Ka'anapali Beach
Ka'anapali Beach runs from Canoe Beach in the south to Black Rock in the north. A central section of the beach is also called Dig Me Beach. With luxury resort hotels lining the entire beach, this is exactly the sort of place you might imagine when you think of a high-priced beach vacation. Chaise lounges and cabanas dot the beach, and cabana boys scurry to and fro to satisfy the needs of the hotel guests. Ka'anapali is all about the money-- if you don't have it, you're not staying here-- but you can certainly still come to play on the beach!
Some people consider the portion of the beach north of Black Rock to be the southern end of Airport Beach (a/k/a North Beach and also Kahekili Beach Park). Others (especially the marketing folks) call the whole beach, including the portion north of Black Rock, Ka'anapali Beach. Of course it's completely up to you what you want to call it, as long as people know where to meet you for a swim!
Ka'anapali was the first planned resort on Maui, developed in the 1950's when the island was a small backwater. There are over 4500 rooms and condominiums in Ka'anapali, most of them within walking distance to the beach. Every activity under the sun is available here, for a price.
If you love to play golf, you'll love Ka'anapali's two championship golf courses, the Tournament North Course and the Resort South Course, which has just reopened after 8 months of renovation and redesign by Robin Nelson. Be prepared to pay some pretty steep greens fees, though-- only after 2pm do the rates drop below $100 per person.
Hours of Operation
Ka'anapali beach is open 24 hours a day, although some of the parking facilities claim to tow after a certain time.Weather Forecast
(As of 329 PM HST Wednesday July 11 2007)Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 65 to 76. East winds 10 to 15 mph.
Thursday: Sunny. Highs 80 to 88. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 66 to 77. East winds 10 to 15 mph.
Friday: Sunny. Highs 81 to 89. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 65 to 76. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs 81 to 90. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 65 to 76. Northeast winds around 10 mph.
Sunday: Sunny. Highs 80 to 88. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 65 to 76. East winds 10 to 15 mph.
Monday: Sunny. Highs 80 to 88. East winds 10 to 15 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 65 to 76. East winds 10 to 15 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny. Highs 80 to 88. East winds 10 to 15 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 65 to 76. East winds 10 to 15 mph.
Sunrise: 5:50am Sunset: 7:08pm. Visit Maui Weather Today for a daily discussion of the current weather patterns affecting Maui. For the surf conditions, visit the Maui Surf Report.
See our Webcams page for up to the minute conditions all around Maui!
Webcams
This is a live view of Ka'anapali Beach from the roof of the Sheraton Maui Resort. Click on the image to go to the Westin's website, where you can steer this camera around and zoom in and out, if you have a modern browser with Java enabled.
And here is another live view of Ka'anapali Beach from the roof of the Westin Maui Resort. Click on the image to go to the Westin's website, where you can steer this camera around and zoom in and out.
Getting There
Parking
Assuming you aren't staying in one of the hotels or condos, parking is more difficult at Ka'anapali Beach than just about any other beach on Maui. There are only about 125 legal parking spaces for beachgoers, and you can't just park on the side of the road like you can at most beaches.The first road on the left on Ka'anapali Parkway is Nohea Kai Drive. If you're heading to the south end of the beach (the Spa Moana, Drums of the Pacific Luau, the Va Bene Italian restaurant, the Nalu Sunset Bar and Sushi, or any of the shops at the Hyatt Regency Maui, you can turn left here, enter the Hyatt Regency, and make your way over to the beach access parking on the right (there are about 20 spaces here). You can also turn right just before the entrance to the Hyatt Regency and park in the beach access parking outside the parking garage for the Maui Marriott Resort (also about 20 spaces). If that lot is full you could just park in the garage for $5 per day. If you're willing to walk just a tiny bit farther, though, you could park at Canoe Beach-- go back out to the highway, head back towards Lahaina, and pull into the first beach park (there's a graveyard between the highway and the beach).
A bit farther north on Nohea Kai Drive as you drove in you passed a very small parking lot (11 spaces) on the right, which is just North of the Maui Marriott Resort and just south of the Ka'anapali Ali'i condos. Spaces here are very scarce, partially because this lot is so obvious (the others you need to know where they are to find them).
If you're heading for the northern part of the beach (the Ka'anapali Ali'i condos, the Westin Maui, the Tropix restaurant), instead of turning on Nohea Kai Drive, continue on Ka'anapali Parkway. You will pass two parking areas on the left. The first, just before Whaler's Village, is a lot with both beach and reserved parking-- make sure you pick a spot marked "Beach Parking". The second is a small portion of the Whaler's Village parking garage, also on the left, just after you pass Whaler's Village.
The easiest time to park is usually around lunchtime. The lots fill up quickly in the morning, and again after about 3pm in the afternoon. A little patience will go a long way, however-- pick your lot and wait for someone to come out. The turnover rate is usually pretty high.
Map
You may also view a more detailed full-screen version of this map on Google Maps.
Facilities
Ka'anapali Beach doesn't really have any "facilities" that aren't associated with the hotels bordering the beach. However, the hotel bathhouses are available for your use, and the various restaurants and bars are open to the public. You can go stroll through the shops at the hotels. And all of the hotels have provided showers at the edge of the beach which are available to anyone who passes by.There are facilities that are exclusively for the guests at the various hotels, including the pools and waterslides at the hotels, and the chaises and cabanas that are on the beach and next to the hotel pools. These items are all clearly marked for hotel guest use only.
What's Nearby
Restaurants
Ka'anapali Beach has a number of restaurants lining the pathway that runs the length of the beach. These include the Va Bene Italian restaurant ($24-$42 entrees) and Nalu Sunset Bar and Sushi ($3-$4 per piece of sushi) and the BeachWalk restaurant (sandwiches and burgers for under $10), all at the Maui Marriott Resort, and the Tropica restaurant ($26-$48 entrees, $14 sandwiches) at the Westin Maui.Activities
There are a few activity booths along the walkway, including the Ka'anapali Surf School (which is also the same company as Island Scuba, or at least they have the same phone number), near the Maui Marriott Resort. There's also the Blue Yonder Beach Services, farther south, near the Drums of the Pacific Luau.Businesses
At the south end of the beach is the Moana Athletic Club and the Moana Spa, a health club and spa right on the beach with a view of the ocean.
Copyright 2006 by Maui Beach Guide.