T-intersections (after the u-turn, starting from the south end) and then park at the first sign of an open spot (don't block any driveways and watch the no-parking signs and the bike lane). If you pass another five T-intersections you'll be going around again, enjoy! We also suggest trying the side streets after the fourth T-intersection as they may have something open.

Basically, you are hoping to park along Mokulua Drive between Onekea Drive on the southern end of this neighborhood and Kaelepulu Drive on the northern end because the sand beach area is within that range. If you can't find a spot and end up going around the loop again you may have better luck at the far southern end of the neighborhood but then you'll want to walk up Mokulua Drive passed the first few beach access points to Beach Access #6 or lower. Beach access 7, 8, and 9 will all drop you into water without a sandy beach.

Now head towards the ocean, walking north up the street as needed until you spot a beach access point (they are marked with blue signs). Finally, enjoy this most excellent beach!

• Type: Kid Friendly	• Sand Type: Powder	• Parking: Street only	• Good For: Kayaking	• Good For: Snorkeling
• Good For: Sunrises	• Good For: Swimming