makalawena/pu'u ali'i海滩

A bit of a hike to get to the actual beach, but the sand and water, once you are there was well worth it!

beautiful white sand beach just north of the airport. Quite and not crowded, it was worth the 30 minute walk from the parking area. Wear good shoes and pack in your food and water

We took both routes to this beach, the (1) long walk and the (2) bumpy road.If you're in a car, I would turn in at mile marker 89, drive the semi-paved and slightly bumpy road then walk for 30 minutes. Look on google maps and you will see the lava field you have to walk across. It's slightly longer than parking on the highway at marker 90-91. You can wear flip flops but tennis shoes would be much better. It's a long walk. Pass up the other beaches and go past the maroon colored buildings. Keep going to the white sand beach. The other way is marker 90-91 where you need a jeep or 4WD. I ended up driving 3/4 of the way. I was afraid I would tear up the jeep. Next time I will park close to the hill and walk the remaining distance. On the way out, I saw a jeep that was in front of me pull over on the main road with a flat tire. There are some drop offs over 2 feet and the ride is extremely bumpy but kinda fun andchallenging! I drove it twice and it seems to get easier. But, I could just envision me tearing up the front axel so I only partially drove the bumps.The bathroom is the ocean. There's no buildings or trash cans. Take an umbrella if you want to stay longer to get out of the sun. If you get there early enough you might have the beach to yourself (0700-0800). 3 years ago we had the beach to ourselves in the morning. But now at around 0900 there are several people but it's not overly crowded.

Scenic beach with fine white sand, great waves for boogie boarding, and nice shady trees. It is one of my favourite beaches in Hawaii - just beautiful!

Spectacular setting, uncrowded when we were there. Great surf for boogie boards, but a bit of a current to watch for as well as some rocky bits. Water is crystal clear. Beach is fine white sand. Whales and turtles to view...Access is down a rough road to the trailhead, then a walk over the Laval beds. If you have ankle, knee or hip issues it could be challenging.

The guidebooks and some reviews list this beach as being rather remote and undiscovered. While it's still quiet by non-Hawaii standards, it's become quite popular, especially among the locals, i.e. on weekends. In fact, most people bypassed the first Mahaliua Bay beach and continued on down the lava trail to Makalawena. Also, the 4WD track at the north end is passable enough to attract several vehicles. The parking lot can get quite full. The walk from the first parking area is over a mile over a rough trail.That said, this is a beautiful white-sand beach with moderate waves, some shade, the bluest water, and not too many people. There are no restrooms or other amenities. The stories about the approach road are true: it's quite a bumpy ride, and difficult for passenger cars.Beware of break-ins at the parking lot! It's best to leave your vehicle unlocked, with nothing in it.

When the sea is calm, this is totally worth the 30 min hike. It is quite beautiful, and there is no people (except on December 25: plenty of people on that day! :) ). However, when the sea is not very calm, it will not be easy (or safe) to swim, only boogie-boarding perhaps.

One of our family's favorites. Wear sturdy shoes and bring plenty of water. It can be a long, hot hike over sharp lava to get there, but it is so well worth it. In fact I hesitate to share since the seclusion is one of the attractions. However it has become much more popular in recent years. As others have said, watch the waves. There are no facilities whatsoever.

Other reviewers have detailed the challenging road and lava trail. The payoff is a sparsely used sugary white sand beach with glorious wave action. Beautiful for surfing and boogie boarding and just generally enjoying the rhythm of the water. Do keep an eye on the waves though because they can build quickly.Just lovely and worth the time and energy to visit.

This Beach is gorgeous. We drove a 2wd slowly out there. The scenery is quite eery with all the lava rocks but oh when you get to the end it's beautiful. Sand, trees, shade turquoise water! Well worth it!

This is an adventure. Wow what beautiful turquoise water, it's mesmerizing. The sand is so soft. The snorkeling is fair to good but advanced be careful if surf is up. We've been to the Big Island many trips to Hawaii and this a picture perfect beach. Getting there makes it all part of the adventure. You take the bumpy road between 90-91. The road is rough but not horrible, no 4-wheel drive needed. Most rental cars can make it easily if you go slow. (Don't try the more treacherous road at 88-89, unless you like driving over boulders and you still will have a long walk at the end). Park at the first parking area and take the visible path on the right and head North following the trail behind the first beach. At the North end of that beach you will follow a trail that leads to a long hot path. As others have said, the walk in is longer than you think. Best to wear tennis shoes as the last part of the walk is lava, flip flops not recommended but sturdy water sandals okay. Plan for about 30+mins walk total from the car to where you put your towel down. Bring water the trip seems longer and hotter on the way back. Go to the middle bay, there is shade and some picnic tables. Definitely not a secluded beach even during the weekdays lots of people but not crowded. But all worth it. #LifeisGood.

We took our 2 wheel drive GM vehicle down the terrible dirt road to the parking area for this beach. Yes, our car made it but it was rough so very slow going. We then headed north on the trail. There are several cove areas with shade but we kept going until and came across a sand dune area until we reached picnic tables where we stayed for the day. I found a nice safe cove area to get into the water where I could watch the crashing waves. Really gorgeous area. Hope they fix the road one day.

This beach is truly paradise found. It was as though my husband and I were the only two people on the earth. Too beautiful for words or pictures. The trek out there is not for the young, elderly, disabled or those in a low profile vehicle. The road was a bit rough getting there and then you keep on walking over a somewhat broken down volcanic rock trail. It is very seclude, to include secluded from medical services. Oh and if you have kids in tow, this is not the place for two reasons: 1) b/c of the seclusion we saw a fully naked dude on the beach, and 2) the rest of us need at least one place to go to not hear your kids screaming and out of control.

The bumpy drive down is worth it. After a short walk (not a hike) you get to an amazing, quiet, beautiful, sandy beach. It has lots of trees for shade and the water is so warm. Careful though because although the beach isn't very rocky there are some in the sea, not alot but when you kick one it can hurt. Also the sea was quite rough so weak swimmers be warned.

Do not miss this beach if you are a true beach lover. The hike there is ok, if you're lucky you'll see the goats! It's magic.