Chris Y.
Yelp
Waikiki Beach is located in the one of the busiest areas of Waikiki, and most of the places you stay there will just be some blocks away from accessing the beach, albeit, the beach sides is towards the further side of this metropolitan area, away from all the ports and such, so you will want to stay closer to that side if you want the full access to the beach, and also a fantastic view from just blocks away without needing to be on a highrise.
This public beach is split up into 3 sections: shallow end with full barrier, shallow end with partial barrier, and the open deep end where most people will be surfing at and also where the surfing classes along with the deeper dive tours usually go out to is in this area.
Since it is a public beach, do note that it gets extremely crowded, and if you want to make sure to get a good spot, you'll need to head out there maybe around 7am~ish to avoid the crowds. Typically will start ramping up quite a bit with people around 9am and beyond.
The beach will typically have live performances as well, as there's a live performance area towards the middle of the beach in between the open ended side and the partial barrier area.
It just depends on who you are here with that will determine which side you're on.
The full barrier side which is the further left facing the ocean will be primarily for families with smaller children, as there is a full barrier wall in the way of any incoming tides or anything else that may be dangerous for younger children playing in the water. It's deep enough for younger kids to be able to practice swimming here, or other things, but for most adults, you can just stand in the water all the way around this area.
The partial barrier side has an opening in the middle where if you want to go further out you can, and if you sit in this area, there are tides coming in as well which will add to the fun for older kids, or adults that may want to swim out from the barrier instead of just in the open. It's a good combination of a spot for those who want to relax more (and can see the view better because there isn't a full wall there).
The open deep end area is where the primary traffic is going to be, as that's just the open ocean in front, no barrier walls or anything to block it off. There's going to be your surfers on this side, some of the tours that go out a bit for the deep dive snorkeling will be out there as well, and also the para sailing are in that area too primarily. This side will always get the most traffic as you really can't get a better view of the ocean than here. But do keep in mind again, this is going to be the most crowded spot of them all due to all these additional things that can be done.
And the one thing that really works for Waikiki beach is how easy it is to access all the stores here, since it's literally off one of the busiest streets in Waikiki, and you could even shop and view the beach for parts of this stretch of the street. If you need to go pick up something for the store while on the beach, you can do that pretty easy since there's plenty of ABCs just staring right at you. Want to grab a quick bite? Easy access to many restaurants in this area as well.
Waikiki beach is great for those who want a full beach experience. As a public beach, it's also very much right around civilization compared to some of the other big beaches, so easy access to a lot of things. But since it is a public beach, the crowds will always work against you here, especially during some of the peak hours, so just make sure if you want to visit the beach and find a good spot on the sand then you need to get yourself there earlier rather than later.
