Kaanapali Beach Park

Named best best beach in the US… and top 5 in the world.
I was on this beach, wreckin shop again and again.
Lots of restos/​bars, shopping, beach walk… and it spans a long distance.
If you wanna chillax and get ya tan on… while peepin the honeys, get ta bookin the Westin. Marriot, Ritz, Hyatt… boom
Mahalo and Mele Kalikimaka Kama’aina

So let’s see here are the Pros:
Great hotels
Great Resorts
Great Shopping
Beautiful White Sand
Crystal Clear Water
Delicious Restaurants
Glorious Sunrises
Breathtaking Sunsets
Tons of activities
Awesome views
The Cons… hmmmm…let me seee… uhhhhhh…I GOT NOTHING. Eat, Drink, and be Merry my Friends!!!

This was a nice beach with great views — the parking for the beach sucks, so my BF and I just parked in the Shopping Center lot.
The day we went, it was very windy so the fine sand was blowing around and whipping us like crazy. It was hard to lie out on the beach and enjoy it. The water was nice and pretty — and if it wasn’t so windy, we would’ve spent a few hours there.
I’d like to come back and check it out on a calmer day, so I could enjoy the sand and sun!

First of all, this beach has the BEST water in Maui, truly aquamarine, absolutely gorgeous.
Now for the cons,
Beach access parking is extremely small and was full by 9 am. The other option? Sheraton parking for a dollar per each 10 minutes! Everyone pays the maximum of twenty bucks but they have the balls to put up a sign that says no bills bigger then $ 20! Wtf?
When you get to the beach, cabanas are $ 45 to rent and you must go up to register and «do paperwork» in the building. Snorkels? 8 bucks an hour, 100 a week! One faucet shower with a line up of people. Apparently we were fortunate that the bathrooms were unlocked today.
This is the most pretentious resortyness I have experienced in Maui.
So if you go here, go early with your snorkels rented at the Maui Dive, bring food and comfy seats.
Or you could go to Weilea where everything is free including towel covered lounge chairs with umbrellas in front of the Four Seasons and a cabana boy might even bring you some cold water to drink! (30 of 30)

Yay!
We tried to snorkel at Black Rock and it was pretty cool except there were so many people that we were all just bumping into each other. Plus, the waves were strong and I kept getting worried that I’d get tossed into the rocks.
However, laying out in the sand trying to even out my tan (since snorkeling so much made me super dark on my back and left me pasty pale on the front) was really nice. It was sunny but there was a lovely breeze that kept us from sweating like pigs.

If staying at a hotel along this strip, then it’s very convenient to other hotels, restaurants, pools and activities (5 stars for that) BUT very annoying to share the walk way with joggers. There should be signs designating running times for all the vacationing fitness nuts that can’t take a break from jogging. Very annoying to dodge or be startled by them jogging by!
Otherwise, during our stay there were Red flag warnings everyday, so not for the novice swimmer. Nice sandy beach but head the rocky patches.
Keep an eye out for turtles and whales in the distance (when in season).

Nice strip of sand that shares the coast with many luxury hotels. We were staying at the Marriott and only had a small coastline of this beach. It wasn’t pleasant with big hard coral and lots of shells slamming up.
Walk further down for a more comfortable experience. Didn’t find it too crowded in mid-​October. We walked the stretch almost everyday.
Plenty of places for surf lessons and water gear places if you need. A few of the sunset cruise catamarans pull up to the shore to leave here daily. You’ll see para-​sailing all day if not too windy.

Stretching from the Hyatt Regency Maui at its southern end to the Sheraton Maui at its northernmost tip, Kaanapali Beach is lined with condominiums, resorts, shops, and restaurants. If you want seclusion and quiet, this is not the beach for you, but park your towel right here if you want to be in the thick of things. The beach is three-​miles long, and there’s a cement pathway along its length that weaves its way from one amazing resort to the next.
The part of the beach in front of Whaler’s Village is also know as «Dig Me Beach». Its in the center of Kaanapali Beach, and is one of the best people-​watching spots on Maui. The beautiful people take in the scenery while windsurfers, catamarans, and parasailers head out from here.
The drop-​off from Kaanapali’s sugary, soft sand is steep, but the waves hit the shore with scarcely a slap. It’s easy to get into the water from the beach to enjoy the prime snorkeling among the lava rock outcroppings.
By far the best part of the beach for snorkeling is Black Rock, which is located by the Sheraton Maui at the northern end of Kaanapali Beach. Here’s my review of Black Rock:

went snorkeling here and it was amazing. I swam with the sea turtles.

This is a great beach, soft sand, calm, clear, blue water. Moderately busy with tourists and locals. It’s a pretty long stretch of beach. This is also where Black Rock is located, near the Sheraton Hotel. People were cliff diving off Black Rock. Great snorkeling near here too. The ocean’s so warm, that you can even continue swimming past sunset. Speaking of the sunsets, they are beautiful. We watched the sunset here twice, it was picturesque.
Every night, at sundown, there is a cliff diving ceremony where a guy dressed in a sarong, runs across the beach with a torch. Then, climbs up Black Rock and lights the torches up there before jumping off the cliff.
The only downside is that parking isn’t great. We only found one free lot and it was tiny and there weren’t any spaces available both times we went. We ended up paying for parking at the Sheraton Hotel and walking down to the beach.

This is a long stretch of beach that lines many resorts, restaurants and the Whalers Village shopping area.
We have done parasailing off of this beach as well as surfing lessons. This beach is typically always crowded due to it’s close proximity to the resorts. You can always find a spot on the beach to lay out. Finding a parking spot however, is a different story. Whalers Village doesn’t allow you to do beach access (although you could try to cheat the system). There is a tiny lot to the left of Whalers Village but parking fills up super quick. Finding a parking spot there is like winning the lottery. And the resorts are super strict about their parking.
There are better beaches to lounge on if you aren’t staying in a resort in this area. Worthwhile to walk along but I don’t know if I would spend a couple of hours on this beach.

The way you pronounce it does not rhyme with the game Monopoly! I’ve heard it wrong from two people (white or haole) and just wanted to clarify.
Now to the review. This beach is beautiful. White sands, varying shades of blue, beginning with crystal blue where the sand meets the water, getting deeper blue farther out, lined with swimmers and sun bathers, but not too crowded at all.
We had lunch at Hula Grill– we had a nice table. Then we walked on the beach, asking strangers to take our picture (a common event while on vacation). My husband wrote out «Just Married» on the sand but someone stepped on it right before we were going to take the picture. We didn’t have a whole lot of time here as we wanted to see the Banyan Tree before our 1^st tour.

Last full day in Maui and I already want to come back :(
We stayed at the Mahana, which sits on Kaanpali Beach (the northern part) so it was extremely convenient and accessible. Kaanapali Beach is probably one of my favorite beaches EVER. My favorite part is the area just in front or to the left of Honua Kai resort (north of Black Rock). Not at all crowded and the water is very calm. I suggest sitting/​laying out underneath the line of trees if you want some shade. Otherwise, there’s plenty of room to stretch out and tan or sunbathe. The water is crystal clear and great for swimming and apparently for snorkeling too. Sunsets are amazing and you also get great views of the neighboring islands of Lanai and Molokai. We drove around the island and visited other beaches and this one is definitely my favorite. Like I said, its not too crowded (atleast the area that I mentioned) and if you want calm waters (no crazy waves or rip tides for unexperienced swimmers like myself), then this is the perfect place. And not to mention, its just gorgeous – check out my pictures and see for yourself! =) Aloha!

This review is five stars for the far end of the beach, and three for the more crowded end with all the hotels.
It get crowded here and feels way too much like Oahu.
But if you go all the way down the end (you can see the dark cliff down the beach, surfer’s left) you and your friends can have a nice beach party as the sun goes down and still be close enough to the bars that even with the top down, you may still have some sand in your hair by the time you show the bartender your ID.

Although Kaanapali Beach is heavily populated by hotels, condos, and shopping, I believe that it is one of the nicer beaches in Maui. We went during early May and crowds were almost nonexistent on both the beach and in the water. Most of the other beaches on the west side of Maui are either very narrow or inconvenient to get to, especially if you’re not staying along the shoreline. Some may claim that Kaanapali Beach can also be a pain to find parking but here’s a little tidbit of info: There are 2 – 3 beach access parking lots, located on Kaanapali Pkwy. and Nohea Kai Dr. that are free. Each has about 10 – 15 spaces so plan to get here in the morning hours if you want to get a spot. Usually the locals are in the know of these small, barely noticeable parking lots, but if you keep your eyes open, you’ll see the blue shoreline access signs adjacent to the parking lots. If you don’t get here early enough, there is also validated parking near Whaler’s Village. If you purchase something at Whaler’s Village you can get your ticket validated, otherwise the hourly parking lot rates are pretty expensive.
Kaanapali Beach stretches across the west side of Maui running parallel with the Sheraton, The Whaler, Whaler’s Village (shopping area), Westin, Kaanapali Alii, Marriott, and Hyatt. It is pretty expansive, about 60 ft. wide (near the Marriott and Kaanapali Alii) of clean sand to lay on and stretches for about 1.5 miles. The beach can get a little narrow by the Sheraton, so I’d recommend venturing a little further south for more space. Some areas of the shoreline, such as near the Sheraton (near Black Rock) can be a little rocky in the water also. Other areas of the water are free of rocks, which will lead to a much more enjoyable time when swimming in the water. If you’re a beginner surfer and looking for small waves, there is a nice break by the Marriott. You’ll know you’re there when you see a 2 – 3 ft. drop in the sand near the water. The break is about 40 ft. out from the shore which gives you a decent ride time when starting as a beginner.

I don’t know about during the rest of the year, but we visited Maui from April 30 to May 3 & stayed right on Ka’anapali beach & it was incredible! The whole time I felt like I was living in a post card, with the crystal clear blue water & warm sand (though the sand is a little grainy & tends to stick to you). There’s a long stretch of narrow beach with plenty of room to lay out & soak up the sun. Surprisingly, it wasn’t crowded at all, often times there was no one in the water but us.
The current wasn’t too strong the first 3 days, in fact, it was so calm that the ocean felt like a large salty pool. You could easily put on your snorkeling gear, walk right into the ocean & swim over to Black Rock for some pretty awesome snorkeling. On the last day though, the currents got a little stronger so you could easily get sucked far out into sea if you weren’t careful, so swim with caution if you see big waves coming up onto shore.
Downside: there’s very limited parking if you aren’t staying at one of the hotels on this beach & there aren’t any public facilities such as showers or bathrooms that I saw. If you really want to go here, best bet is to park (pay for it) at a hotel & use the amenities they have.

We have stayed at several hotels on Kaanapali beach. I take away one star because although it is beautiful we have been to Maui twice and both times the beaches were closed for swimming and snorkeling because of high winds. We went in winter the first time and there was a big winter storm and the beaches were all closed. So we decided to go back the next spring hoping it would be okay to swim and all of the beaches on Maui were closed again. Because of that I can’t really give it 5 stars. 2 years in a row and the beaches were unswimmable. Also near Black Rock the sand is a little rocky.
Having said that it is a beautiful beach. Like other beaches on Maui you can see whales here right from the beach and Kaanapali beach walk.
When we went due to the storms the beaches were almost empty. So we did not experience the crowds we have read and heard about.
Maui beaches have a wild beauty that are unmatched. A trip to Maui would not be complete without checking out this beach. What is also nice about it is there is a beach walking path with restaurants and shopping but not so close to the beach that it looses it’s wild beauty. It is the perfect balance between nature and man made tourism. It is not secluded but it is not overly touristy either. All beaches on Maui are public and free. There are no life guards here.

A gorgeous beach– but really every beach on Maui is gorgeous.
I just love Maui no i ka oi!
There is great smorkeling here, too. (And you are close to all the Lahaina Town tourist spots and can easily grab lunch nearby.

We found this end of Maui to be soooo different than where we were staying in Kihei. A little more touristy, a little more expensive but, still beautiful and fun. Parking was painful here. It being an area garnering more tourist traffic, there is a charge for EVERYTHING including parking.
Nevertheless, Kaanapali Beach proved to be a terrific place to entertain to little beach goers. There were lots of kids (due to the adjacent hotels) and my daughter quickly found a couple of youngsters to play with and my son very much enjoyed the sand. All of those high rise resorts in our backdrop gave an odd «Oahu-​esque» feeling. We’d spent our Maui week in less populated areas so it took some time to get used to all of the resort towers in the viewfinder. We enjoyed our afternoon here, nonetheless —- after all how could you not enjoy Hawaii?

I agree with Maryanne that if you just so happen to be staying at a resort on or near the beach… great…if not… kind of a pain to park.
With that being said… I stayed at the Sheraton so I was pretty much ON this beach! lol
There are fantastic little blue bungalows out on the sand that you can rent… or you can rent a couple of beach chairs and an umbrella if you so desire. I SWORE by my cabana, it sheltered me from the blistering sun… a girl can only take so many rays in a day people!
The snorkeling here is FANTASTIC for being a resort beach… the sand is only kicked up right where the surf pounds the shore, other than that… clear as a bell. In one day alone we saw a turtle, a reef shark, a barracuda, a sea snake and a gazillion fishies. Yes, I was a tad traumatized by the barracuda (even tho it was a baby) after my man told me that they like shiny objects and to keep my hands close. Uh, well, my bathing suit had a shiny belt piece to it so I swam in a panic holding my hands over my crotch in an effort not to be noticed by said barracuda baby. lol
Anyway…you can swim around Black Rock but it gets a tad choppy and kind of deep… so we stuck to the curve and to the Sheraton side of the rocks. AT sunset you can see the cliff diver jump off the rocks and back into the sea… quite pretty.
All in all… great beach to chill at with your piña colada… not a beach to go to if you’re trying to escape the hi-​rises and people…