The South Shore of Kaua’i is popular with visitors. There are lots of places to stay, eat, and play. The large Po’ipu Beach Park has lifeguards, facilities, and restaurants nearby. Puka Dog is always packed. Old Kōloa Town, with many original buildings from its days of being a sugarcane plantation town, has lots of interesting and cute shops. And shave ice.
We have some favourite spots on the South Shore that we like to hang out at. Even in this busy area, there are quiet places to enjoy the sun and surf.
Snorkelling & Sea Turtles
We love going past the more crowded places. Getting to the Po’ipu roundabout, we turn off onto Lāwa’i Road. This takes us past The Beach House. The beach next to this restaurant is a popular and fun snorkelling spot, the offshore reefs for marine life. We see lots of guided snorkelling here – you can spot all their vans across the street.
We’ve been at Lāwa’i a couple times for snorkelling. The first time, we brought our goggles, the Go Pro and the G-Dome. The next time, Wade’s son and his friends were in town and we rented snorkelling gear. The water can still get a bit choppy here in the summer so if you’re unsure, it’s best to go with a guide or stay close to the shore, where you can still see different kinds of fish.
It’s not much of a beach, especially at high tide, so it can get crowded. The bottom of the beach is sandy and rocky so watch out for the sharp rocks. While we haven’t seen any ourselves, many people do spot sea turtles while snorkelling at Lāwa’i Beach.
The Green Sea Turtle
Kaua’i has many places where you can swim with the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle. Or you can see them from land. It’s always so amazing. The rocky shoreline of Kaua’i is their natural habitat, with sea grass and algae as their food. The Green Sea Turtle, one of the largest in the world, is the only herbivore species and the Hawaiian honu only lives around the islands of the Hawaiian archipelago.
Turtles or honu in Hawaiian come rest and bask on the beach during the day. However, a large number show up at Po’ipu Beach around sunset.
Classified as endangered since 1978, it’s important to keep your distance from the turtles and do not feed them. It also helps to use ocean-friendly sunscreen and to throw garbage into appropriate receptacles. Since the ocean can get very rough in the islands, be sure not to get carried away and follow the turtles out into the open waters.
For the Hawaiians, honu are spiritual guardians and are born in the realm where spirits return and life begins.
Surf Checks
Whenever we go to Lāwa’i or Beach House beach as it’s also known, there is usually at least one parking space across from the ocean. Mauka (mow-kah) meaning mountain side of the road. We watch the ocean, him for surfing conditions. Me, seeing if turtles or whales pop up.
We always have surfboards, swimwear, towels, and camera gear, ready to go. I added a used and discontinued Canon’s EF 70-300mm to capture surfing further away from the beach. Most of the surf breaks are too far for me to photograph without a drone or being in the ocean myself. This zoom lens is handy for wave photography.
Continuing on the coast, we drive towards the tidepools and other lookout points. We almost always spot turtles here.
Kukui’ula Bay
If you keep driving west toward Spouting Horn, you soon arrive at Kukui’ula Bay, where there is a small boat harbour and park. On the other side of the free parking lot, the beautiful green lawn is a great place to sunbathe and picnic. Lots of people use this harbour including diving and fishing boats. We’ve also seen visitors waiting at the pier for their charters. In the summer months, boats go to the waters around Ni’ihau, the “Forbidden Island.”
The harbour is also a great place to watch sunsets.
We’ve been here at Kukui’ula Bay on both weekdays and on the weekend. This is a popular place for family gatherings so it can get crowded, the same as most of the beaches in Kaua’i. There aren’t any lifeguards on duty though there are showers and restrooms. As this sandy beach is sheltered, the water is calm. It’s a great place to swim and float around. Not great for snorkelling. Try these beaches for snorkelling.
Po’ipu Beach | Old Kōloa Town | Puka Dog | Brennecke’s Beach Broiler | The Beach House
