If this isn’t the best kept secret in Kauai, it’s at least the best beach secret kept from tourists. Actually, I love this spot so much, I didn’t want to share it with anyone else. But, I changed my mind when I realized other parents are probably scouring the coast for this exact thing…

So – here’s the scoop on Kauai’s best family beach…

Our Experience

It didn’t really look like much at first 

My expectations pretty much cratered as we turned off the Kuhio Highway (Hwy 56) and into what seemed to be some sort of neighborhood. The curvy road gave off vibes of Wai’anapanapa Black Sand Beach from the Road to Hana (not so much “wow, gorgeous” but more “who’s backyard is this gonna be in”).

I started preparing to be turned away by fenced-off property and ‘no trespassing’ signs.

For us, this stop was mostly a short, spur of the moment, scouting trip. Our Kauai Backcountry tour guide recommended Anini Beach as the best place to snorkel, but then he wouldn’t give us any more details – just it’s great (over and over). So, we decided to pop in on the way back to our Princetown rental without researching Anini at all. If it was any good, we could come back another day.

As the road made its way out of the first clearing and hooked around a mountain curve – the crashing waves signaled that we weren’t going to find much for families here. Maybe this wasn’t the right place or maybe it was the wrong time of year.

Suddenly, the thin blacktop hooked back inland, and wound into a neighborhood with really nice houses. Here – nothing felt Hawaiian. We found ourselves in something like Buckhead or some other fluent metropolitan suburb. (The reality of staring at this so-called ‘great beach’ through a fence got very real.)

Side note : This place was/is really, really nice. I’ve seen a lot of Hawaii – and this is hands down the place that I’d want to live, out of every other place on any other island..

About a 1/2 mile down, the right side of the road opened up to a parking lot much bigger than I’d expected – probably about the size needed for a Saturday Family Soccer Field. This was a beach front park that was planned and prepared for people to visit; something I had no hopes of actually finding at the end of our route.

We grabbed a spot right away. Nose in, our dashboard overlooked…a completely different ocean than we’d seen anywhere else on the Kauai.

Anini Beach was actually hard to believe existed, even looking directly at it

Along the horizon, the tall billowy clouds peaked over white water waves that broke a few hundreds yards away. The rumbling waters dissolved across a wide wash of coral, rolling to little more than a ripple by the time it cleared the reef. Still 200-300 yards away, the ripples even flattened out into calm lake-like water – which lapped softly the edge of a sparsely populated beach.

Anini Beach really had more in common with an infinity pool than any Pacific Ocean spot I’d ever seen.

We’d arrived about an hour before sunset – so the beach being pretty empty seemed more of a product of the time than the norm. What I mean is, this beach was perfect so I was sure that any ordinary day – any weekend – this place must be a madhouse…it was Sunday tomorrow and we’d promised to bring Augustine back if the beach was any good… (Clearly, I’m a little hesitant to believe that any spot discovered via a tour guide could actually be ‘perfect’.)

Jade and I walked across the grassy picnic area, leaving tracks in the short (10-15 ft wide) beach, and waded into the Pacific. We actually never stopped wading. As we walked through the perfectly clear water, for at least the first 50-70 feet, it never went above our belly buttons.

It was a movie beach. 

But we came here to snorkel, and it was just sand. ..

…maybe a few rocks here and there but pretty much just sand.  Augustine could spend hours here playing in the water all by herself, but I doubted that the snorkeling would really turn up much beyond the average (sort of forgettable) schools of fish.

Still, I tossed on my snorkel kit shuffled back into the water.

Let’s see how good this snorkeling really is…

 It’s not that I found a big beautiful reef. What I found were clumps of coral – each with a wide array of fish tucked in or swimming around. 

My mask fogged up and, when I popped up to clear it, I discovered that even further out – the depth was only about 4 – 5 feet. It was easy to stand, even all the way out, and so – perfect for introducing a kid to snorkeling. I spit, wiped my mask, and dove back in.

The colors were muted but pretty and the collection of fish rivaled just about everywhere else I’d ever snorkeled.

Then, I turned to call back to Jade and nearly bumped into the largest Sea Turtle I’d ever seen – at least 5 feet across (though I want to say more like 6’). It was just sort of hanging out, not heading anywhere, and obviously one of the greatest/more memorable underwater encounters I’ve ever had.

The massive sea turtle might still be in the same spot today. That evening it hung out long enough for Jade to toss on her gear, swim out and see it and was even still there after we paddled away. 

As we paddled/waded back to shore, we actually spotted 4-5 other sleepy turtles, also just hanging out in the sand. We weren’t even expecting to see any turtles at the beach, so who knows how many more we might have caught if we were actually searching for them.

When we got back to the car, Jade and I decided that no matter what the parking was like on a Sunday, we’d be brining Augustine back the next day.

I rushed us out of the rental the next morning hoping to beat the traffic to Anini beach…well, I tried to at least.

With a 6 year old and 2 grandparents, all my early morning rushing didn’t pay off, as we weren’t back on the road to Anini until nearly 10am. I was sure we’d arrive after all the parking and beach spots were overrun by weekend warriors, but…they weren’t… 

Even when parks and family friendly activities are usually crowded by everyone trying to make the most of the weekend – Anini Beach had plenty of room.  Actually, if anything, Sunday on the shore was even emptier than it had been the night before. 

Augustine slipped her mask on, hopped aboard my back and we took our snorkel taxi out into the water. I was determined to find the giant turtle from the night before, but also I wanted Augustine to actually try snorkeling by herself (kid snorkeling is one of those things that really takes just the right balance of water, depth, and miracles to achieve at 6 years old).

See, Augustine has tried snorkeling before but has always given up in seconds after hitting the water. This time, the shallow nature of Anini beach gave her much more confidence and we spent at least 30 minutes hand in hand finding green stripped fish, sea anemones and even a couple of normal sized sea turtles (which – while not bigger than her – were still really cool to see).

We didn’t find the giant turtle from the night before, but Augustine and I explored together until both of our lips were pruned up with salt and we needed a rest. At the same time, her grandparents were able to SUP in the calm water which stretched at least a half-mile in either direction.

Despite all my doubting, Anini Beach really did turn out to be the Best Beach on Kauai.

Making Your Anini Beach Trip

Getting There

Anini Beach is located just to the South of Princeville on the Eastern/North-Eastern side of Kauai. It’s about 30 mins North of Kapa’a and 10 mins South of Princeville

The only access is off of Kuhio Highway (Hwy 56) – turning onto Kalihiwai Rd and following it all the way around the cliffs and to the beach areas.

There is some signage for the turn off, but it’s not very visible so make sure you have a navigation system giving you directions.

What to Do

If you want to follow our tracks and have your own day on the shores of Anini Beach, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Enjoying the Water

• For the first 30-40 feet, you’re going to have a super flat, smoother ocean experience – great for families and kids with floaty-vests.
• Kauai water conditions can change with the seasons. Our winter trip was amazing but conditions might be slightly different during other times of the year.
• The water here is just about perfect and flat, but the reef can get super shallow, especially as you get closer to the surf break. (There were times when I was just inches off the reef, so pay attention and be careful.)
• Swimming out to the surf break is harder than it looks due to the current and the coral depth – pay attention to your surroundings as you get closer to the surf.

Equipment Rental

• Snorkeling Geat – I didn’t see any snorkel rentals actually at Anini Beach, but you can grab gear for your entire stay in Kapa’a (no matter where you’re staying you’re going to pass through this town, so it’s really convenient for rentals).
• SUP – There is a paddle board rental shop (apparently open 24 hrs.) in Anini. Make sure to talk to the rental people about the best places to go out and what to avoid – as the coral can be shallow at places.

There are Several Beaches Here

We only visited one of the beaches in this area (I really had no idea there were others). Our stop was at Kalihikai Park (which has camping). Further down the road there are two more beaches; Anini Beach and Wyllie’s Beach (approx. a 9 min hike in flip-flops).