Halona Beach Cove in Oahu (Hidden Gem)

Halona Beach Cove, or Eternity Beach as it’s better known is a super cool mini cove beach that you can’t see from the main road. If you don’t know where to look, you can inadvertently pass this hidden gem.

It is located just east of Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve on the east side of Oahu. Not surprisingly, it is also directly next to the Halona Blowhole.

Where is Halona Beach Cove located?

Halona beach cove is located about 20 minutes from Waikiki driving on Oahu’s south eastern side. The drive can get a bit of traffic though, so at peak times it could easily take more than 30 minutes.

If you are coming from downtown Honolulu you could expect the drive to take around 45 minutes.

Halona Beach Cove is just “below” the Halona Blowhole. You can see the blow hole from the main road, but you can’t see the beach.

The waves in this area can be especially powerful, so be careful exploring. While you could do it in flip flops you will probably want to make sure you have shoes on when you walk across the lava rock to get there or want to explore it in more detail.

So long as it is safe, this mini beach is awesome. We went later in the afternoon and shockingly had it to ourselves, though there were a few people looking down from the lookout. I’ve seen pictures of it being quite crowded, but given that it is a little bit out of the way you might get lucky.

Some people will snorkel here, but when I was there the waves were too violent for me to feel comfortable getting in the water deeper than my knees.

Lava Tube at Halona Cove Beach

There is a super cool cave directly on the beach. Technically, it is better described as a lava tube, which forms as lava dries. You can read more about it here.

Movies that were filmed here

The intimate cove beach has been a perfect setting for various movies. It is relatively easy to access yet somehow looks totally exotic and far away.

From Here to Eternity– Evidently this is a super old movie that was quite popular. While I hadn’t heard of the movie or the actors, it is where the beach gets its name Eternity Beach.

Pirates of the Caribbean– One of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies was partially filmed on this beach. Yes, it is ironic that Pirates of the “Caribbean” was partially filmed far out in the “Pacific Ocean.” In the movie they called this area Whitecap Bay.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom– While you won’t see dinosaurs parts of the movie were filmed at Halona Beach Cove.

Halona Blowhole

Once again, you won’t see this beach from the road. Make sure to visit Halona Blowhole while you are in the area, and once at the lookout you will be able to look back (south) and see the beach.

This natural ocean phenomenon occurs when waves enter a sea cave and force air and water to escape through a small hole in the roof of the cave.