Turtle Bay Beach

What a beautiful beach!
No turtles today because the waves are too high and apparently they can’t come I when this happens. I guess that means that this will be my first stop next time I am in Hawaii!

Scenery is great. The sand is soft and clean (enough for my 7 month old to play in it). Not too crowded. Has a bar right on the beach that you can buy expensive drinks from. Has showers, food truck, shade and everything you need to enjoy the beach.

Another great place to relax or go snorkeling!
This beach is located at the end of an actual resort. So don’t be confused when you’re trying to look for this place and find a hotel instead.
You can park in their huge parking lot, parking can be limited and may take a few minutes to find a spot but at least it’s free parking!
Once you get on the beach, you can either lay out on the sand or rent one of the hotel’s beach lounge chairs for half a day or for a full day.
The water is mostly clear but can get cloudy on some days. Just make sure you go on a bright and sunny day.
I saw lots of cool fish here and plenty of reefs to explore.

I had some of the best snorkeling here! So many different types of fish!
In January the waves in the background were pretty big so it made for a little choppiness is the water, but not too bad. The sand is soft, but bigger granules (they stick to you!). The nice thing is using the Turtle Bay resorts hotel bathroom… no beach bathroom smell (although I’m sure they keep the outside one nice too). I’d recommend a walk around of the exterior of the resort, nice views! Good amount of free parking.

Coming to Honolulu for the beaches but don’t feel like elbowing through the throngs of people at Waikiki? Turtle Bay is the spot for you then. While it’s popular (read people will be there) there’s WAY less people than you’d see at Waikiki. The beach is on the small side, but it doesn’t feel cramped. If you’re staying at Turtle Bay, take advantage of this beach. Conversely, if you’re staying in Waikiki proper, make the drive over and take advantage of this beach.

We love this beach. It’s a very clam beach. Even though it’s small, it’s perfect for family with young kid. My 3 year old son tried riding boogie board for very first time, and my husband went snorkeling. We all had a good time at this beach.

If you are stating at the Fabled Turtle Bay resort, the beach is essentially in your back door. Snorkeling on 7-​26-​2015 stunk. A few scared fish and a moderate current with no real reef. Sharks cove is way way way better for snorkeling. The hotel has snorkeling gear for free use, but some of the snorkels didnt have a water blocking valve that is pretty standard, so water enters pretty easily allowing you to unintentionally aspirate. You dont need water shoes (unlike Sharks Cove) and the tide is fairly gentle most of the day. You can walk to rocky corral barrier but that will require water shoes, it is extremely jagged and not recommended for young children. There is a three star food establishment literally on the beach.
This is a fantastic beach for families, but I can see teens getting bored quickly. A rental kiosk for beach gear, cabanas, sun screen, etc. Towels and cold water easily accessible. Bottom line, very family friendly, close beach you should do at least once while staying at tge Turtle Bay Resort.

Nice calm beach, great for families with kids. There’s some nice shaded areas under the trees (where I sat because I had bad sunburn) and ate a shaved ice just enjoyed the scenery

This beach is quite small, but it is rather great for kids. If you are lucky enough to find parking (just wait for someone to leave, and leave they will since there isn’t a whole lot to do here), then venture to the beach just down the path from the parking lot. It’s a small cove with a couple shady spots under the trees, some nice rocks for those who want to snorkel and search for sea cucumbers, or a less rocky area for those who wish to swim.
Bottom line: Nice little beach that’s worth a stop.

Love the turtle — hate the crowd.
The turtles will show up thats for sure– BUT there should be a fence or something to keep the crowd away from the turtles. Heres some reasons why you should/​should not go.
Pros:
1. Its free
2. Turtles looks pretty.
3. Scenery looks good
Cons:
1. Too crowded
2. Some tourist disobeys the rules here (no swimming/​no touching turtles)
3. Parking is hard.
Other than those cons i still think its a good
Place to go meet one of mother natures rare sights– turtles!!!

Please don’t confuse «Turtle Beach/​Laniakea Beach» with «Turtle Bay,» as many tourists do. Turtle Beach is just outside of Haliewa on the North Shore. There is little or no parking (since they blocked off the old spot with concrete pylons), is located a hundred feet off the Kam highway, and turtles do tend to rest here most days around 2 – 3 pm. The turtles like it here b/​c there is so much reef for them to eat seaweed off of.
Turtle Bay is on the north end of the North Shore and there is plenty of public parking provided by the Turtle Bay Resort. In Hawaii it is the law that all beaches must have a public access with parking nearby. If you want parking and a calm (water calm) beach, Turtle Bay is the place. You probably won’t see many turtles here, but they do show up from time to time anywhere on the North Shore. The beach is more sandy, which means less reef, less food, and less reason for them to hang out in the area.
If you want turtles, go to Laniakea/​Turtle Beach on the Kam highway in the afternoon. The beach is not marked, but it is roughly 1.5 miles north of historic Haleiwa and you will see all the cars jammed bumper to bumper on the sides of the highway. Just drive until you find a spot along the highway and walk back a minute or two to the spot. At Turtle Beach/​Laniakea you can body board and there are good waves throughout the winter and into the spring. Sometimes too big. In the summer, it can be a nice calm beach, but becomes quickly overcrowded. There are just not enough sandy places to relax. Most of the beach is covered in reef. You can however, walk south a few minutes (there is only one way to walk because the reef hems in the beach) and find large stretches of sandy beach. With parking being what it is, it is best to visit turtles here and go relax at the numerous other beaches further north up the Kam highway.

No parking lot, only park along the beach.
It is pretty cool so see Turtles that up close! It is all depends on your luck if Turtle come to the shore. We were very lucky that day… only arrived in 5 minutes, one of the turtles came up to the beach. OMG! Everyone was gathering around the turtles and taking pictures. The turtle is definitely the star on the beach~
Very fun experience!

This beach is great for tourist. There are turtles you can swim with. Bring snorkeling gear. Don’t touch the turtles and parking is a bit hectic. It’s worth it though. Great for kids and adults.

I finally visited this beach after having lived here for 2 years. and I have to say. I wasn’t all that impressed. It was small, crowded, choppy, and a long walk from where we were finally able to find parking. It is beautiful, of course… but there is so much coral reef in the water that there is not much space to stand or wade out. It’s also too choppy for my particular preference… I prefer calm beaches over «body surfing» ones. Although it’s not my personal cup of tea. I can see why other people enjoy it here, because of its beauty. I just expected more from all the hype.

We really love this place, it is a great beach for kids. The water is super clear and calm. Even one day when we were wanting to go to a beach and we went to Waimea Bay the waves were ridiculously high and the lifeguard told us that Turtle Bay had a public beach we could go to. We decided to go check it out and now we have gone twice, it is a great beach and even though it is right on the tourist area of turtle bay, it is a lovely family beach. Has a restaurant by the beach, a store where you can buy sunscreen, beach chairs you can rent, the parking isn’t too bad and beautiful Palm trees around it. Our only problem is the bathrooms. There’s no real changing area, two stalls in the women’s bathroom and only one outside shower. Families need more than that. Overall a great beach but needs more bathrooms and showers!

Wir sind mit 2 Kids (4 Jahre) hier in Oahu, und dieser Strand war bis jetzt am optimalsten für uns. Schöner Sand, es geht sehr flach ins Meer, und v.a.: keine hohen Wellen wie an den meisten anderen Stränden. Optimal für einen Badeausflug mit Kindern. Duschen, Toiletten, Liegen (gegen eine geringe Gebühr inkl. Sonnendach) und ein Restaurant sind ebenfalls vorhanden. Anfangs zögerten wir, da wir dachten, dieser Strand sei Gästen des nebenan liegenden Turtle Bay Resorts vorbehalten, doch das stimmt nicht. «Public Access», natürlich auch ohne Eintritt und jede Menge gratis Parkplätze! Fazit: Für Familien mit Kindern sehr empfehlenswert!

We actually were going to Pounders, but the surf was too rough for the little one and the one area that wasn’t rough, had several fishermen. Didn’t feel like getting gaffed or hooked, so we headed up to Turtle Bay. It was our first time there, very clean and easy to find parking. Also a nice little bar to get some Primo on draft. If we ever venture that far north again, we’ll probably hit it up again.

Staying at the condos and decided to go check out the beaches. Threw snorkels on the kids and headed out.
Water was calm. Lots of fish. Beach wasn’t too crowded. Was able to rent snorkel vests for the kids. Over all, not bad.

Properly named b/​c we definitely saw sea turtles. Three or four of them during our 1 hour stay here. Came on a weekday so there was plenty of room for everyone.
3 in the water (I’m sure there are more) and 1 on land. They look so peaceful & gentle.
Love the beach & glad they had people to patrol the tourists who like to get «too close» & would probably harass the turtles if it weren’t for them.
Be nice. Give the turtles some space to breathe.
Water wasn’t crystal clear– more murky. Not a good place to snorkel unless your sole purpose is for the turtles.

We stopped by Turtle Bay beach and hung out for couple of hours before heading to dinner. The resort provides beach access with plenty of parking so that’s definitely a plus. Another positive is that beach is great for young children. Because it’s a bay, there are virtually no waves which allows the kids to frolic in the water. There were a few snorkelers, and I have no doubt they saw many feet in the water but not too many fish or turtles. There is also a convenient public shower and bathrooms.
Bottom line: this is a 4 star family beach. Check this beach out IF your kids are not strong swimmers or you’re looking for a quick dip in the ocean. Other than that, just keep driving in either direction and find another beach.

I was on a quest to find sea turtle during my stay on the island, so this is a no-​brainer why I stumbled across TURTLE BAY BEACH. If you are on such similar quest, I am sorry to disappoint you that I didn’t see any sea turtles during my short visit at Turtle Bay Beach.
TURTLE BAY BEACH is surrounded by hotels and resorts. Nice place to relax because the hotel staff does keep the area clean. Plenty of grass, trees, beach for sunbathing and parking. Saw lots of children playing in the shallow water, but you would still need to watch them.
Great beach to visit if you don’t want to pay for parking elsewhere and all other beaches are filled with people.