Kaanapali Beach(Ka'anapali Beach)

Located on the island of Maui, Kaanapali Beach – also known as Ka’anapali Beach – is a long and popular beach with light brown sand.  Kaanapali Beach has been named the 23rd Best Beach in the Top 50 Beaches in the United States list in 2022 by Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as “Mr. Beach” – it was also listed by the Condé Nast Traveller as one of the 10 best beaches in Maui and was listed as one of the best beaches in the US by TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice awards. 

Although Kaanapali Beach does not have lifeguards, it has many other amenities, including a nearby watersports equipment rental facility, a boardwalk, a volleyball net, and a shower located at the beach’s southern part. If you wish to use a restroom, you can access the restrooms available at the hotels, restaurants, and shopping centers near Kaanapali Beach.

Kaanapali Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, volleyball, picnicking, fishing, swimming, surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing, paddleboarding, skimboarding, bodysurfing, boogie boarding, jet-skiing, water-skiing, scuba diving, snorkeling, wakeboarding, boating, parasailing, kayaking, canoeing, surf-skiing, and wildlife watching.  

This beach is ideal for beginner swimmers because the water here is known to have mild waves, especially during summers.  In addition, it also occasionally offers fun surfing waves, making it ideal for surfers and bodyboarders.  The clear water here is also popular with snorkelers and scuba divers, who visit it to explore its vibrant marine biodiversity.  The marine area near the Black Rock – which is a headland at the beach’s northern end – is popular with snorkelers.  If you are planning to swim, kayak, canoe, snorkel, or boogie board here, we recommend being careful because the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents and strong waves, especially during winters – many drowning-related deaths have been reported near the beach’s northern end.  In addition, the water near the southern part of Kaanapali Beach is also murky and also has a rocky bottom.  In addition, please also note that some parts of the beach have considerably deep water. 

If you like shopping, there is a walkway near the beach that offers access to some amazing nearby shops and restaurants.  If you like taking Kaanapali Beach Club photos with beautiful views, Kaanapali Beach offers excellent Instagram-worthy views of the Pacific Ocean and the Maui shoreline, particularly during sunset.

Kaanapali Beach offers a wheelchair-friendly walkway for visitors with disabilities.  In addition, there are multiple private organizations that offer rental facilities for beach wheelchairs – one of these organizations in Maui Vacation Equipment that rents beach wheelchairs.

Getting to Kaanapali Beach is easy – from Honoapiilani Highway – which is a part of Hawaii State Route 30 – you need to turn towards Kaanapali Parkway.  Kaanapali Parkway and the nearby Nohea Kai Drive have multiple public entrances leading to this beach.  These entrances are located near multiple major local hotels including Hyatt Regency Maui Resort And Spa, Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa, Ka'anapali Alii, and Westin Maui Resort & Spa – you can see the Kaanapali Beach hotels map online to check the exact locations of these hotels.  There are multiple free parking lots for visitors within the hotel’s premises, since they are required to provide free parking spaces to visitors according to local law.  The number of parking spaces within each of the parking lots here is usually between 10 to 30 – however, the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort And Spa offers 74 public parking spaces. 

In addition to these hotels, you can also park your car at the free public parking lot at a shopping complex named Whalers Village, which is located near 2435 Kaanapali Parkway.  In addition to the free parking lot, this shopping complex also has a paid parking lot that charges $8 per hour.  If you are parking at the paid parking lot at Whalers Village, you can get your parking validated for the first three hours of parking by purchasing items from the shopping mall.  

We recommend visiting this beach early in the summer because the parking lots here can get crowded quickly.

A huge black rocky headland named the Kaanapali Beach Black Rock – also known as Puu Kekaa – is located at the beach’s northern end.  According to Native Hawaiian legends, this headland was a sacred site from where spirits of the dead entered the afterlife.  A “lele kawa” or a traditional cliff diving ceremony is conducted every evening here – this ceremony is held in honor of Chief Kahekili, who was a king of the island of Maui in the 18th century.  In addition to the lele kawa ceremony, Kaanapali Beach hosts many other events including the Wa'a Kiakahi Festival and luau ceremonies.  

There are many attractions near Kaanapali Beach.  You can check the Kaanapali Beach map to see Makaluapuna Point – also known as Dragon’s Teeth – that has interesting jagged lava rock formations that resemble pointy dragon’s teeth.  The area around this site also has an Ancient Hawaiian burial ground named Honokahua Burial Site and a prayer labyrinth.  Maui Escape Rooms offers fun and challenging escape room puzzles. If you like ziplining, Skyline Hawaii - Kaanapali 8-Line Zipline Adventure offers amazing ziplining tours of the western Maui shoreline – it also offers an interesting insight into the history of Hawaii, along with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean.  Baldwin Home Museum is a historic house and it was previously the home of an American missionary named Dwight Baldwin – this house has been restored to its original 19th-century furnishing and design.  It offers a unique insight into the lives of white missionaries in Hawaii during the 19th century.  If you are looking for another attraction near  Kaanapali Beach, the Old Lahaina Courthouse was built in the 1860s and it served as a customs house – it also served as the center for government offices and court functions during the Hawaiian Monarchy era.  This building currently has exhibits offering a unique insight into the local cultural and natural history.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Kaanapali Beach.  Hula Grill Kaanapali serves delicious dishes for lunch and dinner including pupu platters, steaks, seafood, poultry dishes, pork dishes, and flatbreads – in addition, the restaurant also offers live music performances.  Roy’s® Kaanapali is an upscale restaurant which serves gourmet dishes for lunch and dinner - the restaurant’s dishes exhibit creative culinary influences from local Hawaiian cuisine and various international cuisines.  Leilani’s on the Beach offers excellent dishes for lunch and dinner including burgers, seafood, salads, poultry dishes, steaks, and tacos – the restaurant has been praised by many publications including HAWAII MAGAZINE and Maui No Ka ‘Oi Magazine.  Monkeypod Kitchen by Merriman - Ka'anapali is another restaurant that offers amazing pizzas, salads, seafood, burgers, steaks, pork dishes, poultry dishes, and local Hawaiian cuisine – it also offers amazing cocktails and live music performances.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, Miss Arepa offers amazing Venezuelan dishes including arepas, cachapas, and empanadas. 

If you are looking for a hotel near Kaanapali Beach, there are many great nearby options.  The 4-Star Marriott's Maui Ocean Club – Molokai, Maui & Lanai Towers offers many amenities including a spa, a garden, a koi pond, a putting green, tennis courts, a gift shop, a gym, a hot tub, a convenience store, multiple restaurants, multiple restaurants, a kids’ club.  The 4-Star Aston at The Whaler on Kaanapali Beach is another upscale hotel that offers many amenities including a pool, a fitness center, a hot tub, picnic areas, gardens, a koi pond, multiple tennis courts, a sundeck, grocery service, cabanas, barbecue areas, and beach chair loaner facilities.  Another great upscale Kaanapali Beach hotel is the 4-Star The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka'anapali that offers many amenities including a fitness center, a spa, a gift shop, a convenience store, watercraft rental facilities, multiple pools, and multiple restaurants.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star OUTRIGGER Kaʻanapali Beach Resort that offers many amenities including a pool, a spa, a lanai-style veranda, a gift shop, and multiple restaurants – this hotel also offers many fun activities including lei-making lessons and Hawaiian language classes.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, the 3-Star Kahana Falls Maui offers many amenities including a pool, two hot tubs, a fitness center, a library, and barbecue areas.