Best Little Kid Beaches

Thanks for the recommendations that you guys sent us! We did do part of the coastal drive in Hilo, but didn't give ourselves enough time to go through the botanical gardens. We should have gone there first and then gone to Volcano National Park. Oh well. We didn't get to eat out in Honolulu as we would have liked. Staying in Laie, we didn't get downtown too often.

This trip I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time on the beach. Our last trip was a business trip for Mark, and I was pregnant and there was no way I was getting into a swimsuit. So, I think I spent a total of one hour on the beach alone on Waikiki.

This trip I tried to find toddler friendly beaches we could go to, and here are my recommendations.

On the North, Haleiwa beach: its relativly tourist free, because they all go to North Shore to watch the sufers and tan. And because it faces West the winds and waves aren't as strong. Downside is that the sand isn't the best. Its not the most fine sand around, but it does make clean up off an impatient toddler quite easy. Bonus: it is close to Matsumoto's shaved ice!

Also on the North, Pupukea beach: Head to the left side of the beach. There's more tidepools than sandy beach, but there are almost no waves where sand meets water because of the natural rock wall that surrounds the area. Perfect for little ones that want to splash around and not get splashed. On a sunny day the water in the tidepools warms up nicely. The sand is finer and great for sandcastles. There's lots of little fish to see and hermit crabs to play with just a few feet from shore. Downside: There's a little more people around, but the tourists are mostly farther into the tidepools snorkeling so the shore is pretty open for little kids. Also, the rocks are a bit sharp so keep your shoes on, and keep an eye out for your unsteady toddlers.

On the West, at new resort area in Ko Olina, the lagoons at the Marriot hotel have been fixed up nicely so there's plenty of sand, calm waves, and clean grounds. There are clean bathroom and shower facilities. Unlike the previous metioned. And the use of hotel lounge chairs are great! How would they know if we were staying at the hotel or not? It's nice because the grounds and the beach is maintained by the hotel, but it's still a public beach with free but limited parking. Downside: of course there are lots of tourists, but it's a big enough beach, that there's room to spread out.

I hope that will help out if you ever find yourself in Hawaii with little kids. :)