Lanikai is without a doubt one of my most favorite beaches in the world… look how beautiful it is! Sheltered by the Mokalua Islands, Lanikai is completely waveless and crystal clear. Because of these reasons, it is also a #1 tourist destination, and you have to get there early if you want to get a spot on the beach. Many people also enjoy paddleboarding or kayaking to the Mokalua Islands- or Mokes as they're locally referred to as. If you're lucky you may even spot a Monk Seal sunbathing on the shore of one of the islands!

 

Technically Lanikai is located in Kailua, it is just around the peninsula from Kailua Beach. However, Lanikai is a completely separate community, you couldn’t buy a home anywhere in Lanikai under $5 million, and that’s at the low end.

 

You’ll see in my pictures views from a mountain of Lanikai beach. That mountain is called the pillbox trail. My family hikes/runs this trail as a morning workout a couple of times a week. It is the ideal workout because of the spectacular views, and the uphill slopes that make it just bearable to run. The first slope of the trail is where all my pictures are from and where I always insist on stopping. The views are unexplainable, and I hope that if you’re reading this, you get to see it for yourself before you die- particularly if it’s sunrise.