Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach (walk!) How to get from Kailua to Lanikai 🌴 Oahu Hawaii travel blog

ALOHA!

 

Kailua Beach and Lanikai Beach are often mentioned together because they are among the best beaches on Oahu and they are located right near one another on the east side of Oahu.

 

👆 You can walk from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach by taking a paved coastal walk with ocean views!

 

👆👆 Kailua Beach parking: If you can’t park near Lanikai Beach, you can park at a Kailua Beach parking lot and then walk to Lanikai Beach.

 

So Kailua and Lanikai are not the same and there is a difference between the 2.

There is Kailua Beach and Lanikai Beach and they are completely different beaches that are not connected.

But you can take a grand scenic coastal walk with ocean views to get from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach!

One beach can make for a good alternative to the other, either way!

There are reasons you might like Kailua Beach better, and there are reasons you might like Lanikai Beach better!

For example, you might like Kailua Beach better than Lanikai if you prefer beach conveniences that include parking, bathrooms, and outdoor showers.

You might like Lanikai Beach better than Kailua if you want the picture perfect beach that is one of the most famous beaches in Hawaii!

At Lanikai Beach, you will be pretty much directly in front of the Mokulua Islands, as seen in pictures, but be prepared for some patience and/or effort to get there, and without the beach conveniences!

Lanikai Beach is known to be difficult for parking.

Lanikai Beach parking is on residential streets, and you need to make sure to pay attention to the no parking signs or risk getting a ticket. (And it is a real possibility to get a ticket!)

And on weekends, there may be no street parking allowed at all near Lanikai Beach.

No matter which beach you choose, going to these beaches can be among the best things to do on the east side of Oahu (aka windward Oahu)! (For another windward Oahu beach, you can go to Waimanalo Beach, as seen on TV!)

Kailua Beach has a proper beach parking lot.

You can park at Kailua Beach and then go to Lanikai Beach.

There are actually 2 parking lots for Kailua Beach, and the one closer to Lanikai Beach is also the smaller parking lot.

This means that you may have to wait for a parking spot to open up.

The Kailua Beach parking lot that’s further away from Lanikai Beach isn’t that much further away, so it’s not that big of a deal to park there.

But when you are walking to Lanikai Beach, any amount of closer is better, right?!

Still, you may want to look for parking at the bigger parking lot.

Parking spots becoming available are really about luck!

If you are driving to Lanikai Beach during the week, you can first drive to Lanikai Beach and see what the parking situation is like, and then decide if you want to park at Kailua Beach or not.

 

Can you walk from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach?

Yes, there are many people who park at Kailua Beach and then walk to Lanikai Beach.

This is because parking at Kailua Beach can sometimes be easier than parking near Lanikai Beach.

Walking from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach includes a scenic view of Kailua Bay from above!

 

👆 You will start the walk from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach near one of the Kailua Beach parking lots. Then… up you go! (It’s an uphill walk in part.)

 

👆 Spot the bench! Stop to enjoy the views! You may want to do this walk from Kailua Beach even if you decide not to walk all the way to Lanikai Beach! This is also the way to go to the Lanikai Pillbox hike from Kailua Beach.

 

👆 Spot the Lanikai Monument! Spot the Mokulua Islands! As you walk from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach, you will pass by the Lanikai Monument, and you will also see the famous twin islands called the Mokulua Islands off in the distance!

 

👆 Spot the Lanikai Monument! Spot the Mokulua Islands! The monument sits atop a hill, and once you get here, it’s downhill down back down to sea level!

 

👆 Once you get back down to sea level, you can just continue to follow the road that’s on the ocean side until you come across a Lanikai Beach path that you want to go down! To get to the Lanikai Pillbox hike, you take the mountain side road which is off to the right.

 

 

 

How long does it take to walk from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach?

If you park at the closer Kailua Beach parking lot, then it will take 10-15 minutes to walk from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach. (map)

And maybe your beach gear will slow you down more. 😉

 

👆 You can start walking to Lanikai Beach from a Kailua Beach parking lot.

 

 

If you park at the main Kailua Beach parking lot (aka the parking lot that’s further away), then it might take you 15-20 minutes to walk from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach. (map – this is not the actual walking route you will take, as you can walk through Kailua Beach Park, but here’s the location of the main Kailua Beach parking lot.)

 

Can you get from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach by bus?

Walking is not the only way to get from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach without a car.

If you have decided to go to Lanikai from Kailua and don’t want to walk 15 to 20 minutes with your beach gear in the heat, you can get from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach by bus. (And whether you walk or take the bus, bring water and snacks!!)

There are bus stops near Kailua Beach (and also around Kailua town), and there is a bus to Lanikai that you can take from these bus stops.

But once again, it will require some patience and a little bit of extra effort.

So there is a bus that you can take from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach if you don’t mind waiting for the bus, and if you don’t mind paying $3 each way in cash with exact change. (Or, get a HOLO card for the Oahu bus ahead of time and you won’t need cash for the bus!)

If you plan to take the bus from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach, then it does not matter which Kailua Beach parking lot you park at, as there are bus stops near both parking lots that will take you to Lanikai.

The best way to figure out where the bus stops are located in Kailua and Lanikai is really just to open up google maps and zoom in and move the map around and look for the little bus icons! (map)

This also means that you can get from Waikiki to Kailua Beach (map), and similarly you can get from Waikiki to Lanikai Beach (map). This will require bus transfers. (For best results, you want to adjust the departure time to some time during the day. If you are looking at this when it’s overnight in Hawaii, the Lanikai bus may not show up.)

See more about taking the Oahu bus.

 

You can get from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach by kayak!

 

If you want to put in MORE effort to get from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach…

Yes, you can kayak from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach!

There are Kailua Beach kayak rentals.

Although, if you are kayaking, you might want to kayak to the Mokulua Islands instead!

If it seems intimidating to kayak on your own, you can get a guided tour from Kailua Beach too.

 

And that’s a bit about going from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach!

I most recently walked from Kailua to Lanikai in February 2023! Your experience may vary!

Kailua Beach and Lanikai Beach are on the east side of Oahu where you can find many more beautiful views!

See more:

• Waimanalo Beach
• Things to do in East Oahu (for VIEWS!)

PLUS: Things to do in Waikiki (for VIEWS!)

 

HAPPY GOING TO KAILUA AND LANIKAI!