Black Sand Beaches

I am planning our excursions for our February cruise. Where are some places to see a black sand beach? I am still trying to decide whether to rent cars on each island or do the ships excursions.

In Maui near Hana is Waianapnapa Beach which is a beautiful black sand beach with a lava tube to the ocean & just past Hana is a pink sand beach.

Near Makena's Big Beach in South Maui is a black sand beach but it's more grey to me isn't great.

The Big Island's well known Black Sand Beach near Kalapana was covered in lava decades ago. Although with the ever changing coastline there may be new black sand beaches.

On the Big Island, Punaluu is a popular one.

If you are in the port of Hilo and rent a car, you could combine Punaluu with VNP, however, Punaluu is another 45 minutes past VNP - so you would be adding 1.5 hours of driving to your day, and taking that time away from time that you could spend at VNP. Here's the route.

If you are driving the Road to Hana on Maui, then as Astro Flyer mentions, stop at Waianapanapa Beach in Hana.

Re renting a car vs ship's excursions - I would rent a car, but you have to be comfortable with it and put in the extra effort to plan your port days. February is a busy tourist season, so if you think you might want a rental, I would get it booked asap and then cancel if you decide to do the ship excursions.

Punaluu Black Sand Beach on the Big Island is a nice one. It was only about 30 mins past VNP, if even that. We thought it was going to be longer, but it really was do-able. We didn't spend much time there- maybe 20 mins- but we really just wanted to see it. The sand was HOT. There is a concession stand and bathrooms if you want to stay longer. We also had plenty of time at VNP on the way back.

I would suggest renting a car on each island but maybe not on Oahu where traffic can be very bad. USA Today recently published a list of the 10 worst US cities for traffic & at #2 just behind LA is Honolulu. :eek: The Bus on Oahu is a good & inexpensive option to get around the island. We used it to go from the pier to Pearl Harbor & for my wife to shop at Ala Moana shopping center. Some businesses like Wal-Mart & Hilo Hattie's provide free shuttles for shoppers.

Punaluu Black Sand Beach on the Big Island is a nice one. It was only about 30 mins past VNP, if even that. We thought it was going to be longer, but it really was do-able. We didn't spend much time there- maybe 20 mins- but we really just wanted to see it. The sand was HOT. There is a concession stand and bathrooms if you want to stay longer. We also had plenty of time at VNP on the way back.

Agree that Punaluu is very manageable after you leave VNP. The other thing that is great at Paunaluu is the chance to see the turtles. There were 2 great, inquisitive turtles there in the pools among the rocks while we were there. We enjoyed them very much.

Agree that Punaluu is very manageable after you leave VNP. The other thing that is great at Paunaluu is the chance to see the turtles. There were 2 great, inquisitive turtles there in the pools among the rocks while we were there. We enjoyed them very much.

Last April Punaluu - nice day! :)