Top Five Beaches in Oahu, Hawaii

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Holy beaches, Oahu! The beaches in Oahu are beyond spectacular.

I am currently still obsessing over the swirls of blue in the Hawaiian seas.

My mind was blown, and I live in a beach state. We visited the beaches that we could in the time that we had. We are not lazy beachgoers! We don’t do well sitting still for long. So we did some beach hopping on some days. Here are our top 5 favorite Oahu beaches!

Papa’iloa Beach

OUR FAVORITE!

I sent the locals for a spin when I said that this was my favorite, meaning a lot of them had no idea where this beach was. Some say it’s called Police Beach because there is a rec center there for the police, but locals had never heard of this either so I’m not sure who calls it that. It is a private beach but with public access, you’re allowed on it, however you can’t go past the back shrubbery, this is illegal.

There is a lot of private property on this beach and boy would we like to live on it! If you just like to relax and listen to the waves roll by, this is your spot! You may even see a sea turtle or two if you’re lucky!

Oh and just FYI, LOST was filmed here. I’m only mildly obsessed with the show and it only partially made this my favorite.

Kailua Beach

Great family spot! This is a great beach to relax on, have a picnic, bring the kiddos or do some water activities!

There are two small islands right off the coast of this beach that you can rent a kayak or paddle board out to. The waves here were mild so it is a great spot for kids to splash around. The sand is great for building…which is what we did… because what else would two twenty-something’s do at the beach?

This is apparently also a beach where you may spot a celebrity… we are not that lucky.

Where’d we find out about all of the best beaches? Our favorite Oahu guide!

The Alan Davis Beach

This is a small yet stunning little beach right next to Makapu’u point.

There is a small parking lot here or you can park on the road and once you walk up to the trail head you can go left for the Makapu’u hike, which we heard was gorgeous but wore sandals this day so we weren’t really prepared.

Or you can go right for the Alan Davis beach. There is a clear shallow pool at the front of this beach to wade around in and cool off.

And if you climb up the rocks there is a cool little diving board set up there.
Don’t be chicken!

Jump in!

You can also find Pele’s chair here, which is pretty fun to climb around on.

Hanauma bay

This is a protected marine life conservation area in Oahu, it is an absolutely gorgeous sanctuary for sea life!

I think it costs about $7 to get in, we went an hour before it closed and got in for free.

It is so rare to see such an untouched beach, there is coral lacing the sea floor and tropical fish gracing your presence as you wade through the water. It is an excellent snorkel spot and there is gear here for rent! It is a popular spot and is often busy, but it is still charming!

Waimea Beach

Surf city! We watched the surfers here conquer 40 foot waves, being from Florida, this is a site we did not want to miss. See for yourself how amazing these crashing waves were:

Don’t miss watching people ride these waves if you are there on a high surf day. On days that the waves are not capable of snapping my body in half, we heard this is a great hang out beach!

There were however some brave souls, not sure if I would actually call them brave… that attempted swimming in the treacherous waves the day we were there. They got out real quick.

Have you been to Oahu? What’s your favorite beach?

Some more Hawaii love:

Avoid the Crowds: Top Little Known Spots in Oahu

A little story and a perfect sunset in Kaena Point

Hiking Koko Head Crater

How to Hike The Infamous Haiku Stairs