Molokai Halawa Beach

When planning our trip to Hawaii, I read about Molokai’s Halawa Valley several times. It’s located at the eastern tip of Molokai. At some point, I even watched a video about the people who function as caretakers of the area. There are a couple of waterfalls to be seen, but they are on private property, so you either need to secure permission from the landowner to go there alone or join a guided two-mile hike, which would include information about the culture, history, geology, etc.

It probably would’ve been very interesting, but I’m not a huge fan of guided tours. I also knew chances would be very slim that both of us would feel energetic enough to do a hike. That vacation was all about relaxation. I’m sure the waterfalls would have been gorgeous, but what I really wanted to see was the black sand of Halawa Beach, located near the entrance to the Halawa Valley. Hubby was perfectly happy being led around the island, seeing what I deemed interesting and/or doable.

If you want to read more about the area, here’s a link. That website describes the drive from the airport to Halawa as “…an adventure in itself. You’ll pass by Hawaiian Fishponds, points of interest like Kumimi Beach (also known as “20 Mile Marker”), Kaluaaha Church (Molokai’s first Christian church built in 1833), Halawa Beach Park, and Halawa Bay.” It really was a pretty and interesting drive.

In all, it took us about two hours to get from our cottage on the western end of the island to the Halawa Beach Park, which the same GoHawaii.com site described as…

“Halawa Beach Park has two swimming beaches, called Kaili and Kaiwili, located in Halawa Bay along Molokai’s eastern shore. During summer the water is usually very nice, though the beach should be avoided during times of high surf or rough water, especially during the winter months (October – March).”

Some stuff I’d read said the locals were not always welcoming to visitors. Having been there, I can now understand why. It was off the beaten path, quiet, peaceful. It was definitely a place where it felt like one could go to get away from it all. And when you live in a place like Hawaii, which draws people from all walks of life to catch their own glimpse of paradise, peaceful spots are not always easy to come by.

Of the four islands we visited, Molokai was definitely the least touristy, but people do still visit. And, unfortunately, not all outsiders are considerate of others. There was a small tour van in the parking lot, but, other than us, it was mostly locals hanging out, enjoying the park. Rather than take offense at local attitudes, we respected their place. We didn’t experience any hostility, but the park definitely had a locals-only feel, so we didn’t linger too long.

There were plenty of places to pull off if we’d wanted to stop for a swim. The southern side of the island is much more swimmable than the more-exposed western end.

That cove and the water near the outcrop pictured below would have been great places to snorkel.

 

 

The road along the southern coast eventually petered out and cut north to head up and over the eastern tip of the island. It was cool to see the northwestern shore of Maui across the water.

 

 

It was a fun drive. I really had no idea what to expect when we reached the beach park.

The entrance was definitely not what I had pictured.

Not that I’d had any real, solid, preconceived notion of what it might look like. It just didn’t look real beachy. Until we got a little further into the park and its small parking area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We could have lingered longer, but we were both getting hungry. Thirsty, too. So we decided to head west, back toward civilization, to see what sort of interesting place we could find to eat. We settled on Hiro’s Ohana Grill at the lovely Hotel Molokai. We arrived between lunch and dinner, so there weren’t many people there. We had to settle for pub fare instead of full meals, but the selection of appetizers we chose to she were delicious. The beer was cold and refreshing, too.

 

 

 

It was a lovely way to end our excursion to Hanawa Beach.

 

I found the video embedded below on Hiro’s website. There were no luau dancers there during our visit. It was such a lovely spot, we even went back a day or so later for our final dinner on Molokai.

The hotel seems like it would have been a lovely place to stay. It was quiet, but not nearly as people-free as our cottage on the western shore. The hotel is far closer to swimming and snorkeling options, as well as the town of Kaunakakai, but I’m still glad we stayed at our cottage. The “wilder” beaches there were part of what made our stay on the island so peaceful and magical.

All in all, if we ever return to Hawaii, I would certainly not be opposed to visiting Molokai again, time permitting. I think you really need to spend several days on the island to appreciate its beauty.

There’s not much to do there compared to Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island, so if you’re someone who needs a huge variety of fancy restaurants, shops, tours, and other organized activities to entertain you and/or your significant other or family, it may not be the place for you. But if you are, like me, content to just wander around, soaking in the amazing natural beauty of a place, Molokai is really an amazing place.