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Waikiki Beach, the North Shore, and Hanauma Bay are some of the most popular beach areas on Oahu. One of the biggest reasons is the surf. However, they’re not the best places for kids to be able to get in the water for a swim. Currents and waves are aplenty.
For those who’d like a more tame ocean experience for their kids (and/or themselves), search no more. Here’s our short list of calm beaches in Oahu…the best beaches in Oahu for kids.
Best Beaches for Kids on Oahu
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Take this list with you on your trip to make sure you get tons of awesome beach time with your family!
Paradise Cove
The name Paradise Cove is widely associated with the nightly luau that takes place there. However, aside from spending money on the luau, there is a public access path to Paradise Cove itself.
The path ends at this…a calm pool of water, naturally protected from the ocean by lava rock and raised coral reef. The tides still rise and fall, of course, and we all need to be careful around bodies of water. Paradise Cove, however, is a great place for kids to play at the water’s edge and not be bowled over by incoming waves. This is just one of the reasons why Paradise Cove is one of the best calm beaches in Oahu.
We did a bit of snorkeling here as well.
We really, really, really wanted to see turtles on this trip. Paradise Cove is known to be a place where sea turtles frequent. And it happened for us! We saw a turtle in Paradise Cove on two separate days this time! Swimming with turtles! I was so excited (even moreso than our children)!
This is how excited I was! Just kiddings! I was way more excited than that. This is just me displaying my sun sensitive swim gear, with Paradise Cove as the amazing backdrop.
On the south side of Paradise Cove, this waterway leads to the natural Lanikuhonua Lagoon.
Grab Your FREE List of the Best Kid Friendly Beaches on Oahu!
Take this list with you on your trip to make sure you get tons of awesome beach time with your family!
Lanikuhonua Lagoon
Connected to Paradise Cove via a shallow, narrow waterway is the natural Lanikuhonua Lagoon, next in our list of best calm beaches in Oahu. The waterway rises and lowers with the tides, but even at low tide (and even if you walk along the somewhat-slippery rocks, as in the photo above), you will still need to wade through some amount of water to get to the beach at Lanikuhonua. It’s probably best not to bring too much with you, unless you’re confident you can wade across with it.
Here’s a view of the waterway, looking back north toward Paradise Cove.
Alternatively, Lanikuhonua Lagoon can be accessed from its south side by following a path that begins at the Four Seasons Resort, which is situated at Ko Olina Lagoon 1. The path can be quite rocky, however, with large lava rocks to traverse for part of the way.
Once we waded across to the Lanikuhonua beach, we had the place to ourselves! We even made it across with my folding canopy chair, part of my sun protection arsenal.
We found the water at the Lanikuhonua Lagoon to be even calmer than that at Paradise Cove. It was so peaceful, both being in the water and enjoying the surrounding beauty.
Grab Your FREE List of the Best Beaches in Oahu for Families!
Take this list with you on your trip to make sure you get tons of awesome beach time with your family!
Ko Olina Lagoons
Just a little further south from the Lanikuhonua Lagoon are the four man-made Ko Olina Lagoons. The Ko Olina Lagoons were modeled after the naturally-protected Paradise Cove and Lanikuhonua Lagoon.
There is easy access to each lagoon, but parking is very limited. This was one of the reasons we chose lodging in Ko Olina vs. Honolulu hotels, for the proximity to some of our favorite beaches and because it is so walkable.
The four lagoons are connected by more than a mile-and-a-half of beautifully Hawaiian landscaped pathways that look like this! Water, sand, grass, and a lovely path. That’s my kind of beach park!
The four lagoons, from north to south, are: Lagoon 1 (Kohola), Lagoon 2 (Honu), Lagoon 3 (Naia), and Lagoon 4 (Ulua). Here’s our little beach set-up at Lagoon 2.
Among the reasons that the Ko Olina Lagoons are some of the best calm beaches in Oahu are: sand,
tame surf,
and kid-style relaxation.
I even got in on the fun!
Ko Olina has a few surprises, such as this, um, pay phone? Don’t let this fool you though. Ko Olina has all the modern conveniences you would expect from a resort area, including the only Chase Bank ATM in all of Hawaii and some of the nicest beach bathrooms I’ve ever seen.
We miss you, Ko Olina Lagoons!
While most of our picks are in the southwest part of Oahu, our final pick is in the southeast part of the island.
Grab Your FREE List of the Best Oahu Beaches for Kids!
Take this list with you on your trip to make sure you get tons of awesome beach time with your family!
Lanikai Beach
Lanikai Beach is our one non-Ko Olina area pick for best calm beaches in Oahu. This beach is absolutely gorgeous!
There aren’t any huge breakers here. You can see the natural formations in the water that help keep the surf more manageable.
For as beautiful and wonderful as Lanikai Beach is, there is no parking lot, and there are no facilities (meaning, no bathrooms…we had a Potette at the ready, just in case). Behind the beach is solid residential area. It’s totally worth it though. We brought “second breakfast” from Boots & Kimo’s to the beach, as well as our packed lunch. We found a parking spot on the street near Lanikai Park, walked down Mokumanu Dr., carefully crossed Mokulua Dr., and went straight on to a beach access path. (Make sure you follow all neighborhood parking rules & regulations.)
We only went to Lanikai Beach once on our trip, but we’re really glad we made the effort. It’s amazing!
Pro Tips for the Beach
These tips are meant to help make your trip to Oahu better!
Box Jellyfish Influx
Hawaii and the surrounding ocean is indescribably beautiful. It is also full of wildlife, and in the case of south-facing Oahu beaches, the periodic box jellyfish influx should be taken into consideration. Generally speaking, eight days after a full moon is when the box jellyfish show up. We actually planned our last trip to Hawaii around the box jellyfish influx schedule (!). Yes, seriously. Check this calendar before planning your trip. Read more HERE and HERE. We didn’t know about the box jellyfish the first time we brought our children to Hawaii, and the beaches had signs up a couple of days. I’d rather plan a trip around the influx calendar, rather than lose precious beach days!
Giant Beach Bag & Small Dry Bag
There were several large beach bags for me to choose from when I was packing.
I only needed one though, so my selection was critical.
One big bag is often better than a million smaller bags to deal with.
I chose my SnapSac MegaTote, and it was absolutely the right choice.
On any given day, this bag carried 4 large beach towels, hats, snacks, underwater camera, selfie stick, beach reading, probably more stuff I can’t remember, and a small dry bag (see below).
It was packed full for the entire family, and it did the job for the duration.
With so much stuff inside, make sure to AirTag your beach bag!
Besides the massive volume of the bag, it is also machine washable and extremely light-weight and packable!
A small dry bag is necessary for carrying the items that really shouldn’t get wet and/or sandy. We’re talking phones, keys, and wallets. We always travel with our small dry bag. Just tuck it in your big beach bag, and you’re good to go.
The best calm beaches in Oahu and some pro tips to boot! Truly, these are my favorite beaches too, not just for the kids! We can’t wait to go back!
For info on how we spent two weeks in Hawaii on a semi-budget, click HERE!
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