The Best Surf Spots In Honolulu Hawaii

Whether you’re a surfing guru or completely new to the surf scene, a trip to Hawaii is a golden opportunity to catch some real waves and find a new joy in life. Here we’ve recommended some of the coolest surfing beaches in Honolulu, plus a few for beginners.

Ala Moana Beach Park

Located between Waikiki and downtown Honolulu, Ala Moana Beach Park is golden sand beach and calm place for kids to swim. But out past the protective reef running along 1,000 yards of shoreline are some killer waves that are perfect for intermediate surfers. Usually it has some of the largest and cleanest waves on the south side of Oahu, but it requires a 200 yard paddle out to the reef, 200 yard walk across a raised reef, and then 400 yard paddle through the surf impact zone to reach the line up.
Ala Moana Beach Park, 1201 Ala Moana Blvd Honolulu, HI USA +1 808-768-4611

Waikiki Beach

A perfect place for beginners to learn to surf, consider Waikiki Beach as your first surfing destination if you’ve always wanted to try it. Some might say your life is incomplete until you stand up on a surf board, and what better place to try it then in Hawaii? The surf is gentle and good for practicing standing up on a board. There are also classes right on the beach you can take to begin your lifelong journey of surfing love.
Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, HI USA

Waimea Bay Beach Park

If you’re up for a drive from Honolulu, go out of town to find the best surf and beach bars. Part of the legendary North Shore of Oahu, Waimea Bay gathers big waves in the winter months of November to February. In the summer it can be safe enough for swimming, but the surfing is definitely for the advanced surfers. It is a historic surf spot of the big wave surfing of the 1950s, where intrepid surfers would brave the tumultuous winter waves.
Waimea Bay Beach Park, 61-031 Kamehameha Hwy Haleiwa, HI USA+1 808-233-7300

Decorating for O’Neill World Cup of Surfing

Sunset Beach

A beautiful surfing mecca not to be missed between Waimea Bay and the Banzai Pipeline, Sunset Beach is another drive out of town to a famous surf break where they host the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing event of the Triple Crown Surfing Contest in the winter. With 15-30 foot waves, this is another epic spot for big wave surfing.
Sunset Beach, Kamehameha Hwy Haleiwa, HI USA

Ehukai Beach Park

Known for its gorgeous, perfect barrel waves that make up the Banzai Pipeline, go to Ehukai Beach Park to live your surfing dreams. It’s dangerous for the shallow reefs – hundreds of surf boards are broken on the reefs each year, and it demands the experience of the advanced surfer. No surfing adventure on Oahu is complete without a visit to this heavenly surf in the winter, and the waves go flat in the summer, making it perfect for snorkeling.
Ehukai Beach Park, Ehukai Beach Park Haleiwa, HI USA +1 855-226-0241
By Sarah Lantz

About the author

Sarah Lantz

I am senior undergraduate at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, United States studying English Literature and History. I’ve studied three times abroad during my undergraduate years: to Rome, Italy, Sochi, Russia, and London, United Kingdom. I hope to continue to travel when I graduate, finding some sort of job that allows me to explore the world, write, and continue to learn about cultures, ideas, art, and expression. In my free time I like to creative write, enjoy all sorts of outdoor activities from paddle boarding to hiking, and have fun teaching myself to cook.