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Puako Bay Beach is a good idea on a windy day

We sun-screened the kids, packed up the cooler with water and food, and headed out to Hapuna Beach for the day. It was a little windy at Waikoloa Beach Resort, but we still decided to try out Hapuna Beach. As we were setting up the beach chairs the wind really started blowing. The sand against our skin felt like small constant pin pricks. After giving the wind as much time as our skin could handle, we packed everything back up and headed out disappointed.

On the way back to the Fairway Villas we decided to stop at Puako Bay Beach to see if the conditions were better. We had heard that it was a good beach to visit during a windy day. The locals obviously knew something that we did not because it was packed with locals enjoying the surf, beach, and lack of wind. The beach is protected by trees and hills on each side and is smaller than most beaches. There are plenty of trees for shade, public showers and restrooms, beautiful rock formations, nice sand, small tide pools, but no lifeguards. The kids had a lot of fun exploring the unique features of this beach which include more than a thousand petroglyphs. Although the true meanings of the petroglyphs are not known, it is generally thought that these petroglyphs are records of births and other life events of the ancient Hawaiians. The waves did seem pretty strong, so we didn’t let the kids go out very far in the water, but this could have been due to the fact that it was a windy day.

Overall, it was a nice find. The beach was not as nice as Hapuna or Mauna Kea, but those two beaches are probably the best beaches on the Island. If we ever find ourselves ready and packed for the beach on a windy day, we will definitely hit Puako Bay Beach!