Escape The Crowds At This Bay For A True Hawaiian Beach Day With Gorgeous Sands And Sunsets

Waikiki Beach is drop-dead divine. We mean slack-jawed, eye-poppin', teary-eyed, make-you-rethink-your-wildest-dreams beautiful. It can also be as jam-packed as a sardine can in peak tourism season. When you go to the most beautiful beach you have ever seen, a fresh piña colada and favorite book in hand, so ready to bask in a world-famous Hawaiian paradise, do you really want to have that experience within the confines of a 4-foot square of sandy real estate, just enough space for your towel, a great view of 20 badly-sunburned backs between you and the turquoise waters? Again, don't get us wrong: Waikiki Beach is transcendentally beautiful, but it attracts 4 million visitors annually, and during peak months of March through September, it may feel like every other tourist and their mother (and their mother's mother) is there with you.

If you want to have a true Hawaiian beach day and connect to the island's otherworldly beauty at its very best, then do it away from the crowds. A little more than an hour's drive outside Honolulu's city limits, you will find a slice of heaven that you don't have to share: Yokohama Bay. There, flawless white sands, aquamarine waters, frequent wildlife sightings, and a backdrop of lush green rainforest and the epic Waianae Mountains yield a setting rivaling the legends of Waikiki. That's right. You can shed tears of joy and have your soul lifted at Hawaii's beauty without looking at 20 badly sunburned backs (other than your own). Yokohama Bay offers adventurers the perfect getaway for a magical beach day. 

Yokohama Bay lies on the West Side of Oahu, an area less visited than perhaps any other part of Oahu. This is due to the 1.5-hour drive from Waikiki, and the fact that many visitors don't rent cars, and if they do, it's more common to head to Kailua or the North Shore. These are sensational areas, but you will still have to fight some traffic and crowds. The Farrington Highway that leads to the West Side is "inconveniently" a dead-end, meaning there is no continuing route to connect to the North Shore, and you must re-trace the highway towards Waikiki. 

Yokohama Bay, also known as Keawa'ula Bay, is one of Oahu's hidden gems worth the drive. Even if this is the very first time you're visiting Hawaii, and especially if you're a returning visitor and have already spent time in glorious Waikiki, take the trouble (and it's hardly even trouble because there are tons of car rentals) to retreat from the highly-concentrated hub and to this secluded coastline. What awaits you is a whole different world and an unfiltered glimpse into the islands' timeless serenity. At Yokohama, you get the beach day of your dreams: a perfect sunset panorama, white sand beaches you will never want to leave, a tropical background in which Tarzan perhaps swings, and amazing opportunities to snorkel and hike to the westernmost point of the U.S. along Ka'ena Point. It's hard to capture Hawaii's magic with a written word. All we can say, again and again, is that it is magic.