Enjoying the waves at Sandy Beach Park.

© Shutterstock / Phillip B. Espinasse

Sandy Beach Park

Top choice in Oʻahu


Here the ocean usually heaves and thrashes like a furious beast. This is one of Oʻahu’s most challenging beaches, with a punishing shore break, a powerful backwash and strong rip currents. Expert bodysurfers and bodyboarders spend hours trying to mount the often pounding waves. Just watching these daredevils being tossed around and occasionally nailing it is a huge attraction. The beach itself is lovely; just know that the water isn't for the inexperienced – dozens of people are injured every year.

There are some narrow areas for advanced swimmers watched over by lifeguards. The best sand is at the west end; the east end has lava rocks and very interesting tide pools. On weekdays you can usually find parking; there are drink vendors.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Oʻahu attractions

1. Halona Blowhole

0.34 MILES

Here, ocean waves surge through a submerged tunnel in the rock and spout up through a hole in the ledge. The spout is preceded by a gushing sound – the…

2. Halona Cove

0.35 MILES

Take your lover down for a roll in the sand at this sweet pocket cove made famous in the legendary wave-tossed scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah…

3. Koko Crater Botanical Garden

0.51 MILES

According to Hawaiian legend, Koko Crater is the imprint left by the magical flying vagina of Kapo, sent from the Big Island to lure the pig god Kamapuaʻa…

4. Fishing Shrine

0.57 MILES

As you drive east, keep your eyes toward the ocean. At the highest point you'll spot a volcanic-rock obelisk, dedicated to fishers who have drowned, swept…

5. Lanaʻi Lookout

1 MILES

Less than a mile east of Hanauma Bay, roadside Lanaʻi Lookout offers a panorama on clear days of several Hawaiian islands: Lanaʻi to the right, Maui in…

6. Alan Davis Beach & Pele's Chair

1.48 MILES

It's an easy, flattish 15-minute walk on the Kaʻiwi Shoreline Trail from the parking area for the Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail out to secluded little Alan…

7. Marine Educational Center

1.63 MILES

Past the park's ticket windows is an excellent educational center run by the University of Hawaiʻi. Interactive, family-friendly displays teach visitors…

8. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve

1.8 MILES

From an overlook you can peer into the translucent waters and see the outline of the 7000-year-old coral reef that stretches across the width of the bay…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "usa/hawaii/koko-head-regional-park/attractions/sandy-beach-park/a/poi-sig/1300927/1333316",
      "destination": "Oʻahu",
      "continent": "North-America",
      "country": "USA",
      "region": "Oʻahu",
      "position": "superzone"
    }