South Side Beaches
Soak in the Beauty of the South Shore
This Page covers the best beaches in South Maui, so the Makena, Wailea, and Kihei area. South Maui has beautiful beaches to snorkel, stand up paddle board, and lounge out at. Enjoy views of Molokini Crater and Kaho'olawe Island from the sand. During the winter time, you may catch a glimpse of whales just offshore.
Big and Little Beach (Makena State Park)
Big Beach
If you’re looking for a beautiful beach to hang out on with plenty of space Big Beach is your place. There’s not great snorkeling and if you aren’t careful when entering the water the shore break may take you down, so just plan on soaking in the sun and the view here if you aren't experienced swimming around large shorebreak. For many locals, this is the best beach on the island for lounging at. Great sand and gorgeous views.
Little Beach
Little Beach is frequented by nudist but a beautiful beach nonetheless. If you’re comfortable with this then this beach is much more friendly to swim in and has an amazing sunset view. To get here, after walking onto Big beach, head up north to the edge of the cinder cone. there’s a path up and over the small cliff to Littles. For obvious reason, I am not attaching a photo of this beach.
One'uli Beach (Makena State Park)
One'uli Beach can often be overlooked as it is the first gate into Makena State Park and has a dirt road so it doesn’t look inviting to those just driving by. However this beach is the only black sand beach you can go to without going to Hana and is a great place to escape the crowds and has great intermediate to advanced snorkeling.
Wailea Beach
This jewel sits positioned between the Grand Wailea and Andaz Resorts, however don’t let that deter you if you aren’t staying at these resorts, there’s plenty of public parking as required by law. Often recognized as one of America’s best beaches, it’s a great place for your beach day. The water is usually crystal clear, the sand is very clean, there’s gentle enough waves for boogie boarding, and the snorkeling at either end of the beach is very good before the wind kicks up.
