We stopped by, mainly to check out the cave across the way. It was better cool, a nice little place to stop and check out on your way to the north side of the island. We walked by the beach for a little while, it wasn't too sunny when we went so we didn't get in the water but there were a few surfers out and it seemed like a nice beach to visit later on.
Neat Place. I recommend parking at the beach park just west of the Tunnels area. While snorkeling, we saw several turtles, neat rock formations, and plenty of diversity of fish. I would recommend a whole day, which will go by really fast.
Best snorkelling beach on Kauai, reef fish everywhere, great view of Na'Pali Coast from here, wow factor on this one.
Honestly I am not much of a beach person but my husband and I picked this beach for our wedding ceremony and we loved it! Not too crowded and beautiful scenery.
In January, this beach was closed or not swimmable due to the heavy surf. But we also went in August, and it was heaven. You could snorkel all day, see many varieties of marine life (we felt blessed to see turtles, seals, and eels). On a quiet day the water is very clear and calm, and the coral goes on and on.People don't talk much about the beach itself, but it is quite nice, with shaded areas and long stretches. Because the parking is so limited and it's kind of a pain to drive that far north, it's not a crowded beach - far less than the more public beaches from Kapaa to Lihue.
We were looking for a place to snorkel near Princeville. We checked out many. Most didn't have lifeguards. Tunnels beach does. We haven't seen many people snorkeling on any beaches. Evidently in winter the ocean can be nasty. Anyway I felt better with a lifeguard in spite of the crowd. Just ok for snorkeling. There are many overlooks on the way. Be sure to checkout the wet cave and dry cave.
You are best served if you park at Ha'ena State Park and walk down to tunnels beach. There are a few pull offs along the road for parking but they are pretty tight and the odds of you getting parked in seemed pretty good. This is a really nice sandy beach and I would recommend it for someone looking to lay out or go for a run. Well worth the walk if you are looking for a less crowded beach.
This is an interesting drive just to get there! Once there, there are vendors of all sorts. You must check the tunnels out!
Very beautiful place with the cleaniest water I can remember experiencing at a beach in a very long time. The tropical surrounding with the crystal clear waters, makes this my favorite beach on the planet right now.
The road is a challenge, narrow, lots of tight turns and one lane bridges. We missed the dry cave across the road from the beach on our first drive past, but caught it on the way back. There are restrooms. We were on our way to the wet cave up the road and as we neared that area we could see it was a zoo with people parking 1 mile from that cave and walking along the narrow road. We opted to turn around and leave rather than risk our life walking in the traffic. On the way back is when we spotted the dry cave and pulled off at the beach to see it.