Kalapaki Beach in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii

Kalapaki Beach is a golden sand beach near Līhuʻe with beautiful views of the green Hapu mountains. It’s within walking distance of Nāwiliwili Harbor and an easy drive (or bus ride) from the airport and town of Līhuʻe. Well worth a visit in my opinion, but you can decide for yourself after looking at my photos! I’ll also share a bit of the history I’ve learned (which isn’t much) and my own experience.

Kalapaki was once the name of a small ahupuaʻa, a division of land defined to care for the land and people living on it. It would have ended here at the beach.

Now there’s a Marriott resort there, so there’ll always be tourists, but it’s not the busiest beach on Kauaʻi. You’ll also see some locals playing volleyball and surfing. The waters are calm. There are plenty of places to eat if you’re hungry although the ones directly behind the beach aren’t cheap. If you want snacks, the only ABC Store on Kauaʻi is in the Anchor Cove mall right by the beach. There are also public toilets nearby.

The lighthouse you can see in that photo above is the Kukiʻi Point Lighthouse. You can walk or drive to it.

Both of the sunsets I saw here were glorious, but then it’s Hawaiʻi so of course they were. Every time I thought there wouldn’t be a pretty sunset, the sky was like, ‘mate you’re in Hawaiʻi.’

I stayed at the Tip Top Motel near the airport. I didn’t have a rental car, so on a Sunday when there were no buses, I tried to walk the two miles to the beach. I got as far as Mokoi Street when the sidewalk ran out. I did see some homeless people walking (and on Google Maps Street View there are some tourists doing it), but it was a winding road with very little space for pedestrians and I’d seen three brutal accidents in my short time on O‘ahu, so I wasn’t brave enough to keep going. I nearly walked back to the motel, but I could see the ocean! So I called an Uber and I’m so glad I did. Sitting on the beach for the evening was much more fun than sitting in the motel.

When I went back on my last day on Kauaʻi, I’d just done a Waimea Canyon tour, so I asked the guide to drop me at the beach and then after the sunset, I took the Līhuʻe Shuttle bus back to the motel for just 50 cents. So easy and yet again, so much better than sitting in the motel!

Safe travels!
💖 Maria