Po’olenalena Beach
Beach Location: Near 4690 Makena Road, Kihei HI 96753
Amenities: Portable toilet and trash and recycle bins
Time to snorkel: Year round
Kid Friendly: 10 and up
Lifeguards: No
Parking: Heading south, pass the Fairmont Kea Lani and immediately look for the large sign for Po’olenalena Beach. Turn right at the gates into a large dirt lot. You’ve found the parking! Be sure to take all valuables with you when leaving your car.
Po’olenalena Beach has some truly great snorkeling, on both the left and right hand sides of the beach. The waves can be a little strong, so we recommend this site for intermediate snorkelers. You need to be able to navigate around shallow reef while you are being tossed about a bit. If you are comfortable with those parameters, this place is a lot of fun! We have seen a turtle cleaning station off this beach, large unicornfish (kala), and several different wrasses, among other amazing animals.
When it comes to facilities, Po’olenalena only offers portable restrooms and trash cans. This makes the beach not so family friendly. When you visit, be sure to bring plenty of water for drinking and for rinsing off. There is some shade on the beach, but it is located beneath kiawe trees, which drop thorns. For your safety, pay attention when you sit down, and consider bringing beach chairs.
If you visit in the early morning, you may witness a wedding from afar on Po’olenalena Beach. Any wedding here is a beautiful sight on a beautiful site! (In fact, we captured one such wedding in our YouTube video, below. The footage is aerial, so the couple is very small, but you can just see them on the far north end of the beach!)
Po'olenalena Beach Rating by Boss Frog's
Summary 8.2/10
This is a very beautiful, long semi-shaded beach on the south side. There are two great lava reefs to snorkel. You can explore the far left point and swim back, or check out the reef on the right, and get out on the beach on the other side! Either way, you're sure to see tons of fish. Sea turtle sightings are likely here, too.
See Maui's top 25 snorkeling beaches.
View Maui's complete 'quick look' beach guide.
If you have any questions, feel free to call us at 1-808-661-3333.
