Two Maui Beaches Make List of Best Beaches in the US
Waiʻānapanapa. Photo by Wendy Osher.
By Wendy Osher
Two of Maui’s beaches were featured in TripAdvisor’s 2015 Travelers’ Choice Awards for the best beaches in the US.
The list of 25 included seven winners from Hawaiʻi, with West Maui’s Kāʻanapali Beach taking the top spot in the islands at number three. The number one and two slots went to Florida’s #1 Siesta Beach and Saint Pete Beach respectively.
As the top-ranked Hawaiʻi beach on the list, Kāʻanapali, was recognized for its soft sand, clean water, snorkeling offshore, and daily cliff diving ceremony off of Puʻu Kekaʻa, also known as “Black Rock.” Out of the more than 3,000 reviews for the spot, 2,200 ranked it as “excellent.”
Maui’s Waiʻānapanapa State Park, near Hāna in East Maui rounded out the top four. Out of the more than 500 reviews, 438 ranked the spot as “excellent,” and more than 100 listed it as “very good.” The spot is most known for its black sand beach and near shore caves. Reviews for the spot described it as “a hidden gem,” and “the quintessential Hawaiian beach.”
Other island beaches on the list were: #7 Kailua Beach Park (Oʻahu); #11 Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve (Oʻahu); #12 Poʻipū Beach Park (Kauaʻi); #15 Maniniʻōwali Beach (Hawaiʻi Island); and #22 Hanalei Beach (Kauaʻi), described as one of Hawaiʻi’s most romantic destinations.
The top 25 Best Beaches in the US according to TripAdvisor’s 2015 Travelers’ Choice Awards include the following:
- Siesta Beach: Siesta Key, Florida
- Saint Pete Beach: Saint Pete Beach, Florida
- Kāʻanapali Beach: West Maui
- Waiʻānapanapa State Park: East Maui near Hāna
- Pensacola Beach. Pensacola Beach, Florida
- La Jolla Cove: La Jolla, California
- Kailua Beach Park: Kailua, Oʻahu
- Clearwater Beach: Clearwater, Florida
- St. Augustine Beach: Saint Augustine Beach, Florida
- Beach at Panama City: Panama City Beach, Florida
- Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve: Honolulu, Oahʻu
- Poʻipū Beach Park: Poʻipū on Kauaʻi
- Ogunquit Beach: Ogunquit, Maine
- Hunting Island State Park: Beaufort, South Carolina
- Maniniʻōwali Beach: Hawaiʻi Island in Kailua-Kona
- Race Point Beach: Provincetown, Massachusetts
- Newport Beach: Newport Beach, California
- Fort Myers Beach: Fort Myers Beach, Florida
- Coronado Municipal Beach: Coronado, California
- Hollywood Beach: Hollywood, Florida
- South Beach: Miami Beach, Florida
- Hanalei Beach: Hanalei, Hawaiʻi
- Carlsbad State BeachCarlsbad, California
- Crystal Cove State Park: Laguna Beach, California
- Ocean City Beach: Ocean City, Maryland
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