Makapuu Beach

Located in the small town of Waimanalo, Makapuu Beach is a small and narrow white sand beach that is a part of Makapuu Beach Park.  “Makapuu” in Hawaiian means bulging eye and the beach was named after a Tahitian Goddess who had eight bulging eyes.  

Makapuu Beach offers many amenities including lifeguards, restrooms, showers, picnic tables, and barbecues.   If you are looking for additional amenities, you can drive three minutes south to Makapuu Point Lighthouse Trailhead which is the starting point of a paved trail that can be accessed from a parking lot along Kalaniana’ole Highway that leads to the famous Makapuu Lighthouse.

There are many fun activities at Makapuu Beach including fishing, bodysurfing, bodyboarding, picnicking, photography, and beach walking. If you are looking for additional activities, you can walk five minutes east to Makapuu Lookout that is a great place for whale watching. Please note that the beach is not suitable for swimming because of very high surf and strong currents, especially during the winter months. Makapuu Beach is backed by sea cliffs and is popular for fishing, bodyboarding, and bodysurfing. 

Getting to Makapuu Beach is very easy – the beach’s free parking lot is located at 95 Kalaniana’ole Highway and is right in front of the beach.

If you are looking for attractions near Makapuu Beach, you can drive 30 minutes to many nearby options.  USS Missouri Battleship Museum features the remains of the Iowa-class battleship Missouri that received a total of 11 battle stars for service in World War II and has been the setting in many movies including Pearl Harbor, Battleship, and Under Siege. Wet’n’Wild Hawaii is an incredible water park that is spread across 29 acres and has more than 25 rides and attractions including Big Kahuna, Cutter’s Island, Hawaiian Waters, Shaka, Surf sliders, Tornado, Volcano Express, and Waimea Whirl. If you like to golf, Ko Olina Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course that was designed by Ted Robinson and has multi-tiered greens, water features, and a clubhouse. Another great attraction near Makapuu Beach is the Ala Moana Center, the largest open-air shopping center in the world featuring shops, restaurants, twice-weekly hula shows, and a ride-simulating movie theater.

If you get hungry, you can drive 12 minutes to many restaurants near Makapuu Beach.  Kehau’s Kitchen is a nice Hawaiian restaurant that offers taro, poi, breadfruit, limu, taro tops, and sweet potato. If you like Japanese food, Gyotaku Japanese Restaurant serves sushi, unagi, soba, udon, and onigiri at very affordable prices.  The Korean restaurantHannara Restaurant has a nice menu that includes kimchi, bibimbap, jajangmyeon, bulgogi, and red rice cakes.  Another good restaurant near Makapuu Beach is Button Up Café, a breakfast restaurant featuring pancakes, omelets, sandwiches, tacos, burgers, and homemade pies.

If you are looking for a hotel near Makapuu Beach, there are many hotels within a 35-minute drive. The luxurious 5-star hotel Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina offers many amenities including a private beach, pool, bar with live music, spa, fitness center, kids’ club, tennis courts, as well as Asian, Italian, and seafood restaurants.  Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa is a 4-Star hotel with a pool, adults-only pool bar, spa, movie nights, and pool parties with Disney characters. If you are looking for affordable hotels near Makapuu Beach, the 3-Star Hampton Inn & Suites Oahu/Kapolei features a pool, gym, and snack bar – and Pagoda Hotel is a 2-Star hotel that has a nice Japanese-Hawaiian fusion floating restaurant.