Magic Sands Beach

Nick Named Tragic slams? I didn’t think it was very tragic at all. Beautiful white sand beach! I spent a lot of time here hitting the surf. Only problem is it is really crowded. If you want to ride the waves show up early around nine or prepare to be in a very crowded tide. They had a huge group of locals smoking ganja Right next to the beach so that was kind of interesting. Being from Seattle this was nothing unusual for me but is something to consider for those of you that aren’t cool with that. This is a really cool beach over all.

If you wanna shoot the curl, this is the spot.
If you are a grom, I would suggest that you don’t surf here as it can get rough. This beautiful spot doesn’t have crappy Long Island waves. It’s legit.
Soft sand, warm tropical breeze, swaying palm trees… not much more I can say about paradise.
Mahalo.

This beach is nice, clear water and not a lot of rocks. But it is dangerous, waves are super high, scary for me don’t know how to swim. There is warning signs and lifeguards on site. Saw a big turtle which was pretty cool, when your not expecting it. Not a big beach tho. But would come here again.

TURTLES! Snorkel out at high tide and comb the rocks to the right (in front of magic sands condo) there will be turtles eating and you can float with them. 4pm-​ish

I’m not really sure why people seem to live this beach. First off, it’s super small. Second, there’s hardly and parking and third, the sand and water is not that nice. We went here on our first day in Kona and only stayed about 5 minutes. We got there super early so were lucky to get a spot to park but the waves were high and rough and as we looked around noticed how tiny the beach was with limited shade. I asked the lifeguard if the water was always rough like that and he said it was better that day than it had been but recommended a black sand beach down the road to snorkel so we left and went there instead. I guess the idea of «magic sands» is interesting since the sand can disappear but in order for that to happen the surf has to come up and wash it away and who wants to be there when that happens? Not me or my family. We thought this place was pretty overrated.

–Easy to access
–Lifeguard was there for part of the day
–Small beach strip with large lava rocks & white-​ish (salt & pepper) sand
–Beautiful blue water
–Large waves that come in twos or threes so can be dangerous, break super close to the shore (hence one less star).
–Large colorful fish and some sea turtles but no coral (still a good snorkel time).
–Limited parking on side of the road
–Cool for people watching — some local boogieboarders are good!
–Relatively close to Kailua-​Kona
–Bathrooms & showers
–Other names of this beach: La’aloa Bay Beach, Disappearing Sands Beach.

Magic Sands Beach in Kona, Hawaii is a beach that was considered sacred and magic by the ancient Hawaiians due to the loss of its sand each winter and early spring to the rough currents. Large waves and storms would extract the white sands from the shoreline portion of the beach and temporarily deposit them further out to sea exposing dangerous exposed rocks in the process. The sand would eventually come back to cover the beach in the late spring and summer.
As popular and convenient as Magic Sands Beach is, it is not a place for the novice swimmer or surfer. Another nickname given to this beach is «Tragic Slams Beach» because of the number of people that are hurt or paralyzed at this beach due to the strong shore-​break. The waves really thrash here but people still come, as the location is right off the main Kona drag and it is a easy beach to access. Parking can be difficult at times dues to Magic Sand’s popularity.
I give this beach 4 Unilocal STARS for being one of the few beaches accessible in this area of Kona. However, 1 Unilocal STAR is deducted because a big CAUTION should be heeded when enjoying Magic Sands. According to
, «continuous wave action which funnels the waves from the open ocean to form a shore-​break make it quite an exciting beach for local boogie boarding enthusiasts who quite enjoy the rides. In the summer when there is still a sand beach present and when the waves are smaller this can be fun for those who are skilled at this location.» Still, lifeguards stationed at this beach make rescues almost every day. During the winter months, TomBarefoot says «the problems here increase astronomically as the power of the waves dramatically increase as well. The emergency room in Kona is very familiar with the accidents that occur here and every caution should be taken when entering the water.»
A local may know to be careful here, but the tourists (of which I was one) should know the best policy to keep you safe at Magic Sands is to walk up to the Lifeguard tower and ask if it was safe to enter the water, where to go and what to look out for. Nothing can ruin a day at the beach or a trip to Hawaii faster than experiencing a nasty wipe-​out!