ALOHA!

 

Hookipa Beach is a popular beach that’s located near Paia town on Maui. (Paia is often considered the unofficial start of the Road to Hana drive.)

 

Hookipa Beach to see Hawaiian monk seals. Where to see seals in Maui Hawaii. Best beaches in Maui. Hawaii travel blog
Spot the seals!

 

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Where to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui Hawaii. Best beaches in Maui. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Where to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui Hawaii. Best beaches in Maui. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach - Where to see seals in Maui Hawaii. Best time to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui. Best beaches. Hawaii travel blog

 

So there are 2 things that Hookipa Beach is best known for: surfing and turtles.

 

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Best surfing beaches in Maui. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Best turtle beaches in Maui. Hawaii travel blog

 

 

And it is lesser known, but there’s a chance that you can see Hawaiian monk seals, too!

 

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Where to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui Hawaii. Best beaches in Maui. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Where to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui Hawaii. Best beaches in Maui. Hawaii travel blog

 

So if you’re at Hookipa Beach to see turtles on the beach, you might as well go to see if the seals are on the beach too, right?!

The seals usually come to shore in a completely separate area from the turtles, and now you know to be sure to look for the Hawaiian monk seals too, and not just the turtles!

 

Hawaiian monk seals are a certain type of seals that are only found around the Hawaiian islands.

They are also an endangered species, which can make seeing a Hawaiian monk seal an even more special of an experience!

NOAA says that there are thought to be around 1,400 monks seals in the Hawaiian islands. But only around 300 are thought to be around the main Hawaiian islands, which includes Maui!

 

Read more about what makes Hawaiian monk seals special:

 

 

What the State of Hawaii and NOAA want you to know when you see a Hawaiian monk seal

Federal and state laws prohibit harassment of these animals.

Monk seals are very impressionable and easily habituated by humans.

Interacting with seals will change their behavior and hurt their chances to survive in the wild.

Please do not disturb, feed, or approach these seals.

 

Hookipa Beach to see Hawaiian monk seals. Where to see seals in Maui. Ocean safety. Maui Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach to see Hawaiian monk seals. Where to see seals in Maui. Ocean safety. Maui Hawaii travel blog

 

Let sleeping seals lie

 

Hookipa Beach to see Hawaiian monk seals. Where to see seals in Maui. Ocean safety. Maui Hawaii travel blog

 

Seals need to rest on the beach and are an endangered species protected by state and federal law.

 

Law enforcement is serious about people disturbing Hawaiian monk seals. There has even been a case where a tourist was fined $1,500 for coming too close to a seal, and another tourist was fined (unknown amount) for touching a seal.

So, look but don’t touch! (And don’t get too close either!)

There might already be a barrier set up around the seals if you go when they are there. There may also be a volunteer around to make sure people don’t get too close. You can ask them questions about the seals too!

 

Hookipa Beach to see Hawaiian monk seals. Where to see seals in Maui. volunteer. Maui Hawaii travel blog

 

 

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Amazing Maui experiences you need to consider:

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And if you’re heading to other Hawaiian islands:

 

 

And now…

How to have the perfect Road to Hana stop that comes with a chance to see Hawaiian monk seals!

Hookipa Beach is on the way to Hana town (aka on the Road to Hana), past Paia town.

 

Hookipa Beach to see Hawaiian monk seals. Where to see seals in Maui Hawaii. Best beaches in Maui. Hawaii travel blog

 

So you can make this a stop at the beginning of your trip or at the end of the day if you’ll be passing by Hookipa Beach before dark.

 

 

Map of Hookipa Beach location

 

 

Park at the Hookipa Lookout parking lot

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Hookipa lookout parking lot. Maui Hawaii travel blog

 

When you’re driving from Paia and going in the direction of Hana, you’ll first come across Hookipa Beach.

To make this a more worthy stop, you may consider also making a visit to the Hookipa lookout.

It probably doesn’t matter too much whether you start off at the beach or the lookout, but I started at the lookout! The beach and lookout both have parking, and it’s possible that at both you might have to wait for a parking spot. While there’s a good amount of parking spots, this is a popular spot, so it could get full.

 

 

Look around at the lookout!

 

You can take a walk around the Hookipa Lookout from the higher area, and there’s an area that you can go down to get closer to the ocean too.

 

 

Walk down towards Hookipa Beach

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Hookipa lookout to Hookipa Beach parking lot. Maui Hawaii travel blog

 

Then after you’ve seen Hookipa Beach from above at the lookout, you can start making your way down toward beach level, aka towards the seals!

 

 

Have a look to see if there are turtles on shore

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Where to see turtles at Hookipa Beach. Maui Hawaii travel blog

 

Once you get down near beach level, you’ll be near the area where turtles are frequent visitors. As you’re facing the ocean, this will be off to the right.

See if there are turtles there!

 

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Where to see turtles at Hookipa Beach. Maui Hawaii travel blog

 

 

And then…

SEAL TIME!!

Hopefully they are there!

 

 

Where to see seals at Hookipa Beach

In short, the Hawaiian monk seals are somewhat frequent visitors on the very LEFT side of Hookipa Beach, as you are facing the ocean.

 

 

Walk across Hookipa Beach

So after you have a look at the turtles, you will basically walk all across the beach.

 

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Hookipa Beach walk. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Hookipa Beach walk. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Hookipa Beach walk. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach to see seals. Hookipa Beach walk. Hawaii travel blog

 

 

And then when you reach the other end…

Hopefully there are Hawaiian monk seals on shore so you can see them!

I visited Hookipa Beach twice, one time was right before sunset and the other time was late morning. There were 2 Hawaiian monk seals on the beach both times. The first time there was a volunteer there who said the monk seals had basically been there all day.

 

Hookipa Beach - Where to see seals in Maui Hawaii. Best time to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui. sunset. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach - Where to see seals in Maui Hawaii. Best time to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui. sunset. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach - Where to see seals in Maui Hawaii. Best time to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui. sunset. Hawaii travel blog

 

Hookipa Beach - Where to see seals in Maui Hawaii. Best time to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui. morning or afternoon, during the day. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach - Where to see seals in Maui Hawaii. Best time to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui. morning or afternoon, during the day. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach - Where to see seals in Maui Hawaii. Best time to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui. morning or afternoon, during the day. Hawaii travel blog

Hookipa Beach - Where to see seals in Maui Hawaii. Best time to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui. morning or afternoon, during the day. Hawaii travel blog

 

 

And so Hookipa Beach is one stop to consider making on the Road to Hana!

 

Plan more of your Road to Hana trip!

 

GOOD LUCK SEEING HAWAIIAN MONK SEALS ON MAUI!

 

Hookipa Beach - Where to see seals in Maui Hawaii. Best time to see Hawaiian monk seals in Maui. Best beaches. Hawaii travel blog

 

 

US TRAVEL IDEAS >> HAWAII TRAVEL IDEAS >> MAUI TRAVEL IDEAS >> ROAD TO HANA


👇 Explore the Road to Hana map on google maps!
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ALOHA!





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