Kua Bay

When I landed on Big Island, I asked a local where her favorite beach on island was… Kua Bay she said. I jotted down quick directions… And I was on my way.
I only had on day of play, since I was on the island for work, and I wanted a nice beach day. I was completely blow away by this beach from the first breath. It was love at first site.
I went back every day for 3 days after work to get my feet in her sand and watch the sunset.
Completely unreal. But not unknown. There were plenty of other people catching waves… But that doesn’t distract from the mana here.

I live about 6 miles up the hill from this beach. It is an awesome place to go BUT the crowd is insane. You normally have to park about ½ mile from the beach. Its one awesome beach but be ready for the crowds. We LOVE it here in Hawaii. LuckyWeLiveHawaii!!!

Spectacular! The softest white sand, and the clearest, warmest water. Truly everything I could want for in a beach. We went on a day that was overcast with occasional sprinkles and I was afraid the weather would detract from the experience. It did not! The water still appeared startlingly blue, and was so pleasant to swim in. Even got to see a sea turtle swimming by me, what a treat! This spot is a precious gem on this beautiful island.

Another beautiful beach on the west side.
Soft white sand, sweet palm trees swaying, gorgeous views of the Hawaiian maukas and the serene Pacific, warm blue water, lava rocks to snorkel around… perfect.
Never crowded.
Mahalo.

Wow there are nice beaches on the Big Island :) great sand. gorgeous water color and picturesque large rocks. Great placevto play snorkel or have photoshot. come here to snorkel and there aren’t many beaches with great sand and easy to get into. But this is a gorgeous beach across from veteran cemetery and very near four seasons resort. Can snorkel around the rocks but the current and waves were too frisky for my taste. Didn’t see dolphins or turtles. or a huge number of fish. But great beach!

I love this bay. I’ve been coming here (by BOAT and hike) since 1993. The water is stunningly beautiful, there is spectacular snorkeling, and the sand when it’s there is sugar-​fine and white.
If you know how to do Kua Bay, it’s heaven. However: it’s now very very crowded. Weekdays hold no respite from the throngs of tourists and locals alike who have discovered this previously secret spot, and what used to be pristine and private is now littered with screaming children, thumping bass, and garbage. Out snorkeling I actually saw two urchins (the underwater kind, not someone’s offspring) who had used shoyu wrappers as adornments instead of shell pieces. It made me very sad.
WARNING: beauty can be dangerous. There is a strong undertow here, and the fun boogie-​board able waves hike up from fun to expert-​expert-​only-​and-​experts-​avoid-​powerful-​shorebreak-​level waves without warning or gentle escalation. Be careful, be wary, never turn your back to the ocean and if you have kids, watch them if they’re playing in or near the surf.
Tip: if you suspect someone is drowning and you aren’t an expert swimmer or trained in rescue, call for help from someone who IS. Adding another body that needs rescuing to an already dangerous situation helps NO ONE.
These tips should be posted at this beach, but they’re not and there is no lifeguard, so guard yourself. And enjoy this awesome natural beach.

This is a beautiful beach with great waves for boogie boarding. That said, it is also very crowded with lots of rocks and not a lot of the soft, white, lovely sand. Would I go back, yes! For sure! Just know to come early and get your spot. The place fills up fast.

Waves were crazy! November/​December visit… was a little afraid to get in the water but it was fun to watch everyone else surf: o)

At first, I did not want to go to this beach, because I thought it was kind of far away from my hotel (30 minutes lol). There was a perfectly good beach at where we were staying. Some folks were telling me that the road is not paved. However, when I got there much to my surprise, it was paved! It felt secluded (not croweded) another plus! And the sand was increbdibly white. Probably by the time I write this place will be packed hahaha. It is not a big beach I have to remind you. There is parking for but not a lot. I did not count the parking space, but there was like perhaps 20 parking stalls? There was plenty of space because not many people know of this place. But perhaps in a couple of years this place will be crowded, sigh. hahaha But if your going to the Big Island, go to this beach before it gets croweded and abused by tourist, hehe (wait, I am a tourist). lol. Any ways its a nice beach. The water is not calm but the waves are not big where it would be dangerous. It did not look like a place where you can snorkel by the way. However, I did not snorkel, so don’t take my word for it. There were a couple of snorkelers but they did not seem to snorkel long, hence not a good snorkel place.

Beautiful beach to go swimming! I went Monday 9am and there were only a handful of people there!