Makena Landing Park
Makena Landing Park
4.5
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Monday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Tuesday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Wednesday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Thursday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Friday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
6:00 AM - 10:00 PM
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70 within 3 miles
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57 within 6 miles
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
150 reviews
Excellent
90
Very good
54
Average
5
Poor
1
Terrible
0
Sherry L
20 contributions
Dec 2021
Great place to Snorkel! You do NOT need to pay for a snorkeling tour in Maui. Rent gear at Snorkel Bobs and they will tell you where to go. One place is Makena Landing (NOT Makena Beach.) Free to park; free to visit; small beach with immediate access to good snorkeling area. My visit was after a pretty big storm so water was big murky but still enjoyed variety of fish and sea turtle. Pack a lunch and hang out. Very chill. Locals come here later in the afternoon (after tours are gone). On south side of island past Kihei, you will drive past some very nice places and a super fancy mall to get here so you can also make it a shopping day. Will definitely return on my next visit and make sure I come during better snorkeling weather.
Written December 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Piero C
Annapolis, MD777 contributions
Aug 2020 • Solo
Frankly, all the water activities at this place made me jealous. Plenty of kayaking, SUP, and water frolics. Sir Kelli gets along the north (right) point is excellent when the water is calm. Many large fish, turtles and not much coral. A turtle beach is next door, where the creatures warm up in the sand. Keeping your distance, you will be surprised at how big these fellows get. Plenty of shade and facilities. Easy parking.
Written August 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joel81679
Modesto, CA54 contributions
May 2022
We stopped off here after spending the some of the morning at the Ahihi-Kinau reserve. It's much more accessible than the preserve, but the aquatic life wasn't as widespread, at least near shore. A number of snorkeling/kayak tours do stop here, though. The beach here is nice for those in the party who don't want to snorkel.
Written May 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Clifftonite
Oakland, CA202 contributions
Sep 2021
This is actually pretty cool but small spot. Our group went to Haluaka beach to try to snorkel and stuff like that but that beach doesn't show you too much unless you get close to the rocks (that's where the reef is btw).
So we tried to get to close as turtle town as possible, but do yourself a favor, if you value your life, don't go off the lava rocks unless you are a damn good swimmer. Looks dangerous.
So the next best step is Makena Landing and it's small. Small beach area, but there's decent snorkeling there. There are turtles here too so you don't really have to go all the way out to turtle town!
So we tried to get to close as turtle town as possible, but do yourself a favor, if you value your life, don't go off the lava rocks unless you are a damn good swimmer. Looks dangerous.
So the next best step is Makena Landing and it's small. Small beach area, but there's decent snorkeling there. There are turtles here too so you don't really have to go all the way out to turtle town!
Written October 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
roderick M
128 contributions
May 2022
The beach at Makena Landing has hard packed sand with lava rock formations on either side of the small bay here. When the rollers are not crashing on shore too violentlly, it is a great place to snorkel with a good sandy entry. There are numerous green sea turtles foraging along the shoreline where you can swim amongst them. It is a very picturesque part of the coastline where the cinder cone Puu Olai fills the far end of this stretch of beaches. There is a Black Sand beach near the foot of Puu Olai and a trail up the 350 ft cinder cone with views of Little and Big Beaches. On the right side of parking lot facing the ocean is a gravelly cove where green sea turtles haul up to gather the warmth from the rocks. I saw 12 there on one particular morning. The are around here, about six miles south of Kihei, is called Turtle Town. Well worth the trip to a less travelled area near Wailea.
Written July 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lisakeg
Allentown, PA274 contributions
Jun 2021
Came here as the second part of a snorkeling tour. It was fantastic spot with coral, fish and many turtles. Two turtles
were face to face with me and grazed me. Super experience.
Would go back myself again.
were face to face with me and grazed me. Super experience.
Would go back myself again.
Written June 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
luvsroadtrips
Marysville, WA95 contributions
Jul 2019
Of course everyone knows about Big Beach & Little Beach (the nudist beach) aka Makena Beach, but Makena Landing? I learned about this through an app I downloaded Gypsy travel Maui, and decided to take the guides advice and turn down this road. What a delight, gorgeous place and very quiet only a few locals, lot's of parking, shade, and beach. I'll put this on my list to return to for certain!
Written August 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Saskheat
Saskatoon, Canada1,547 contributions
This is one of my favourite shore dives in Maui. I did it 3x this trip. It is also known as Turtle Town, Five caves, bubble cave and 5 Graves. They all refer to this general area and the corresponding rocky point in the ocean. (5 caves/graves bay is actually 100 m north). The street signs will call this Makena Landing.
Here's the skinny:
There's a small beach here, a parking lot with room for about 2 dozen cars, a couple of BBQ spots, and public restrooms with an outdoor shower. Some days kayak rentals show up too.
If u get here first thing after sun up you can sometimes find turtles napping on the shore in the small cove adjacent the far side of the entrance to the parking lot.
There is a gentle sandy bottom entry for diving. There really isn't much to see at the boat launch/ entry point. The good stuff is a 200m surface swim away around the rocky point on the north side of the bay . Around the corner there are 3 medium sized bays with good coral in anywhere from 9-20' of water. You can't go 50' in any direction without seeing turtles around the point. On the 1st bay dive down and look under the ledges for small white tip reef sharks snoozing during the day. If the water is really murky and u cant see the bottom and your'e snorkelling not scuba diving, I'd consider trying elsewhere like Ahihi 10 min south of here . This area can get tiger sharks hunting turtles and I know of one attack on a snorkeller here in 2012. Don't let that stop you if things are clear and calm, shark attacks are an extreme rarity. Once again this Is my favourite and it's safe if the water is calm and clear. I'd consider this an intermediate snorkelling skill location and an intermediate shore scuba dive. There is no lifeguard so if you are a weak swimmer, GO ELSEWHERE!
Try Makena Landing , if you dive/ snorkel it's a must do.
If you found something in here useful, please click helpful below. Thanks for reading, Godspeed!
Here's the skinny:
There's a small beach here, a parking lot with room for about 2 dozen cars, a couple of BBQ spots, and public restrooms with an outdoor shower. Some days kayak rentals show up too.
If u get here first thing after sun up you can sometimes find turtles napping on the shore in the small cove adjacent the far side of the entrance to the parking lot.
There is a gentle sandy bottom entry for diving. There really isn't much to see at the boat launch/ entry point. The good stuff is a 200m surface swim away around the rocky point on the north side of the bay . Around the corner there are 3 medium sized bays with good coral in anywhere from 9-20' of water. You can't go 50' in any direction without seeing turtles around the point. On the 1st bay dive down and look under the ledges for small white tip reef sharks snoozing during the day. If the water is really murky and u cant see the bottom and your'e snorkelling not scuba diving, I'd consider trying elsewhere like Ahihi 10 min south of here . This area can get tiger sharks hunting turtles and I know of one attack on a snorkeller here in 2012. Don't let that stop you if things are clear and calm, shark attacks are an extreme rarity. Once again this Is my favourite and it's safe if the water is calm and clear. I'd consider this an intermediate snorkelling skill location and an intermediate shore scuba dive. There is no lifeguard so if you are a weak swimmer, GO ELSEWHERE!
Try Makena Landing , if you dive/ snorkel it's a must do.
If you found something in here useful, please click helpful below. Thanks for reading, Godspeed!
Written December 6, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ryan
Charlotte, NC604 contributions
Aug 2019 • Couples
Snorkeling is much better on the right side of the bay, which leads out towards the Turtle Town area. There’s also a nesting area through the trees. The beach is small but there’s shade, free parking, bathrooms, and fantastic snorkeling.
Written July 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pixxidix
Berlin, Germany740 contributions
Nov 2015
At this place you are almost guaranteed to see turtles. Go to the Makena Landing Parking lot. on the left side there is a small beach, you can stay there to swim and snorkel and are likely to see turtles there. Good spot also to view the sunset. on the right side of the parking lot (when facing the sea), there is a small alcove behind a fence. Don't go in the alcove as to not disturb the turtles, but there are almost always turtles sleeping it of on the sand.
Written November 13, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
barrymcfadden462
Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania
i like fishing and my kids and wife like fishing also where can i catch some nice big fish
Written April 9, 2015
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