East Side Beaches
Black Sand, White Sand, and Red Sand Beaches
When we are referring to East Maui we mean Hana. Hana has the most diverse and beautiful beaches packed in a relatively small location. These beaches surpass all the other beaches on the island in my opinion, so if you’re wondering if making the trip to Hana is worth it, it is.
Black Sand Beach (Pa’iloa Beach)
This beach is within Waianapanapa State Park and the first beach you’ll pass when entering Hana from the North Side. It’s not a very large beach but offers beautiful views of the lava cliffs, lava arc, coconut trees, and a small sea cave on its east end. The beach is half fine black sand and half black pebbles. There isn’t good snorkeling or boogie boarding here so you can leave your gear in the car. It is however a good beach to lay out on and cool off in the water on most days when the water is relatively calm.
Red Sand Beach (Kaihalulu Beach)
Once a secret beach, word is quite out on how to find this Maui Gem. Park at the Hana Elementary School and start walking towards the coast through the grassy field on the north end of the school and you’ll see the path. If you aren’t comfortable walking on slippery cliff sides you may want to sit this one out. After traversing the cliff sides you’ll come around a corner and be blown away by the red sand beach tucked in beautiful cove with a tide pool lining the sand that offers great safe swimming. There used to be many nudists at this beach, however it seems to be frequented by so many visitors these days that they seem to not be coming out as much.
Hamoa Beach
The last beach you’ll pass on Haneo’o Road is called the beautiful Hamoa Beach white sand beach. This beach is tucked in between two cliff sides with a path down to the beach. It can have good boogie boarding or surfing when there’s swell, and decent snorkeling if you catch it on a flat day. This is just a good all around beach to have a beach day on.
