Monday, May 5, 2008

Best Beach Big Island

After visiting Maui for best beaches for surfing and windsurfing in recent blog posts, it's time to catch up with famous Mauna Kea beach on Hawaii Big Island, which has its well-deserved reputation as the Big Island's best beach. It's definitely our favorite Big Island beach! Can you imagine that Mauna Kea and Hapuna beach have both been ranked among the best beaches in the world by Conde Nast Magazine? That's proof by itself.

Walking Mauna Kea beach
Why do we love Mauna Kea beach so much? The beach is a nice half a mile stretch of beautiful white sand shaped in a crescent bay, witch each side extending coral reefs into the ocean perfect for amateur snorkelers. Best time for snorkeling the clearest turquoise waters are the early morning hours before bigger waves roll in and make the water murky. Most visitors take advantage for easy beach walks and strolls along the water's edge. The afterwards swim feels like a heavenly reward.

OK we promised our Best Hawaii Vacation blog visitors an update on Mauna Kea Beach. Here it is. Mauna Kea Beach hotel is still under major construction and remodeling, which naturally comes with some noises. However, since the beach is stretching from the hotel south for a good distance, you can totally get away from it. Currently, parking is not at the former beach parking by the golf shop but at the regular hotel parking.

Views of Mauna Kea Golf Course
When you come to the entrance of Mauna Kea Beach hotel, you just ask for your beach pass, which is free. The hotel gives out 30 beach passes a day according to the available parking spaces. We watched that at low season months like April and May, passes are available all over the day. As in the past, some visitors and locals don't want to 'go through the hassle' to ask for a beach pass and prefer the easy access at public Hapuna Beach State Park. But as there are only a few hotel guests from Hapuna Beach hotel who take the shuttle to Mauna Kea beach, this most wonderful beach is all yours! At least till Mauna Kea Beach hotel will reopen in December 2008.

Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and the totally remodeled Mauna Kea golf course - old sprinkler system was deteriated and grass was not resistant enough to constant ocean spray - are expected to open for business December 20, 2008. We heard, not from an official source, that the hotel is already booked out for one year in advance. To be honest I don't doubt it. When you once fell in love with Mauna Kea beach, there is no other Big Island beach which can compare.

But who knows?! What doe you think which Big Island beach is the best beach? We'd love to hear from Big Island beach lovers. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations
p.s.
Locate Big Island beaches on our Big Island map.
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