The black sand of all black sand beaches on Hawaii is made out of tiny fragments of lava. In contrast to the green and white sand, most of the black sand is created almost instantaneously, as hot lava enters the water and cools down so suddenly that it solidifies, and shatters into large amounts of ‘black sand’.
Black sand also retains the most warmth, as you will notice when you are walking on the sand during a warm sunny day. This is the reason why the sea turtles choose black sand beaches to build their nests – and because of this the best beach to spot turtles are the black sand beaches!
Punalu’u Black Sand Beach
Punalu’u beach is the most famous black sand beach on Hawaii, and has even acquired the nickname ‘Black Sand Beach’. It is the most expansive and easily accessible black sand beach on the Big Island, and great for swimming, snorkeling, coastal hikes or a nice picnic. You can often also see the endangered Hawksbill and Green turtles basking in the sun on the beach.