13 Best Beaches in Wailea & Kihei: The Most Popular, Most Beautiful, Best for Snorkeling, Etc.

While all of the Hawaiian Islands have spectacular beaches, Maui is known for having the MOST.

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While beaches on some of the other islands are hard to find or don’t have the best swimming conditions, Maui beaches are plentiful, very accessible, and overall very good for swimming, snorkeling, and boogie boarding.

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I’m going to tell you my favorite beaches in Kihei and Wailea as well as Makena. I’ll start with the Kihei beaches (the northernmost ones) and work my way south through Wailea and towards Makena.

Kamaole I, II, III

These three beaches in the heart of Kihei are some of the most popular on the island. There are no big resorts or hotels on these beaches but they’re a stones throw from about a gazillion condos plus a lot of locals live in Kihei so that accounts for a lot of their popularity. Learn more

Keawakapu Beach

It’s a long beach and it’s mostly fronted by houses so it never feels very crowded. This beach is perfect for sunset strolls. It also has some nice lava beds perfect for beach combing. Learn more

Ulua & Mokapu Beach

These two Wailea beaches share a parking lot and amenities and are pretty much connected. The snorkeling and diving here is great and there’s plenty of room to spread out. Learn more

Wailea Beach

Home to some of the island’ s most famous luxury beach resorts, Wailea is a laid back and lovely beach. The beach is wide, if not long, and the water is perfect for swimming and boogie boarding. Learn more

Polo Beach

One beach over from Wailea beach, and the end of the Wailea Beach Walk, Polo beach is a nice wide cove beach. The sand is golden and the water is perfect for swimming but it tends to get windy in the afternoons. Learn more