Guide
Makena Cove is lovely. It is not where I book.
Secret Beach, Paako, Makena Cove — three names for one small pocket of sand. What it is actually like, why it is not on my list, and the beach I take you to instead.
What it actually is
A very small beach with a very big reputation.
Makena Cove is a pocket of pale sand between two arms of dark lava rock in Makena. People call it Secret Beach, which stopped being accurate a long time ago. It turns up on most lists of places to have photographs taken on Maui, and it is easy to see why.
The photograph that sells it is usually a couple on the sand with dark rock either side and nobody else in sight. That photograph is real. It is just not a reliable description of the beach at the hour you would be standing on it.
I get asked for it by name. I would rather explain my answer than just say no, so here it is.
Why I do not book it
Three reasons, and the first one settles it.
- 01
It is not on my permitted list
I shoot six beaches on Maui, all of them permitted, and Makena Cove is not one of them. That ends the decision for me, whatever else is true about the place. If a photographer offers you a session there, ask which beach permit they are shooting under.
- 02
The whole beach fits in one frame
On a long beach, when someone walks into the background, I move you. Here there is no other end to move to. One other group on the sand and it is their beach as much as yours.
- 03
Everyone else has the same idea
Because it is on every list, the hours you would want are the hours other people want too. The photograph that made you ask for it was taken with nobody else in it. That is not the beach you are likely to find.
Where I take you instead
Maluaka. Same coast, with room to move.
Far enough south to be clear of the hotels. A long, wide beach that never feels crowded early in the morning or near sunset. It is on the same stretch of Makena coastline, so you are not giving up the area. You are giving up a beach the size of a living room for one where I can put you at one end and keep everyone else out of the frame.
It works at sunrise or sunset, and it has the width for a large family group, which the cove simply does not. Every south-side beach I shoot
If it is the look you are after
Dark rock and light sand are not unique to one beach.
What people usually mean when they ask for Makena Cove is lava against sand and clear water. On the west side, Kapalua Bay has a hard rocky point you can stand out on at low tide, and Launiupoko has a rock wall I like to shoot against. On the south side I would rather give you open sand and empty water, which is the one thing the cove cannot.
Before you book, I send you photographs of the options with the reason each one is on the list. Tell me which is closest to what you had in mind.
Frequently asked
Makena Cove questions
Not with me. Makena Cove is not on my permitted list, so I do not book sessions there. If another photographer offers it, ask which beach permit they are shooting under. Someone working properly will answer straight away.
Maluaka, on the same stretch of Makena coast. It is long and wide, far enough south to be clear of the hotels, and it never feels crowded early in the morning or near sunset.
Yes. Secret Beach, Makena Cove and Paako are names for the same small beach in Makena. None of the names makes it any bigger.
Next step
Tell me where you are staying.
I will come back with a beach, a time and the reason for both — usually inside the hour.