Wailea · Makena
Wailea photographer, ten minutes down the road.
I live in Kihei, which puts every Wailea and Makena resort within a short drive — and puts three of my favorite beaches on your doorstep.
Staying in Wailea
You are already next to the best sand on the south side.
Polo Beach sits at the southern end of the Wailea resorts and is the single spot I book most on this side of the island. It is really two or three beaches joined together, which means when one end fills up I move — and my permit covers both.
Keawakapu runs the other direction toward Kihei and is arguably prettier still. The catch is wind: the afternoon trades hit that stretch hard, so I shoot it in the morning almost exclusively. If you are set on Keawakapu, book a sunrise session.
Further south, Maluaka in Makena gives you the most open sand and the fewest people — worth the extra ten minutes for a large family or a reunion.
Where you would actually shoot
Three beaches, all within fifteen minutes of Wailea.
All permitted, all chosen to be away from the hotel crowds at the hour you are standing on them.
- 01
Polo Beach
Wailea · Sunrise
A long, open stretch with two or three beaches effectively joined together. If one end fills up I move to the other, and my permit covers both.
- 02
Maluaka Beach
Makena · Sunrise or sunset
Far enough south to be clear of the hotels. A long, wide beach that never feels crowded early in the morning or near sunset.
- 03
Keawakapu Beach
Kihei / Wailea · Sunrise
One of the prettiest stretches on the south side — but the afternoon wind hits it hard, so I shoot it in the morning almost exclusively.
Makena
Makena: one beach I book, and four I send people away from.
Maluaka is the Makena beach on my list, and the one I would choose for a large family or a reunion on this side of the island. Long, wide and clear of the hotels.
The rest of Makena is where people ask me to go and I say no: Makena Cove, or Secret Beach, Big Beach and Little Beach, and Makena Landing and La Perouse Bay. None of them is on my permitted list. Each guide says what the place is actually like and where in Makena I would take you instead. Which Wailea and Makena beaches are permitted
Timing
Sunrise on this coast is the easy call.
The south-facing beaches are calm in the morning and busy by mid-afternoon. Thirty to forty-five minutes after sunrise you will often have Polo or Keawakapu close to yourself, before the trades fill in and before the beach walkers arrive.
From south-side sessions
Wailea, Keawakapu and Makena.
Keep reading
- KiheiThe next town north, and where I am based.
- Family sessionsThe most-booked session in Wailea.
- PricingEvery package, one page.
- Best Wailea & Makena beachesSix beaches ranked: three I book, three I do not.
- Keawakapu at sunriseThe prettiest of the three, and a morning-only beach.
- Staying at a Wailea resortFour resorts, and the beach I will meet you at.
- Makena Cove (Secret Beach)Lovely, small, and not on my list.
- Big Beach & Little BeachMakena State Park, and why I drive past.
- Makena Landing & La PerouseTurtles and lava: worth the drive, not the session.
- Babymoon in WaileaA maternity session around the pool days.
- Permits in Wailea & MakenaWhich beaches a photographer can actually use.
- What to wear in WaileaBright sand, early light, the Keawakapu breeze.
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.