South Maui Beaches
Our Favorite South Maui Beaches
The beaches of South Maui are as good as it gets! Starting from the Cove at Kalama Park, to the three Kamaole Beaches, to Wailea and on to Makena, most of these beaches have soft sand, smooth sandy bottoms and are bracketed by lava points which make for good snorkeling. All of these beaches are either a short walk or a short drive from our condos.
"The Cove"
"The Cove" at Kalama Park is one of the best places to learn how to surf. Several surf companies are here to teach you how to ride and enjoy the waves plus there are several shops and restaurants right across the street.
Charley Young Beach
This beach is right across the street from our Pacific Shores condo and is basically the northern end of Kamaole I Beach. One of the most relaxing spots in all of South Maui, the sand here is soft with a gentle, soft slope as you enter the water. There's an outdoor shower to rinse off and the only drawback for this section of beach is that there's currently only porta potties here for restrooms.
The Kamaole Beaches
Broken down into three separate beaches (Kam I, Kam II and Kam III) these beaches have great soft sand, great swimming, good snorkeling, and at times good waves for body boarding. All three of the Kam Beaches have lifeguards, restrooms, showers and charcoal grills.
Kam I, the larger of the three Kams, is right across the stree from our Pacific Shores condo and Kam II is directly across the street from our Kihei Kai Nani condo. Kam III has a huge lawn and is a popular spot for birthday parties on the weekends -- you'll see multiple inflatable jumping castles here on most weekends!
Keawakapu Beach
This is one of the longer beaches in South Maui and sits at the end of South Kihei Rd. This beach has a soft, sandy bottom and is a great place to swim with good snorkeling on the north side. Both ends of the beach has some great tide pools to view small fish, hermit crabs, urchins and other small sea creatures.
You can rent kayaks are paddle boards from the Mana Kai hotel on the south end, which is very convenient. There are no lifeguards, but there's bathrooms and showers.
Ulua Beach
Great snorkeling at this beach! The north side (right side) has a great shallow coral formation with lots of fish and several turtles. We've run into a few octopuses, eels, lobsters, manta rays and we usually run into a couple of turtles here. We've seen most of our turtles on the reef edge and it doesn't matter how far out you are, we've seen them just a few feet from shore so keep a look out! Ulua is one of our favorite beaches on the island!
There's a fairly large parking lot, but since this is a popular dive spot, it can fill up rather quickly, so early mornings are best. Showers and bathrooms are right next to the beach.
Wailea Beach
Whenever you see pictures of celebrities on the beach in Maui, this is usually the beach they visit (mainly because Grand Wailea and Four Seasons front this beach). A beautiful beach with good swimming, soft sand and good snorkeling on the south side. With the two large resorts, it can get a little crowded here. Bathrooms and showers are available on the south end and free parking is available on the south end.
You can rent kayaks are paddle boards from the Mana Kai hotel on the south end, which is very convenient. There are no lifeguards, but there's bathrooms and showers.
Po'olenalena Beach
We just love, love, love this beach and it just may be our favorite beach on Maui! Soft sand, amazing views, great snorkeling and great body boarding -- what's not to love! There are a couple of porta-potties but no showers at the main parking lot and there is a small (6-8 spaces) parking spot at the Makena Surf that will have a shower, but no restrooms. Since we enjoy the south end of this beach more, we usually park at the smaller parking lot.
Maluaka Beach
An amazing beach with really good snorkeling on the south side. There are two parking lots, a small one on the north side and a larger lot on the south side. The south side is our favorite side and there's a big tree that provides lots of shade. There's also a small little cove in the lava rocks that can give you your own little section of the beach.
No life guards but there's bathrooms and showers on the south side. The bathrooms on the north side are off the beach and at the parking lot.
Makena Beach
Absolutely beautiful, long stretch of beach on the south end of Maui. This beach has lifeguards, and it's a good thing because the shore break here can be rough and dangerous. We don't come here much, but we just had to put this one on the list because it's so beautiful here.