Honolulu
Ala Moana Beach Park
A long, calm beach where locals actually go.
Why go
Protected water, real parking, grass and trees. Much calmer than Waikiki.
The catch
A reef keeps the water flat, which is great for kids and dull for waves. The Magic Island end, at the Waikiki side, is a walled saltwater lagoon - flatter still, and lifeguarded the same hours. Both ends are on the State lifeguard list.
- How long
- 2-3 hours
- With children
- Yes
- Effort
- Easy
- Cost
- Free
- Parking
- Easy
Before you go
- Lifeguard: Daily 8am-6:30pm
Getting there
Driving times on real roads, from the same data the trip planner routes on — not straight-line distance.
| From Waikīkī | 7 min | 2.3 miles |
|---|---|---|
| From HNL airport | 36 min | 15.3 miles |
| From Ala Moana | 4 min | 0.7 miles |
| From Downtown Honolulu | 8 min | 2.5 miles |
Add traffic. These are free-flowing times, and the H1 through town at eight in the morning is not free-flowing.
Hours, fees and access rules have not been checked against a primary source for this entry yet. Confirm before you build a day around it.
See it on the map Build a trip around it
What else is close
Nearest by road, which is not the same as nearest on a map — and not the same as sharing a region either.
- Magic Island Lagoon1 min awayA walled saltwater lagoon at the Waikiki end of Ala Moana park, flat as a bath.
- Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon4 min awayFive acres of still saltwater behind the Hilton, cut off from the surf entirely.
- Ala Moana Center5 min awayThe largest open-air shopping centre in the world, between Waikiki and downtown.
- US Army Museum of Hawaii5 min awayA coastal artillery battery on Waikiki beach, now a museum, with the concrete left as it was.
- Hawaii Children's Discovery Center6 min awayA hands-on museum for younger children at Kakaako waterfront.
- Kaka‘ako6 min awayA warehouse district between downtown and Ala Moana, now covered in large-scale murals.