Chang’s Beach, Five Graves, Five Caves

Interesting! Went snorkeling today off Cheng’s beach. (Thank you Unilocal). Saw eel, unicorn fish, butterfly fish, turtles, trumpet fish, pipe/​needle fish, 2ft white tip shark that had a hook in its mouth and the line was caught on the coral. I couldn’t get down to him to let him free. I also didn’t bring my dive knife to cut the line. Next time I will. I told a couple going in after me with a dive knife. They said they’d try to help.
I took the road to the right down to the lava rock area. The walk into the water is a bit slippery on all rocks. Beware. Once after the fresh/​salt water mixing clears is where all the action takes place.
I star off for rocky slippery entrance.
Very quiet area.

J J (the first reviewer) got the address perfect. We entered it into the gps, and arrived at a house. Across the house was dirt parking.
When you’re facing the house, there’s a small path to your right with a small blue sign that says «Shoreline Access.» Take that path. You’ll see 5 graves to your left — 2 big stone graves in the ground and 3 upright small grave markers. Continue along this path, and there’ll be a small grass lawn to your left. Keep in mind there was some construction so this may change by the time you read this review.
You’ll follow the dirt path into about 10 yards of brush, then come to a giant piece of lava rock that juts out into the water. It’s about 40 – 50 yards out into the water. Walk to almost the end of it and on the right hand side there’s a section of calmer water and lots of spots to either climb into the water if you time it well with the swells, or there’s a good spot to jump off as well. When we got to this point, we saw about 3 turtles floating around in the calm spot.
Swim out into the water and follow the lava rock cliffs until it becomes a coral formation, then take a 90 degree left. You may see lots of snorkeling tour boats moored out here. Snorkel about 50 – 60 yards closer to shore than they are moored. That’s where there is a huge coral formation and a large overhang in the water where lots of caves are. We saw about 8 turtles there getting cleaned and a reef shark (which are harmless and very shy). Just hang out and be patient since turtles come up out of hiding for air every 15 – 20 minutes, and if a snorkel tour comes and bombards the area, don’t worry, they leave quickly enough.

This review is for Chang’s Beach only, just north of 5 Graves.
I hesitated slightly about writing this review, because I don’t want this quiet little cove filled with people next time I am in town :) Over many visits dating back to 2003, there have usually been very few folks on the beach, & this recent trip was the first time we didn’t have at least a few moments of being the only people there.
Both the north & south side of Chang’s Beach have great snorkelling with tons of green sea turtles. (As mentioned in the other reviews, the area south & off-​shore is frequented by snorkel tours, & i have even seen a small boat moored on the north side a few times) I have never missed seeing turtles on the north side, & the first time I ever saw a turtle in a swimming area was at the very south end of Po’olenalena Beach, which is the far side of Chang’s north reef. We’ve even seen multiple turtles being serviced by cleaner wrasses here!
Most people say the south end is better for snorkelling but it has always been more murky when I have tried it, so I stick to the north. This beach usually has decent waves (great for body surfing & boogie boards) which can make for poor visibility near the reef closest to the shore; I once swam out through a cloud of sand, which lasted all along the lava flow that was visible above the surface. (I haven’t been to 5 Graves but it doesn’t seem to have a lot of sand, from the photos — Chang’s is definitely the better spot for just hanging out on the beach)
The only public access is from a very small parking lot (5 – 6 stalls) just past the Makena Surf condos, very easy to miss. You then have to walk down a stone path with a few stairs, which ends in a short walk over uneven ground before you hit the sand beach. So, not accessible. The beach also lacks showers and toilets, not surprising given its small size.

How many places in Hawaii are called «Turtle Town» or «Turtle Bay»? We were once on a snorkel boat going to Molokini and the swell was too large so they took us to Turtle Town! (Makena) another time we were in West Maui and the place we were supposed to go was not very clear so again we were diverted to Turtle Town (mile marker 14). I am convinced that any snorkel boat’s backup location will be called Turtle Town to keep the customers from demanding refunds. Hey, we all love the Turtles, right?
Our recent trip to Maui we were just driving around and noticed a lot of snorkel boats gathered in one place. We found the litte beach access trail that led us past the old cemetary (hence the name five graves) and found a little cove to get into the water. There must be a fresh water spring there because the visablity was effected until we were about 50 yards out. From the cove we took a sharp left and followed the coral which went out into the ocean about a quarter of a mile where the boats were moored. It was fantastic! A wide variety of sea life and yes, there were some very friendly tutles.
I can see taking the snorkel boats to Molokini or to the island of Lanai because you just can’t get there otherwise! But Honolua Bay, mile marker 14, or this place it just makes sense to park and swim out.

This beach (more of a cove) was very hard to find IMO but I found it! I even took a few photos so I would remember the spot. If you use a GPS just use this address because this is right in front of the beach at 5034 Makena Rd. I am someone who has a hard time with directions and maps and I assume I am not alone so hopefully this will help some direction challenged snorkelers/​divers! You will park along the road and probably see the «scuba bus». Walk by that address and you will see a few graves (you will not notice a cemetery unless you get out of the car — trust me!). You will then see bunch of lava rocks and a couple different ways to get in. It looks harder to get in and out of then it actually is. I was fine without swim shoes. I saw a couple small turtles and must have missed seeing giant ones because a family told me they just saw 2 huge ones! Snorkeling was good but I didn’t see as much as a variety as I would have thought I would have. Turtle town (one of them at least!) is nearby. I saw people snorkeling off boat not too far from where I was snorkeling. I would like to check this place out again. I met a local just as I was getting out who said all the fish and turtles were at the opposite side of where I was snorkeling so I missed that!
Spoke to someone from Tripadvisor about this place. It does seem a bit creepy. It is typically empty and I snorkel solo so I didn’t go out to far. I know the odds of getting attacked by a shark are slim, but this seems like prime shark area!
I didn’t think it was the best snorkeling area as there are easier beaches to get in and out of with more fish, but it just was such a beautiful and quiet area.