the beach today
South Maui Guide

Makena
Big Beach

Maui No Ka 'Oi

Everything for a day on Maui's most spectacular undeveloped beach. Half a mile of wide white sand, powerful bodysurfing waves and the dramatic Pu'u Olai red cinder cone rising at the north end.

Today on the Sand

loading live data…

Water Temp

84°

warm · gentle surf

UV Index

9

very high · 10am–4pm

Beach Crowd

Busy

holiday weekend

Beach Toolkit

more tools coming

Beach Conditions

Surf, tides & water temp

Parking Finder

State park lots & access

Pu'u Olai Sunset

Sunset over the cinder cone

Dining

South Maui food trucks & nearby eats

Boat Trips

Molokini snorkel & sea kayak tours

Events

What's on this week

Pick Your Sand

north to south

Oneloa (Big Beach)

Half-mile of natural sand · no development

Main beach

Little Beach

Hidden cove over the cinder cone · bohemian

North end, rocky climb

Pu'u Olai Tip

Rocky point between Big and Little Beach

Views both directions

Second Beach

Less-known section south of the main lot

South parking

Polo Beach

Quieter Wailea beach with sea turtles

10 min north

Palauea Beach

Secluded, turtle-nesting, no services

Between Polo & Makena

Dolphin Cruises

Open →

Compare daily sails from the marina — wild dolphins on nearly every trip.

Beyond the Beach

day trips

Wailea Beaches

15 min north

Luxury resort beaches with calm water

Ahihi-Kinau Reserve

20 min south

Snorkel preserve in an ancient lava field

Molokini Crater

45 min boat

Submerged volcanic crater, premier snorkel

Haleakala

1.5 hrs east

Summit sunrise at 10,023 feet

see you on the sand

Water temp, surf and UV are live from NOAA & Open-Meteo; sunset is computed locally for Makena Big Beach. Crowd level is a weekday/weekend estimate.