Poipu Beach

Poipu Beach is consistently voted Kauai's best beach and regularly features on national "best beach" lists — and for good reason. Positioned on Kauai's naturally sunny south shore (the driest coastline on an island famous for rainfall), Poipu enjoys reliable sunshine even when the north shore is clouded in. The beach is a natural double crescent divided by a tombolo — a sand bar connecting the main shore to a small rocky point — creating both a sheltered inner bay, perfect for young swimmers and snorkelers, and a more open outer section where bodyboarders and bodysurfers ride the waves.

Poipu is one of the best places in Hawaii to observe Hawaiian monk seals (ʻīlioholoikauaua), one of the world's most endangered marine mammals with a total population of fewer than 1,500 individuals. Monk seals regularly haul out on the beach to sleep — they can spend up to 20 hours per day ashore, resting and warming in the sun. When a seal is present, the Poipu Beach Lifeguard Association volunteers rope off a safety perimeter around it. Observing at a respectful distance (at least 60 metres) is both legally required and deeply rewarding. Green sea turtles (honu) are also frequent visitors to the shoreline and the nearshore reef.

The Good Morning America award of "Best American Beach" in the 1990s put Poipu on the international map and the accolade remains well-deserved today. The combination of reliable weather, abundant wildlife, excellent snorkeling, a complete range of amenities, and the surrounding dramatic south Kauai landscape — the ancient Spouting Horn nearby, the lush hillsides of the former sugar country rising behind the resort strip — makes Poipu an almost unbeatable beach destination for families and nature lovers alike.