ALOHA!
There’s a good chance that during your research of Oahu beaches, you have come across Lanikai Beach.
And if you haven’t yet, you will soon enough!
This is the picture perfect Oahu beach with views of the the “twin islands”!
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Going to Lanikai Beach isn’t as simple as going to other beaches on the east side of Oahu like Kailua Beach or Waimanalo Beach.
Kailua Beach and Waimanalo Beach are proper beach parks on Oahu, and they have the facilities and conveniences to go with it.
Lanikai Beach…?! Not so much!
You can get to Lanikai Beach without a car by taking the bus directly to Lanikai, or taking the bus to Kailua and then walking over to Lanikai Beach.
There are several public paths in the Lanikai neighborhood to access Lanikai Beach.
There is no parking lot at Lanikai Beach, but there is street parking in Lanikai. (There tend to be parking restrictions on weekends, though!)
You can swim at Lanikai Beach, and it’s free!
Most recently, I went for a walk to the beach before I started the Lanikai pillbox hike!
Here’s what you need to know about Lanikai Beach!
How to get to Lanikai Beach from Waikiki
You can get to Lanikai Beach by car, by uber, by bus, or by foot. (Well, you can’t get to Lanikai Beach by foot from Waikiki, but once you get a lot closer you might choose to walk the rest of the way even though you can take the bus to get closer!)
- There is street parking near Lanikai Beach during the week. Parking is not allowed on weekends.
- You can park at a Kailua Beach parking lot and then walk 15-20 minutes to Lanikai Beach.
- You can take a bus to Kailua, and then walk to Lanikai Beach. You will likely find a direct bus to Kailua, although this will depend on where you’re coming from.
- If you are in Kailua, you can further take a bus to Lanikai Beach. You can only get on the Lanikai bus in Kailua.
- If you are in Waikiki (or elsewhere that’s not Kailua), you can get to Lanikai Beach by bus, but you will just first need to go to Kailua to transfer to the direct bus to Lanikai Beach.
- If you are already in Kailua, then you can walk from Kailua Beach to Lanikai Beach if you don’t want to take the bus!
- There is also uber on Oahu, so you can take an uber to get to Lanikai Beach too. An uber from Waikiki to Lanikai Beach may cost $50. It showed up on the uber app as $46 when I checked at 8am on a Saturday morning in April 2023.
It can still be worth it to go to Lanikai Beach, because… views!!
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And, Lanikai Beach is free!
There is no Lanikai Beach entry fee.
Your “entry” to Lanikai Beach is through the Lanikai neighborhood!
👆 Lanikai Beach is along a residential neighborhood. You can also walk around the quiet streets of Lanikai!
Lanikai Beach is one of the most famous beaches in Hawaii.
Of course, Waikiki Beach is the most famous!
Lanikai Beach is famous for being the beach you go to in order to see the twin islands (aka Mokulua Islands aka the Mokes).
So if you want to see a Hawaii beach as seen in pictures… then Lanikai Beach is one of the must-do things on Oahu!
But, you will also just want to keep in mind the inconveniences before you go, so you can manage your expectations and avoid unnecessary frustrations or annoyances!
Lanikai Beach has no parking lot.
There is no designated beach parking lot for Lanikai Beach.
Instead, there is street parking near Lanikai Beach.
And as it goes with street parking, well, sometimes you might have to spend a little extra time looking for parking.
Or, maybe you will arrive at Lanikai Beach at the perfect time and parking will be easy!
There are also days where no parking is allowed near Lanikai Beach. (No street parking is allowed near Lanikai Beach on the weekends.)
Going to Lanikai Beach means that you will be going to a residential neighborhood.
It can make you feel like you’re going to a local beach!
There are no bathrooms at Lanikai Beach.
If you need a bathroom while you are at Lanikai Beach, then you need to walk 15 minutes to get to a public bathroom. You need to walk to Kailua Beach Park.
You can go swimming at Lanikai Beach.
There are no lifeguards at Lanikai Beach.
The ocean is powerful!
Take care when swimming at Lanikai Beach… and all beaches!
There is a bus that will pretty much drop you off at Lanikai Beach.
There is a bus that loops around the Lanikai neighborhood.
This means that you can pretty much be dropped off right near Lanikai Beach!
Or, you can get off the bus a little earlier and have an excuse to walk through the neighborhood!
👆 You can take the 671 bus to get to Lanikai Beach.
The only place you can catch this Lanikai bus is from Kailua. So unless you are already in Kailua, then you’ll need a bus transfer to take it.
Otherwise, you can take a bus to Kailua, and you can also walk 15-20 minutes from Kailua to Lanikai Beach if you don’t want to wait around for the Lanikai bus.
Once you’ve taken the Oahu bus a couple of times, you’ll find it’s no big deal!
Read about how to take the Oahu bus.
Also, why you should get a HOLO card if you’ll be taking the bus to Lanikai… and anywhere on Oahu!
HAPPY SEEING LANIKAI BEACH AND THE TWIN ISLANDS!
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