Tunnels Beach

a beach made for a dreamer

Our trip to Kauai was surprisingly a very smooth trip (minus getting home). Everything just always seemed to work out and we got to see and experience so much. When I found out that our last nights planned camping spot was closed, I was a bit nervous. I had one other backup spot but couldn't remember much about it but off we went. And I am SO glad we did becuase the time we spent at Tunnels Beach was probably my favorite of the trip. It is located on the North Shore about one mile from the end of the road!

The beach here at tunnels is just dreamy. It reminded me a lot of Waimea Bay in the Summer on Oahu, which is my favorite. There was so much beautiful coral and rock underneath, which of course came with tons of fish! This was probably the best snorkeling we did all trip. 

The water here was flat so I broke out my dome again! This beach has the beautiful Na Pali Coast in it's background so you truly can't ask for better surroundings. The water is so clear and perfect temperature we swam for a good hour before calling it quits. 

I think we captured some of my favorite images at Tunnels becuase the lighting was sooo perfect. We got in right before the sun was setting, and the sun was setting right in front of our eyes! The perfect light beams in our pictures capture just how dreamy this beach was to me. 

The best part of our swim was running into a few of these guys! I love running into turtles in the ocean and every single time is one of the best experiences of my life. I truly think it is one of the things I cherish most about living in Hawaii. I talk more about it in this post here! But these honus were sooo big in Kauai! 

Like I said above the sun was literally setting before our eyes. This was the first sun set we watched from start to finish and it was truly amazing. To go from day time, see the sun literally set fire to the sky, and then complete darkness was astonishing. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever witnessed. 

By this time of day we also pretty much had the entire beach to our selves. There were other campers in the grassy camp area but that was about a mile down the beach. It was so nice, honestly a picture perfect evening in my eyes. 

Sense it was one of the first full sunsets we ever witnessed, we had a fun time playing with silhouettes and lighting. It was so beautiful!! 

It was a bit rainy this night so we planted ourselves under a tree. But this tents water proofing was amazing!! We stayed dry the entire night. We rented the movie The Martin on Rashawns iPad the night before, and enjoyed a Mikes Hard for sunset. For dinner, we had filled up our HydroFlasks with hot water and then brought ramen bowls and crackers, and made some homemade chicken dip! It was really fun to be to step back from our normal routines and apartment for a few days and take on nature. It was such a perfect night. 

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how to get here

 

Tunnels beach is the last beach before the Na Pali coast, so just continue along the main road until you reach the narrow parking lane that leads you to the beach. Parking may be full, but people are usually coming and going so wait a few! Other wise if you continue a bit down the road their is more parking and another beach access. 

warning

Always be aware of the tides and currents at any beach. Also their is a lot of marine life at this beach so please be aware and kind to them. I always recommend a buddy and if you are not a strong swimmer do not stray from shore too much.