A trip to Punalu’u to visit the famous black sand beach (Nov 2017)

This beach was quite easily accessible and looked so different from the normal golden sandy beaches you are used to seeing in brochures and on posters of Hawaii. The sand is made up of fragments of pitch-black lava and the beach is lined with coconut trees. There is also a lifeguard present on the beach during the day and there are toilets, changing facilities, parking, and a picnic area.

Punalu’u beach is also a great place to spot turtles, usually Hawaiian green turtles, but you can sometimes see the hawksbill turtle – unfortunately, I didn’t see any!