15/02/2025
(📍Papakolea // Hawaii's Big Island) 💚 There are only a handful of green sand beaches in the world (Guam, Norway, Galapagos Islands, and HAWAII) so this really is one unique beach.
And it’s an adventure to get to it! Located down at South Point (the southernmost point on the Big Island AND the US), you’ll either need to do a long, dusty, hot hike along the coast or pay for the “local shuttle” at the trailhead.
If you do the hike, be prepared for about 6 miles round trip in extremely windy and hot conditions. There is NO shade (even at the beach) and while it’s not much of an incline, I would take a gallon of water per person and big shade hats.
Here’s the deal about the shuttle…it’s controversial. It’s technically illegal, but it’s allowed to operate. The land is owned by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands so the guys who run the shuttles (all native Hawaiian) feel like they have the right to do what they’re doing. It’s controversial because all the offroading has torn up the land and many feel that it has “desecrated” an important Hawaiian cultural site.
Whatever you decide…it’s $20/person and the driver takes you out and waits for about an hour and brings you back. It takes about 30 minutes each way to drive. And of course, it’s completely uninsured ; )
However you do it, once you get there, it’s pretty spectacular. The beach is down in a caldera and you have to climb a little bit to get down to the sand.
I go back and forth between whether the sand looks green or not. It definitely depends on how the light hits it. And while it’s not bright LIME green, it for sure has green undertones and kind of sparkles.
And unlike the black sand beach at Punalu’u or the black and red sand beaches on Maui which all have a thick, coarse sand (almost like really tiny pebbles), the sand at Papakolea is so smooth and soft under your feet.
The Mele property is a unique property nestled in the heart of Hawaiian Paradise Park. Large fruit trees bear a harvest for your pleasure.
