Aulani beach and ocean question.

[MomToPirate&Princess]

We are planning for next summer. What are the Aulani beaches like? Our kids are very into beach activities. I know weather impacts surf, but generally speaking is it more Surf waves? Smaller boogie board waves? Little to no waves? Rocky? Soft sand or coarse? Ocean snorkeling? Trying to determine what type of water we will typically have on site and what we need to plan to go to other area areas for.
Thanks

 

[0sw@ld]

The beach at Aulani is in a lagoon. It is protected by most of the big waves and has little waves. It's really soft sand but there are smaller rocks. You can check out the beach and if it doesn't suit your kids, the pools are only a short walk away.

 

[cgattis]

I'd definitely plan to go other places for waves. The lagoon was mostly used for swimming, floating, and SUP. The lagoon was very cloudy with algae when we were there, but I don't think there's much to see snorkeling anyway. We loved snorkeling at Hanauma Bay.

 

[cgattis]

Here's a pic.....pretty much flat.

 

[newdeal]

the lagoon is man-made. You will notice that all of the hotels along that strip have their own lagoon that is pretty much the same, Aulani shares its lagoon with one of these other hotels. Since it is man-made they made it pretty protected so there are not many waves at all. If you want a non-man made beach every beach in Hawaii is public and there is another that is a short walk and right beside paradise cove luau. That one is also protected a bit but is natural, there was a Hawaiian monk seal on the beach when we were there which was cool to see. They said there are only like 200 of these left in the wild. If you want to snorkel go to Hanauma bay, its a good spot without big waves but with tons of fish because its actually a volcano crater that filled with water as ocean levels rose and so is protected by an outer rim that is covered by water so you can't see it but it makes the snorkelling less difficult. The sand is very soft and unlike any other beach I have been to you really sink into it when you stand in the water your can feel your feet just get buried by the soft sand. If you want waves go to the north shore we had a great guy do surf lessons the name of the company was Blue Rush and I think the guys name was Matt. Just be prepared its one heck of an arm workout, and hour is more than enough for a newbie!

 

[alohamom]

Summer waves won’t be as big. Oahu has many great beaches, all within driving distance of Aulani and all with different characteristics.

 

[nkereina]

I'll add that the lagoon at Aulani gets very deep pretty quickly. I'm not a strong swimmer so I was mindful of this. We didn't see much while snorkeling in the lagoon. Waves were virtually non-existent at Aulani while they were pretty large everywhere else we went. We thought the sand was more coarse and it was brown in color so it got hot as well. The water was also pretty warm so it was nice for wading and floating around.

 

[corgi_monster]

Surf waves? Smaller boogie board waves? Little to no waves? Rocky? Soft sand or coarse? Ocean snorkeling? Trying to determine what type of water we will typically have on site and what we need to plan to go to other area areas for.
Thanks

If your kids haven't tried surfing or boogie boarding before I would suggest Waikiki. The waves are small, there are lifeguards, and lots of surfing schools/instructors. I would avoid anything on the west, north, and some east shores if they don't have prior experience.

If your kids do have lots of experience, it doesn't get much better than Sandy Beach for boogie boarding. The waves break VERY close to shore and there are barrels even during the summer. The undertow and currents are very strong and you should be very strong swimmers if you consider this beach.

If your kids are surfers, have them talk to the staff at Aulani. The "best" surfing spots change everyday and the locals will know where to go. Or, they can listen to the morning surf report. Have them read up on local surfing culture. If you go to a local surf spot, you don't just paddle out and catch any wave you feel like catching.

I would suggest Shark's Reef for snorkeling, but only if the north shore is calm. Hanauma Bay gets all the glory but it's absolutely disgusting - they had to close the beach earlier this week due to high bacterial counts.

The Ko Olina lagoons are very gentle, perfect for small children and paddle boarding.