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Most beautiful beach ever, dangerous rip currents

This is the most beautiful beach I've ever been to. The road is rough but worth it when you get... read more

Reviewed July 5, 2020
MindyLovesTheWorld
,
San Angelo, Texas
Miles of beautiful beach

This beach goes on for miles and miles. If you want to have a private beach area, this is the... read more

Reviewed March 20, 2020
569tamerab
,
Kaysville, Utah
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All reviews dirt road wheel drive rental car beautiful beach polihale beach sand dunes jeep wrangler miles and miles pot holes barking sands napali coast favorite beach west side soft sand rip currents rough ride an adventure
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Reviewed September 14, 2011

My wife and I decided to drive the western side of Kauai until you couldn't drive any further. Drove out to Barking Sands Missle Range where we discovered the old sugar cane fields. Took a turn down an old road and after several miles of rough, rough and sand, we came up on Polihale State Park. One of the last unspoiled beach areas that locals still flock to. Unspoiled and incredible views of the beginnings of Napli Coast. Word of caution. Traveling down the road to the beach is rough and the last thing you want to is trigger your air-bag in your rental car. Take it slow and keep going.

Date of experience: August 2011
Thank aspen116
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed September 6, 2011

We only realized afterwards that it was one of the roads rental companies don't like(although we had a 4wd)..the beach was really something special..because it's so big you're likely to have part of the beach to yourself....sunset is a must...seeing the dusk hues on the Napili coast was really amazing.

Date of experience: August 2011
Thank westman812
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed September 5, 2011

My husband and I approached this with great apprehension, and were worried about getting our rental ford mustang convertible stuck in a ditch. It turns out this is a simple gravel road. NO POTHOLES. It's not smooth gravel, and we took the bumpy 4 mile drive at about 15mph the whole way (...letting people pass us of course). We sure are glad we did, because the beach is beyond words. My #1 place in Kauai. A must do... And gas aside, it's free!

IMPORTANT: someone took down the sign pointing you up the correct V in the road. Around the 4ish/5ish mile down the gravel road, there will be a fork in the road. There will be an empty street sign pole, and someone had placed 3 rocks on top of one another at the fork. (someone may kick this down at some point). The left fork will take you up a hill and to an immediate polihale parking/picnic area. The right fork will bring you down more road which will turn into a sand road. We took this wrong fork and got stuck here. Husband pushed us back out while I hit reverse. Remember: GO LEFT UP THE HILL.

KNOW:
1) please drive slow in your rental cars. The cost of a tow is astronomical. Be safe, not sorry.
2) I could see it being a sloppy ride in rain (and it doesn't rain much in that side if the island), so don't attempt the drive in wet weather.
3) don't drive your rental car in the sand.
4) bring water (it's hot), sunscreen and a camera. The sand will burn your feet off, so sandals are a must. There's no shade on the beach itself. You will have to go back to the parking area for that.
5) I was a varsity swimmer back in the day, and I wouldn't swim here. Very strong tide. We sat at the ridge where the waves crawled up and splashed us. Even then, the occasional big ones picked us up and moved us several feet.
6) You will get sand EVERYWHERE (no joke. I won't go into detail.) The showers by the parking won't help. Don't plan on going anywhere fancy afterward. : )
7) There are bathrooms by the parking area. Nothing fancy, but they're there.

Part of the beauty of this beach is how absolutely clean it is. No seaweed. No garbage. No washed up ... Anything! Please respect this place and don't litter. It really is quite sacred.

7  Thank kalowk
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed August 24, 2011

I was a little worried about the drive out to the beach based on some of the other reviews and warnings. I had no problem at all driving my midsize rental car out the road and into a great camping spot - never had to deal with sand or getting stuck. Found a secluded camping spot covered by trees but overlooking the beach. Take the 10 minute drive and go see the beach, even if you can't camp out there.

Date of experience: July 2011
Thank Patrick B
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed August 24, 2011

This beach was one of the nicer experiences that we had on Kauai.
If renting a car: 1) rent a jeep. 2) remember that if you come here and something happens you contract is void.Just to keep that in mind.
It is on the west coast of Kauai and it is a bit of a long drive where at one point the last 5 miles are on a dirt road,so a Jeep is definitely the choice. Not necessarily needed but recommended. Bring shoes as the sand does get super Super HOT! This is one of the wides beaches in Kauai so your feet will burn.
There is a parking lot with restrooms( not that up-kept) with showers in front.
Leave your self a lot of time since to get here and back takes quite a bit of time.
The water has super strong surf and current here so take precautions when going into water. It is one of the more pristine beaches that does not get crowded.
Great place for sunsets but make sure you have water because there is no place to buy anything.

Date of experience: August 2011
1  Thank MiloK2
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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