As someone who’s been going to Maui’s Ka’anapali Beach for 50-something years, I was pretty happy to see Trip Advisor name it as the best beach in the U.S. in this year’s Travelers’ Choice Awards.
It’s a fabulous, three-mile stretch of sand with great snorkeling, paddleboarding, boogie boarding and swimming. It’s also fronted by a long foot path lined with towering palm trees, and has some of the island’s best hotels and resorts, as well as the delightful, open-air Whalers Village Shopping Center.
Among my fave hotels on Ka’anapali are the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel, the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa and the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas (north Ka’anapali). The Westin Maui Resort & Spa also is lovely (and has a great swimming pool for kids). I haven’t stayed there, but my wife and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Japengo a few years back at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa, located at the south end of Ka’anapali Beach.
Maui had two others beaches in the top 25. Ho’okipa Beach Park, which is on the opposite side of the island from Ka’anapali in the charming town of Paia, came fifth while Napili Beach was 17th. I personally would put Napili as number one, as it’s a perfect crescent with no buildings higher than two stories, including the fabulous Napili Kai Beach Resort. But that’s just me.
Five other Hawaii beaches were in the top 25: Hanalei Beach and Po’ipu Beach on Kauai, Lanikai Beach and Kailua Beach on O’ahu, and Hapuna Beach on the island of Hawai’i. The state had three entries in the top five (see full list below).
The Ka’anapali Beach Hotel, Maui, Hawaii. Photo Courtesy Ka’aanapali Beach Hotel.
That gives Hawai’i seven places in the top 25. But Florida was even better, with eight spots, including St. Augustine Beach, St. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach, home to the lovely Wyndham Grand Hotel. The Sunshine State had two entries in the top 10.
California came in with three entries in the top 25; La Jolla Cove in San Diego, Coronado Beach in San Diego and Santa Monica Beach, which I love. The Golden State also had two entries in the top 10, but the judges somehow missed Newport Beach and Capitola Beach for the top 25.
Here’s the full list:
- Ka’anapali Beach, Maui, Hawai’i
- Siesta Beach, Siesta Key, Florida
- Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Florida
- Hanalei Beach, Kauai, Hawai’i
- Ho’okipa Beach, Maui, Hawai’i
- Henderson Beach, Destin, Florida
- Cannon Beach, Oregon
- Coronado Beach, San Diego, California
- Ogunquit Beach, Ogunquit, Maine
- La Jolla Cove, San Diego, California
- Cape May Beach, Cape May, New Jersey
- Coligny Beach, Hilton Head, South Carolina
- St. Augustine Beach, St. Augustine, Florida
- St. Pete Beach, St. Petersburg, Florida
- Lanikai Beach, Kailua, O’ahu, Hawai’i
- Po’ipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii
- Napili Beach, Maui, Hawai’i
- Panama City Beach, Panama City, Florida
- Ocean City Beach, Ocean City, Maryland
- Pensacola Beach, Pensacola, Florida
- Kailua Beach, O’ahu, Hawai’i
- Sombrero Beach, Marathon, Florida
- Clearwater Beach, Clearwater Beach, Florida
- Hapuna Beach, Kona, Hawai’i Big Island
- Santa Monica Beach, Santa Monica, California
Trip Advisor voted Baia de Sancho on Brazil’s Fernando de Noronha island as the world’s best beach. Cable Bay Beach in Broome, Western Australia and Manly Beach in Sydney each cracked the top 25 for the world.
Two of my fave areas of California Sonoma and Paso Robles, made the Trip Advisor list of top 15 destinations in the U.S.
