Check the Beach

Punalu'u Beach

Hawaiʻi County, Hawaii, United States

Punalu'u Beach 1 photo

  • Punaluu Black Sand Beach, Hawaii, USA

    Punaluu Black Sand Beach, Hawaii, USA. Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source

Tomorrow at a glance

Calmest: 8 am to 11 am, sunset 5:53 pm
7 am
6.7
3 km/h2 mph wind, Good
8 am
6.5
2 km/h1 mph wind, Good
9 am
6.2
4 km/h2 mph wind, Good
10 am
7.5
6 km/h4 mph wind, Great
11 am
6.0
9 km/h5 mph wind, Good
12 pm
5.5
10 km/h6 mph wind, Good
1 pm
4.7
9 km/h5 mph wind, Fair
2 pm
4.4
7 km/h4 mph wind, Fair
3 pm
4.2
6 km/h4 mph wind, Fair
4 pm
4.2
6 km/h3 mph wind, Fair
5 pm
4.2
5 km/h3 mph wind, Fair

This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.

Where to stay near the beach

Compare hotels and apartments near Punalu'u Beach.

Partner links

Staying a few days? Conditions improve from Sun, so a beachfront room still pays off.

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Forecast, hour by hour

Beach score for daylight hours, today and tomorrow. Wind in km/hmph underneath.

Air
23°C74°F
Water
27°C81°F
Wind
42 km/hmph NNW
Gusts
138 km/hmph
Waves
1.4 m5 ft
UV
0 low
Tide
rising
Rain
72%
Sunset
5:53 pm
Today
4.8Fair7 am64
6.5Good8 am85
7.3Great9 am85
8.5Excellent10 am95
8.6Excellent11 am128
6.5Good12 pm138
5.6Good1 pm138
5.1Fair2 pm127
4.7Fair3 pm95
4.3Fair4 pm74
4.0Fair5 pm64
Fri
6.7Good7 am32
6.5Good8 am21
6.2Good9 am42
7.5Great10 am64
6.0Good11 am95
5.5Good12 pm106
4.7Fair1 pm95
4.4Fair2 pm74
4.2Fair3 pm64
4.2Fair4 pm63
4.2Fair5 pm53
Green, 7 and upYellow, 4 to 7Red, under 4Calmest stretch

Tide, next 24 hours

Tide rising now. High at 1 am, 1.0 m. Low at 7 am, 0.4 m. High at 1 pm, 1.0 mHigh 1 am, 1.0 m3 ftLow 7 am, 0.4 m1 ftHigh 1 pm, 1.0 m3 ftNow1 am7 am1 pm7 pm
  • High 1 am, 1.0 m3 ft
  • Low 7 am, 0.4 m1 ft
  • High 1 pm, 1.0 m3 ft

Tide is modeled, not measured. Rip current and water quality data are not available for this beach yet.

The days ahead

Best score each day, with the stretch to aim for.

  • Sat7.3 GreatBest 8 am to 12 pmWind up to 11 km/h7 mph, rain 98%
  • Sun8.6 ExcellentBest 9 am to 12 pmWind up to 9 km/h6 mph, rain 90%
  • Mon6.6 GoodBest 7 am to 12 pmWind up to 7 km/h5 mph, rain 94%
  • Tue4.7 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 7 km/h4 mph, rain 100%
  • Wed4.3 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 7 km/h4 mph, rain 98%

Beach info

Facilities and the beaches next door.

About Punalu'u Beach

From Wikipedia

Punaluʻu Beach (also called Black Sand Beach) is a beach between Pāhala and Nāʻālehu on the Big Island of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The beach has black sand made of basalt and created by lava flowing into the ocean which explodes as it reaches the ocean and cools. Punaluʻu is frequented by endangered hawksbill and green turtles, which can often be seen basking on the black sand.

Source: Punaluʻu Beach on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved Oct 18, 2026. Data sources

Facilities

  • LifeguardStation 40 m130 ft awayOpenStreetMap lists a lifeguard station.
  • Restrooms170 m540 ft away
  • Showers140 m440 ft away
  • Drinking water170 m540 ft away
  • Parking3 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 100 m330 ft. Listed as free

Getting there

Nearest bus stop
180 m590 ft
Nearest town
8 km5 miPāhala (village)
Nearest airport
70 km43 miBradshaw Army Airfield (BSF)

Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources

Nearby beaches