Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 20135h ago)
Max Depth
40ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Airport Beach (Kahekili Beach Park)
Kahekili Beach Park is the park that includes Airport Beach Maui. It’s sometimes called North Beach because it is the north half of Kaanapali Beach.
Airport Beach Maui in Kahekili Beach Park is one of Maui’s best beaches for several reasons. It is adjacent to Kaanapali Beach, the most famous beach in Maui, but it is not nearly as crowded as the main section of Kaanapali Beach, because it does not have any of the major resort hotels found in that nearby area (the Hyatt, Marriott, Westin, and Sheraton). It has a long wide stretch of smooth light sand. The ocean near shore is shallow. The waves are usually not too big for swimming. It’s a great snorkeling spot with plenty of fish to see, including the Hawaii state fish, the humuhumunukunukuapuaa.
Kahekili Beach Park has a large free parking lot. There is a pavilion with benches and picnic tables. Additional picnic tables are on the grassy areas. There are real bathrooms. The boardwalk through the park provides a paved path for walking several miles along the beach. Airport Beach Maui is within a ten minute walk of several large condos, including Maui Kaanapali Villas, Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas, Nanea Ocean Villas, Honua Kai, and Mahana.
Why is this called Airport Beach? From 1961 to 1986 there was a small airport here called Kaanapali Airport (HKP). Royal Hawaiian Air Service was the airline that flew small twin-engine Cessna propeller planes here from Oahu. The 2615-foot runway was surrounded by sugar cane. The small A-frame terminal had an upstairs bar called the Windsock Lounge.
Who was Kahekili that this park is named after? He lived from 1737 to 1794 and was the last king of Maui from 1766 to 1793, before King Kamehameha came from the Big Island of Hawaii to conquer Maui and unite the Hawaiian islands into the Kingdom of Hawaii.
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Mike Roberts
Aug 19, 2001, 12:00 AM
scuba
Great spot! Can't ask for a more convenient place - drive into a parking lot, walk across some grass, down a pretty sand beach, easy sand entry - 10 yards out and you're on the reef! Facilities are all there - grass, beach, shower, dressing/restrooms, covered picnic area. Diving or snorkeling is good. Lot's of intro and cert dives going on but swim on out further and you'll be alone. Surprising amount of marine life here - seen spotted eagles, barracuda, and got my best pics of a lionfish here! Plenty of morays (many types!) and turtles. Lots of the common tropicals. First reef is at 40' max while the second (a little more barren) can reach 70 feet. There has been an algae problem here for the last few months (it's now 08/01) and it's been kinda yucky. Hard to get the stuff off your gear or take good pics in this otherwise good viz. No doubt the @#*@ golf courses and hotels are getting fertilizer in the ocean and causing the algae to bloom. They gotta be killing a lot of coral too. Sad....Expect a slight current here sometimes. Swim up current first or expect to walk back if you don't pay attention. Perfect for night dives but you need to get permission for locked gate.