I’d heard of black sand beaches, but never a green sand beach. We drove to the tip of Hawaii (the big island) early in the morning to catch a swim at the green sand beach. We parked our car when we could go no further and walked along the rocky shoreline for about 3 miles. Eventually we came to this cove. To this day I think there’s no better place in the world for a swim. The protected cove had beautiful blue-green water and indeed green sand.
Papak?lea Beach, as it’s also called, is actually inside a volcanic cinder cone. The cone, last active more than 10,000 years ago is rich in olivine or peridot, which as it’s eroded and pounded down by the waves mixes with the sand to give it that green color. It’s not really visible in the picture, but the actual beach is green, I kid you not!
To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.
IF YOU GO: Hawa’ii is full of beautiful beaches, not that it comes as a surprise to you. The big island has not only this green sand beach, but also a black sand beach (made from lava) which is equally neat to visit, if not as pleasant to lounge at. If you can, snag budget last minute holiday deals to Oahu. From there it’s an inexpensive and short flight to the other islands.
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