Moku Nui Island

I have kayaked, swam, and paddle boarded to Moku Nui from Kailua, Lanikai, and Kailua, respectively, all good, all sun, surf, sand, reefs, turtles, fish, hiking, and sheer beauty, cheers!

I had my eye on this island since day one of my trip to Hawaii. The idea of kayaking from the beach to Moku Nui seemed rather adventurous, and I was up for the challenge. My friends and I decided to rent kayaks from Kailua Beach Adventures and kayak from Kailua Beach Park. In reality that turned out to be further than my seasickness wanted to carry me. I would have been better off driving to Lanikai Beach Park and kayaking from there, especially because it was pouring rain on the day we went.
Fortunately it cleared up a bit when we arrived to the island. What a beautiful view of the neighboring island! Definitely panoramic camera worthy. Be careful of the slippery or sharp rocks when touring the island. There is a cool spot where you can a bunch of crabs clinging to the inside of a crevice where the waves make loud noises. They look like a bunch of flat tarantulas crawling about… kinda freaked me out.
I would recommend kayaking or paddleboarding to this island with others and not on your own, especially when the swell is intense. The waves can get pretty scary closer to the shore, and it’s decently far out from the next closest piece of land. Happy travels to Moku Nui!

Crazy workout but totally worth it!
Rent a kayak and spend 30 – 45 m rowing out to this island. Chill out on the beach for a picnic or go exploring! Make sure you bring reef shoes (get them at ABC store for 11 bucks each if you buy two).
If you head left there are a lot of cute little tidepools to explore. Eventually you’ll reach a dead end area with a GREAT spot to dive off of. Maybe 10 feet or so jump?
I’m a weak swimmer but it was totally a great experience jumping off the cliff. I ended up jumping several times. Just make sure you time it right and wait for the water coming in and out of the bay to reach a higher level as theoretically there are some rocks below you could hit but it’s totally safe if you jump after a big wave comes in. I’d recommend getting some advice on timing from any experienced folk nearby before jumping in.
Def One of the highlights of my vacation!
Make sure you bring:
— snacks
— water
— reef shoes if you go exploring — rocks are very sharp!

Dangerous. Sharks, currents, sharp rocks, sharp reef. Too many people for it to be enjoyable anymore it’s over run with tourists who don’t know what they are doing and some one gets hurt every time I go out there.

My coworker and I just kayaked here yesterday! Took us maybe 45 minutes to an hour to get out there. But the winds were kind of pulling us back. It was a work out! When we got there, there was about 20 other kayaks and people hanging out on the beach. If you go right around the island, you’ll eventually reach a cliff side dead end and it’s really dangerous. But if you go left, maybe about 7 minutes later you’ll reach an area where people jump off the rocks. Please be careful and know your limits! People have died there. Kayaking our way back took us about 30 minutes. Make sure you bring lots of water! Can’t stress that enough. And sunscreen & maybe a hat too.
Note that we had our own kayak so we did not rent from anywhere, but there are places along the beach to rent from.

I want to go back to Hawaii and kayak to the Mokes several times! My only regret was that we rented our kayak late in the day & it took so long to get to Moku Nui that we had limited time on the beach.
What an incredible outdoor experience! Not for the out of shape or faint of heart: we left from Kailua beach so it was quite the distance to get out there against the waves and current (took us over an hour). You have to have the stamina and ability to get through the waves and over very shallow coral. But the payoff is worth it! Imagine crystal clear gorgeous waters, white sand beaches, little to no crowd, and a quiet experience.
It’s a bit difficult to launch kayak from the island to get back– we almost capsized. But on the way back we went with the current and waves (and even caught a few) and it took less time and effort.
If you like the water & outdoors, put this on your MUST DO for Hawaiian vacation.

Moku Nui Island. Probably the MOST fun place to kayak to. My boyfriend and I are the adventurous type and since we first tried out kayaking last october we were hooked! The neat thing about the island of O’ahu, other than the ease of access to nice beaches, are the small islands located off the windward sides of O’ahu. Our first kayak adventure was to chinaman’s hat, this time we wanted to kayak longer so we chose the moku nui island off of Lanikai… and it was perfect.
We got our kayak from Go Bananas again, this place will probably be our go to place for kayaking from now on. They always give great advice and helpful tips too. We actually wanted to head out on monday but were advised that there was a small craft advisory and the water would be really choppy and rough, so we went on a wednesday.
Getting to the island wasn’t too bad, it’s a workout for sure but fun nonetheless. The water is crystal clear and amazing.
Once we got there there were other kayakers on tours which was cool, because we weren’t alone. The waves come in several different directions between the islands so it’s best not to go swimming or risk being drowned or getting lost at sea, something no one wants right?!
The island is so pretty even the sand is vibrant and nice. And it’s unlike the sand now in Waikiki that’s powdery and make your feet white. The sand here is REAL. yup and there’s no powdery afterstep.
It’s actually a bird sanctuary, so respect their home and treat it nicely. They live in holes they burrow around the island, they won’t bother you either. If you walk past a burrow you can see their feathers, but I would say just let them be… we’re just visitors on their home, so act accordingly =)
Look at this! Amazing! Being born and raised in Hawai’i and this was my very first time here. My boyfriend and I had so much fun here and I’m thrilled he loves to do these types of adventurous activities. We walked around the island a bit and took in the beauty from the other side. We hope to go here again and hike around the whole island on a calmer day.
We stayed on the island for awhile exploring and taking pictures and then kayaked back to the inland we came from. I highly recommend kayaking here one of these days, seeing O’ahu from another island is such a wonderful feeling! It’s a lot of fun too it teaches you team work if you’re on a two person kayak.
I hope you can experience the moku nui island someday, it will forever be an experience you will always remember.

Great Place to Kayak to! Can be a little tricky trying to get on and off the island, but is a great little beach for sunbathing and some snorkeling. We Kayaked from Kailua Beach Park, which is quite a distance but so worth it. Took us almost one hour one way. A quicker launch would be from Lanikai beach, which is ALOT closer than our launch area.
It is a sanctuary for birds, so therefore protected. There is a path that goes around the island, and on a nice calm day this little trail is quite safe. On a rough day it can be dangerous as waves crash over on the rocks on some parts of the path and can sweep you away. So be careful and gage the temper of the ocean that day.