The nicest beaches on Oahu are on the North Shore, about an hour drive from Honolulu depending on trafffic. We went up twice, the first time to Sharks Cove where we heard there was a great tide pool that's very shallow and easy for kids. The second day we spent the day just down the beach at Waimea Bay Beach Park.

There is a small parking lot and a gear rental shop right across from Sharks Cove. We got lucky and got a parking spot at the park then got our gear across the street. There is a pay parking lot behind the gear shop if the free lot is full. We got our gear and I took the kids to the shallow tide pool area. It was ok but the kids weren't too happy about all the rocks. They were new to snorkeling and wanted to all by "next to daddy" and with all the rocks it was difficult.

We ended up going to the beach just south which is deeper but the depth made snorkeing for the kids easier. The beach has a breakwater so the waves weren't bad either. We ended up staying at this beach the bulk of the day.

The next day we went to the even nicer beach at Waimea Bay Beach Park. We brough some Huli Huli Chicken to eat for lunch and had a great day with Melanie and Steve. They brought a bunch of their toys, including boogie boards, snorkel gear and a monofin. That was all fun but the highlight here was the big rock to jump into the water from. The snorkeling was quite good too.

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