The only tropical island I've ever been on is St Martin. And I love it. However, I have a cousin I can stay with on the north shore of Oahu next month. Hawaii has never been on my radar. Anyone been there? It doesn't look like they're any official nude beaches but...

No official or unofficial nude beach on Oahu that I an aware of. Need to go to Maui for that.

Polo Beach on the north shore is unofficial but has a tradition of nude use. I've enjoyed my visits there and snorkeling nude with the turtles.

There are pockets of nude use around the island of Oahu, but they're very small and you have to know when to go. The most reliable de facto C/O beach is just north of the old polo field in Mokuleia near Haleiwa on the "North Shore". You can see the hulk of an old airplane in the middle of that field in Google maps' Satellite View: In maps.google.com, search on "Hawaii Polo Oceanfront Trail Rides, Oahu, Hawaii" and then switch to Satellite View. "Polo Beach" is just east of that as the shoreline curves back out to sea. There is a trail to the beach from Farrington Highway that passes through the least developed land that you see along the shoreline. "Polo Beach" is where the pine trees are the thickest.

~Reggie~

Well we are definitely going to Oahu, tickets have been bought and the North Shore is our destination. Thank you for the information on Polo Beach, we've looked it up on Google map Satellite view as recommended! At this time we don't have plans to visit any of the other isles. We'll see if sand gravity sets in. I can't wait to explore another new (to me)part of the world!

Look for Polo Beach parking on the right side of the highway, before you get to the polo fields. There is a public beach access trail from Farrington Highway to the beach. The walk in is about 1/4 mile, smooth and flat. There is barbed and livestock wire on both sides that corral the horses boarded there. The parking is on both sides of the highway and wide enough to be safe. I've had no issues while parked there but of course, don't leave anything inside your car to tempt anyone.

Once you walk to the end of the trail and hit the beach, turn right and keep walking. I walked approx. another 1/4 mile to where there was a nice swimming area between the rocks and coral. The beach goes on to bend to the right, into a bay like area. I've never explored down that far though.

Polo is not a very populated beach. The most other c/o users I've seen on a visit was about thirty which is a lot from what I've heard. The other two visits had me sharing all that beach with only a handful of people and one day it was all to myself for most my visit. Just a fisherman or walker passing by.

So, don't expect large crowds but do enjoy the gorgeous scenery and relaxation! The skydivers overhead make for very fun spectating as they drift down to the airfield just up the road. (I've jumped with Sky Dive Hawaii three times and highly recommend them!)

Take snorkel gear and get an up close view of Nemo and his friends. There are always turtles around and they like to hide under the coral out croppings so look for them but don't touch! That is illegal!

Be prepared to pack in all you think you'll need and make sure to pack out all your garbage plus any extra you find. Most of all: ENJOY!!

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!
Aloha!

The North Shore is no longer the sleepy, hippy, world-class surfing meca that it used to be. It's like Venice, California, with a lot of tourists wanting to see the "sleepy, hippy, world-class surfing meca". There are even some really good restaurants/bars in Haleiwa ("The Gateway to the North Shore") that add civility. But remnants of genuine Winter Surf may still be around when you're there, so be careful going into the water above your knees if the surf is up because of rip currents. The "Must-Be-Done" thing in Haleiwa is to get a "shave ice" from one or the other of 2 roadside stores toward the north end of town. These snow cones have been a tradition among North Shore goers for decades. After a day at the beach, they are heaven. I recommend that you include the special instruction: "Put on lots of syrup and stop just before it falls apart." Then you will have a snow cone that is tender and flavorful all the way to the bottom of the cone.
And forget about Sand Gravity - there is too much to see in Hawaii for you to want to squandor your time zonked out with a drink on the sand. Besides, I think liquor is illegal on a public beach in Hawaii.

About the Hawaiian Sun - sunburn is a real threat. Use 30+ sun screen with UVa/UVb protection and re-apply if you perspire. Even put it on the tops of your feet (tourists always forget that and get sunburned feet).

Have Fun! And know that you'll be going back again.
~Reggie~

This is all wwonderful advice. We will be staying at Turtle Bay, with relatives who moved there a couple of years ago. Are the shrimp trucks really all that they're made out to be? We're definitlely foodies and dont feel cooking is a burden. I'm hoping to feast on local seafood.

That's in Kahuku, the northern tip of Oahu. There is a good chance that it will be windy. The resort was conceived to be a non-Waikiki experience, and it is less commercial than Waikiki (which has 24-hour shopping for the Japanese tourists), and there is no Diamond Head as background for photos, but you will like what you see, anyway.


I've never eaten from a "shrimp truck", but given that the prawn farms are right there in Kahuhu, the shrimp are guaranteed to be fresh. BTW, there used to be a nude beach adjacent to one of the prawn farms with a small community of nudists living in shacks adjacent to it in the 1980s. It was part club, part "colony", but the State demanded its removal for "sanitation" reasons. Meanwhile, right next door, the effluent from the prawn farms smelled like - and actually was - raw sewage, and beyond that, to the east, were settling tanks for the municipal sewage treatment plants. Don't bother looking for the nude beach, though - the shoreline is mostly lava rock with pounding surf.



Ummm .... , most seafood is imported, as the press of human population has exhausted the local fisheries for hundreds of miles around. If you want to savor truly Hawaiian "cuisine" (as opposed to what Islanders really eat) stop in at Ono Hawaiian Foods in Kapahulu, just inland from Waikiki. It's a very small hole in the wall across the street from Taco Bell on Kapahulu Avenue. To spot it, just look across the street from Taco Bell and you will see a line of people waiting to get into "Ono's". The food is AUTHENTIC, and for that reason, you might not like it, but it's worth trying. I, as a kid, didn't like poi, and I would only eat it smothered in sugar. Now that I live in L.A., I get cravings for it. I like it in 2-finger consistency, a day old when it has started to sour from fermentation. It's the best thing there is to eat with grilled fish or kalua pig (pork slow-ovened by hot rocks in a buried pit). Here is Ono's website: Ono Hawaiian Foods

~Reggie~

The shrimp truck we liked the best is a green truck called 3 Tables Grill. The ahi sandwich was big and fresh and of course they had great shrimp. They're only out from about 4-8 p.m. and they were parked on the ocean side of Shark's Cove when we were there in November. I think they sometimes park by the pipeline also.

Ola's at Turtles Bay has great food and is right on the beach but it is a little pricey.

We spent a week and a half at Turtle Bay Resort a few years back celebrating a 'big year' anniversary and loved every minute of our time there.

Didn't use the beaches on site much and put a lot of miles on our rental car doing all the historical Hawaii tourist sites and would love to go back and do them all oper again. We stayed on Waikiki for three nights to do the in town things and then moved out to TB.

And of course, on the reco of a regular poster here we did the shave ice with extra syrup and the shrimp trucks which were incredibly inexpensive and absolutely delicious. But OMG - did they ever draw flies. On our second stop there we took our 'dinner to go' and ate on our balcony at TB - now that was living high!! Meals were very expensive at the resort so the price of the shrimp trucks was also a pleasant reprieve......

Enjoy your Hawaii time - maybe one of these years I'll convince DH we really need to return. Lord knows I'm trying but that eleven hour flight doesn't excite him at all.

Hi Pat, dinner to go from the shrimp truck seems like a good idea. bksn - will keep an eye out for 3 Tables Grill truck. We don't leave this crazy Nebraska winter for another three weeks. Still have lots of time for reading up on Oahu.

Well, read up on this: 50-ft waves predicted for North Shore <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" />

Don't go in the water, kids.... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />

~Reggie~

Sounds like it was an amazing week of waves there. I'm not sorry I missed it though, it sounds like the spectator traffic becomes out of control.

That's Oahu's North Shore and Maui's Hookipa when the big waves roll in. A wave like a moving blue cliff and people riding them is a spectacle you'll never forget. And people get jaded - I've seen people gleefully taking to the water (including me) at Waimea Bay when the shore break was was 12 feet and the life guards didn't even have warning signs up. The trick is to time your entry to and exit from the water to coincide with the sweep of the smallest waves.

An excellent series of guidebooks for Hawaii is by Wizard Publications (see Hawaii Revealed or WizardPub.com). I've used their guides for Kauai and Maui and the Big Island, and their guides to beaches were the best. I assume their book for Oahu is similar.

If you get to the other (southeast) end of the island, and you want to do some swimming or body surfing, check out Makapuu Beach, just before you reach Makapuu Point. It's known for its body surfing and boogy board surfing. I've even used the far end of the beach for nude swimming and sunning (but expect the occasional tourists parked along the highway above to be busy with their telephoto lenses). To see photos of the beach, go to images.google.com and search on "Makapuu Beach".

Further around that end of the island is picture postcard-perfect Hanauma Bay ( images.google.com and search on "Hanauma Bay"). It seems every tourist in the world wants to see it, and the parking and space on the sand and in the water is so at a premium that you can feel like you're in an amusement park. It's worth a look and a photo, but spare yourself the hassle of going down to the beach.

Hiking up the inside of Diamond Head Crater to the WW2 lookout at the peak can get you a different perspective view of Waikiki, and I'd recommend it if you have the time. There's parking inside the crater and it's an easy hike if you're in good condition (it involves a cement stairway with about 99 steps). From the peak, you can also look down at the Diamond Head Lighthouse, which marks the finish line for the Trans-Pacific Yacht Race. There is a miserable rocky beach directly beneath it which is used by gays, and about a 1/4 mile east, directly under the primary tourist lookout (where the tourists can't see) is my favorite for nude use, but you have to be confident and know that you're on federal land, not state or City land. Female topless use occurs with impunity anywhere along the beach, and women don't have be brave for that, except that they will be in a small minority.

~Reggie~

I second the recommendation for "Oahu Revealed," one of several in a series that is an excellent resource for travellers to Hawaii. We visited Oahu and the Big Island in 2004 - based on beach information in their "Big Island Revealed" book, we found some nice small secluded beaches, including one where we were able to be clothes free.

Thanks for the guide book recommendation. Oahu Revealed has been ordered! we're in pretty good physical shape so the 99 stairs of Diamond Head will probably be on the agenda. How about bicycling? Are there paths to ride on anywhere?

The trip to the top of Diamond head is definitely worth the effort. A humorous thing happened when we did the hike. At the base most everybody was tying on expensive hiking boots, tennis shoes and the like. Also putting on camel back water containers in preparation of the hike. Along comes a lady from Europe, (not sure which country as I could not understand the language), dressed in flowing sun dress and wearing flip flops like she was on a Sunday stroll in the park. She reached the top before many of the more "prepared hikers". Made for quite a contrast. Enjoy the view and the rest of your visit.

We didn't ride bikes on Oahu so can't recommend any trails. Definitely walk to the top of Diamond Head - it's not hard and the view is breathtaking. When you look down on Waikiki and see a tiny pink hotel buried beneath the high-rise hotels, it's hard to believe the Royal Hawaiian Hotel was one of only two hotels on the beach in the early '40s, and was reserved for use during the war years by US Navy personnel on leave !

Riding a bike (or even a motorcycle or moped) is always dangerous in a scenic touristed area - everyone, including you, is looking at the scenery! I once gave a lift to a young Canadian tourist who crashed his motorcycle along Diamond Head Road because he was looking at the ocean on the right as the road deviated left. He and his feet were badly scraped up and his planned trip on to New Zealand was probably not much fun. And add to that the fact that the traffic in Honolulu is the worst in the nation - including Los Angeles - and you'll understand why it would be best to stay on 4 wheels.

As for mountain bike trails, I know of none, and if there are any, I would stay off them. The mountains on all the islands get very steep, and hikers frequently have to be rescued, sometimes just "retrieved". On most ridges and scenic rises, the terrain doesn't have a granite or dense lava base, but rather, a gravelly/cindery base that crumbles and slides, and without safety lines, even hiking is dangerous. My advice is to stay on foot or 4 wheels and to stop before ogling intently.

~Reggie~

If you or your cousin have a current military ID card, active, retired, or dependent, there is a great sightseeing drive you can take.

Go to Scofield Barricks and take Trimble Road up the hill. Trimble becomes Kole Kole road and takes you across the Kole Kole Pass and then down through the Navy Lualualei facility ending up at Farrington Highway in Nanakuli. A left turn onto Farrington brings you back to the H-1 and H-2 highways.

The views as you descend down from the Pass are spectacular!

How long does it take to drive from Bellows Air Force Station at Waimanalo Bay to Honolulu using the Pali Highway? How about via Diamond Head? Thanks.

It has been many years since we lived there, but I think about a half hour, except at rush hour.

Also depends on time of day...

Anyone got more recent info?

Well, we're back from Oahu. It was quite a trip and we visited Polo beach but the weather was spitting rain with gale force winds so we didn't stay there. I guess that is for future visits. Out of our eight days there, it rained four of them, as in rain all day and night. That's winter in Hawaii I guess. We visited some empty beaches on the windward side near the northern tip of Oahu, got naked for about two minutes but then people showed up. I stayed topless for a while without a protest from anyone. So, I think next trip will likely be back to Orient Beach. It's just not the same when you can't relax non-stop with a drink in hand and no clothes to encumber. Snorkeling was pretty fun though.

Yup. People forget that for lush greenery, ya gotta have rain. I always used to feel sorry for the winter "Snowbirds" from Canada who arrived in December to find cloudy skies and blustery weater, but as one of them explained to me, "It's better than shoveling snow, eh?"

Believe me, though, that during most of the year in Hawaii, rain usually lasts 10 to 15 minutes, and then the sun comes back out. Some people don't even leave the sand - they just put a towel over themselves until the rain stops. At Polo Beach, you can just stand under the pine trees naked or immerse yourself in the ocean water and not worry about getting wet. But you can't beat Club Orient for the freedom to be nekkid 24-hours per diem and still socialize and enjoy various sports, and the food in Grand Case is worth getting dressed for.

~Reggie~

I agree about club orient being the ultimate place. We went to haulover for our last two days in Florida last visit and it sure beats sitting around a club pool. Rent chairs & umbrella for 32/day. But no good hotel to wak from IMHO so you have to drive. Parking lot very convenient and many have there own lightweight chairs coolers on acart. Lots of people and lots of room. This making me want to book right now.

Polo Beach is on the north side of the island. It's kind of difficult to find without good directions and it's not visible from the road. There aren't any restrooms, etc. When you walk down the trail it says no nudity, etc. but no one pays attention to that. To the right of the trail is the unofficial nudity side. To the left is the non-nude side, though those that don't mind nudity can go to the nudity side. We were there twice when on Oahu last August. It's awesome.

Thanks, we found Polo beach but it was an absolutely miserable weather day. Maybe some day...but for now our next stop will be a return to Orient Beach next year. WAY more reliable sun!

I wanted to report that Polo Beach, Oahu is still nude friendly. I spent a nice day there yesterday and enjoyed the sun, snorkeling, and watching the skydivers over head. (Actually went and jumped myself!)

There were quite a few other people there for a Thursday which was nice
to see.

How were the demographics, i.e. male/female, young/old, apparently straight/apparently gay? Were all nude or some top-free women or some suited? Any families?

~Reggie~

Pretty standard. More guys than gals. (3:1 is my estimate) There were some younger people, I'd guess the fellow was military and he was there with two gals. No families this visit in the nude area. A few groups or three or four. Think one group had ladies going just top free but everyone else I saw was nude. Over all the age seemed on the younger side. Rough average: 40-50.
There were approx. 20 cars at the parking area. People were friendly and responded when I waved or said hello. Had a nice chat with a Navy fellow who was there enjoying the day. (Hi Tony).
Wish I had time to get back, hopefully during my August trip here I can schedule two days at Polo!

Yup, that sounds standard, and I'm glad to hear that it hasn't changed in the past decade. Polo is also unique in that it gets some people from the military. They used to stay away because of threat to their careers, but that got settled more than a decade ago.

~Reggie~