There are areas of Hawaii that remain largely undiscovered by the vast majority of tourists to the islands. Often this occurs simply because the area is not well known and largely left unreported in the tour guides. In other instances, there are areas which simply are a bit too remote and which often appear uninviting. It is best to stay near the resort hotels. The Leeward side (west shore)beaches are great to watch surfing events in the winter but are considered very isolated the rest of the year. All beaches are public in Hawaii. The beaches in front of the luxury hotels are open to you even if you are not a guest. We recommend Ko Olina Beach.

The Ko Olina shoreline begins at Kahe Point Beach Park and ends approximately two miles south at the Barbers Point Deep Draft Harbor. Four large lagoons with white sand beaches approximately 1,000 feet long are located inland of the terrace between the Ihilani Resort and Spa and the harbor entrance. Small channels that cut through the terrace connect the lagoons to the open ocean. These channels allow water from the ocean to circulate through the lagoons, but at the same time they are narrow enough to prevent high surf from directly striking the beach. The ocean bottoms in the lagoons are sandy and slope gently to overhead depth. Swimming is safe, but the water clarity is normally too murky for snorkeling. The lagoons are identified by number, the First Lagoon being the one next to the Ihilani Resort and Spa and the Fourth Lagoon being the last one next to the harbor.