Makalawena Beach

My favorite beach on the Big Island. It has beautiful turquoise waters and the finest sand I've ever felt. On top of that it has a few excellent hammock spots. And the icing on the cake?! It has some of the best snorkeling on the island.

Off shore a couple hundred feet there is a interesting 30 foot lava rock ledge. Within the ledge there are a few caves and tunnels to swim through. There are plenty of fish and I've spotted an eel each time I've been out. The water has great visibility also.

We tried to camp here but we got kicked off by some locals who claim the land is private property. We tried to tell him that in Hawaii no beach front is private property but they didn't want to hear it and we weren't trying to start trouble so we left.

We hiked back to the car after painstakingly breaking down camp right after we had set up. Staying in the back of the truck for a night wouldn't be so bad and it would get us a nice early shot at the beach.

The next morning we got up with the sun and hiked back to the beach which was about 30 minutes from the parking lot.

When we got to the beach there was only one other person there and the water was calm and clear so we had a solid hour snorkel session.

I'd say this beach has Captain Cook monument tied for the best snorkeling on the island.Read more