Hawaii is the first state in the U.S. to ban the sale of sunscreen containing the coral-harming chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate, ushering in a new era of reef safe sunscreen.

The new law went into effect January 1, 2021, prompting visitors and residents alike to trade in their non-reef-safe sun protection.

Why Reef Safe Sunscreen?

Conventional sunscreens typically contain chemicals, such as oxybenzone and octinoxate — two ingredients that have been linked to coral bleaching.

When coral bleaches, it loses its color and becomes vulnerable to disease. Bleaching places coral under significant stress and subjects it to increased mortality levels. According to the National Park Service, 14,000 tons of sunscreen enter coral reefs every year.

The now-banned chemicals that have been traditionally found in most popular sunscreen brands, are believed to be one of the contributing factors to the coral reef destruction. These brands include Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat, to name a few. However, we are starting to see a trend of these big brands creating new, less toxic sunscreen lines, such as Banana Boat’s Simply Protect, which is made without oxybenzone and parabens.

Trading in old sunscreen for reef safe versions. (Photo: Cindy Ellen Russel / Honolulu Star-Advertiser)

How to Know if Sunscreen is Reef Safe

Choosing the right sunscreen is important, not only to protect your skin from burns and cancer, but also to preserve our oceans and marine life. Selecting a sunscreen that is both effective and reef safe can be overwhelming.

Here is a check list to take along when shopping for sunscreen that will protect both your skin and the reefs, as well as a list of sun protection considered reef safe.

• Avoid sunscreens containing petrolatum, commonly known as mineral oil, which takes years to biodegrade, and are known to be harmful or fatal to aquatic life and waterfowl.
• Avoid sunscreens with high content of Titanium Dioxide. This mineral does not biodegrade and is found to react in warm seawater to form hydrogen peroxide which is harmful to all sea life.
• Avoid sunscreens with oxybenzone and octinoxate, the two chemicals banned in Hawaii and linked to coral bleaching.

15 Reef Safe Sunscreens

The coral reefs at Hanauma Bay provide food, shelter, and breeding grounds for marine life, making the Oahu landmark one of Hawaii’s top attractions. (Photo: Napua Heen / Hawaii.com)

Here is a list of sunscreens considered to be reef safe. Sunscreens made in Hawaii are marked with an * asterisk.

• *Kokua Sun Care Hawaiian SPF 50 Natural Zinc Sunscreen
• *Mama Kuleana Waterproof SPF 30 Reef-safe Sunscreen
• *Little Hands Hawaii SPF 35+ All-natural and Organic Sunscreen
• Manda Organic SPF 50 Sun Paste
• *Raw Love SPF 35 All-natural Mineral Sunscreen
• Thinksport SPF 50 Sunscreen
• All Good SPF 30 Sport Sunscreen Lotion
• Babo Botanicals SPF 30 Clear Zinc Lotion
• Suntegrity Natural Mineral Sunscreen
• Badger SPF 30 Unscented Sunscreen Cream
• Raw Elements SPF 30 Certified Natural Sunscreen
• Stream2Sea SPF 30 Mineral Sunblock
• Loving Naturals Clear Body SPF 30+ All-natural Sunscreen
• Banana Boat Simply Protect SPF 50+ Sunscreen (spray, not lotion)
• Olita Mineral Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30

Many of these reef safe sunscreens are available at your favorite retailer.

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Waikiki Beach Days

If you are staying in Waikiki, just about the entire stretch of beach is an excellent place to set down your towels and picnic basket. Be sure to bring, or rent, a beach umbrella as well. You’ll appreciate the mid-day sanctuary from the warm Hawaiian sun, especially if you have very little ones.

Babies and toddlers will enjoy playing in the sand and making their way down to the gentle lapping water. Older children will find adventure swimming, snorkeling or even surfing. They’ll love the way the water, sun and sand feels on their skin. And Mom and Dad can soak in the joy of their laughter and squeals of delight.

The Best Family Beaches Around the Island

If you’d like to explore outside of Waikiki, the first family-friendly beach on your list should be Hanauma Bay. Please note, however, that Hanauma Bay is closed on Tuesdays and not ideal when it’s windy. Kailua Beach is also an excellent choice for families; it’s also less than ideal when the winds pick up.

If you don’t mind the drive, Ko Olina Resort offers four lovely lagoons that are ideal for younger children. Ko Olina is located on Oʻahu’s west side and is home to Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa as well as Four Seasons Resort Oʻahu at Ko Olina. The beach areas are open to the public, and you will find public restrooms and showers. This area of the island is almost always sunny. So, if it’s raining where you are, you might consider driving out west to Ko Olina. The added bonus is that the sunsets here are spectacular.

Family Attractions on Oahu

Aside from the beach, Oʻahu is full of attractions. In Waikiki alone, there is the Honolulu Zoo and the Waikiki Aquarium. Local parents love these spots, because there is a great shaded park within the zoo and the aquarium is air-conditioned. Oh, yes, and these are also great learning environments for the children.

Sea Life Park is a family favorite. Located at scenic Makapuʻu, children are invited to revel in the beauty, wonder and fascination of ocean animals. There are dolphin shows (sit in the splash zone), penguin feedings, and reef creatures to marvel at.

The biggest, and quite possibly the best, attraction on Oʻahu is Kualoa Ranch, where the Jurassic Park movies as well as many other blockbusters were filmed. Movie site tours, ziplining, ATV rides, horseback escapades and secret beach adventures are all part of the fun at this private nature reserve.

Other places of note are the Polynesian Cultural Center, Waimea Valley and the Dole Plantation. The Polynesian Cultural Center is a vast expanse of living villages where you can interact with cultural demonstrators. And don’t miss the canoe pageant that happens daily at 2:30 p.m. Each village shows its best with singing, dancing and storytelling over the lagoon.

At Waimea Valley, located along the North Shore’s 7-mile miracle of gorgeous surf spots, you will find an easy hike to the valley’s waterfall. There you can take a dip under the watchful eyes of a lifeguard. There is a popular beach just across the street, Waimea Bay. However, the surf here can often be very dangerous, particularly during the winter months.

The Dole Plantation boasts the largest outdoor maze in the world. Keiki, children, have lots of fun making their way through. Parents, be sure to bring some cool beverages. It can take close to an hour to complete the maze. Visitors to the Dole Plantation can also enjoy riding a train, strolling through a botanical garden and feeding the resident koi fish.

Things to Do with Children

We’ve covered here the best family beaches and main family attractions on Oʻahu. We haven’t, however, begun to scratch the surface of possible things to do on Oʻahu.

You can rent a beach house on the North Shore during the summer and watch your children frolic in the ocean until sundown while you sit, hand-in-hand with your spouse sipping on your new favorite local craft beer. You can take a snorkeling tour off of the west coast and swim in crystal clear blue waters with turtles and dolphins. You can hike to Makapuʻu Lighthouse under the silvery glow of the full moon, ascending the gentle, stroller-friendly incline to behold the endless blue Pacific. You can savor a sumptuous picnic at the Spalding House Museum, where children will happily laugh and chase each other across the grassy lawn and through the garden trails.

With endless options, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. The most important thing to remember is that it’s not about how many sights your family sees or how many activities get checked off your itinerary. It’s about reconnecting and savoring the sound of sweet laughter, which is why family beach days are so perfect.

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After 40 years on Oahu, and an avid hiker, I figure I’m familiar with most trails on the Island. It’s a rare treat when the name of an unfamiliar trail enters my sights. Such as it did with a recent story I was writing on the Sierra Club of Hawaii. In doing my research on the club, I discovered it’s been highly active in protecting the Kaiwi Shoreline Trail. Kaiwi Shoreline Trail?

The very next morning, I was on the trail by sunrise. A supremely psychedelic time of day. As that blinding molten ball peeks over Makapuʻu Lighthouse hill, soft blues and pinks that have suffused the horizon are suddenly eclipsed by a light show that is nothing short of paralyzing. If no one is around to hear it, do the gasping sounds humans make at the sheer explosiveness of a brilliant Hawaiian sunrise still make a sound? You bet. Every shivering leaf, blade of grass, and inert rock are suddenly awake with life, all transfixed in that dazzling show of glory that spills over the etherial darkness like a rushing of lava.

It’s not that I wasn’t familiar with this general area. After all, I’ve hiked the Lighthouse Trail untold times, and spent carefree childhood days in the foothills, at Kaho‘ohaihai Inlet, where my brothers and I would jump off a log tucked into the shoreline boulders, a makeshift diving board. I’d sometimes bring my snorkel to commune mermaid-style with the fairyland of attractive fish that abound in this crystal cove. It’s just that until my Sierra Club research, I hadn’t realized there was a shoreline trail that extended even beyond Kaho‘ohaihai Inlet. When something is so utterly spellbinding as this tiny, paradise-perfect bay is, why look any further?

Today, I revisit my childhood memory, that inlet at the foot of Pele’s Chair, a rock outcropping that resembles a rudimentary spot for a giant to recline. And then I continue along the shore to the right, where a salt and pepper splash of trail is comprised of black lava rocks offset by equally eye-catching ashen white rocks.

Farther along, as the brightening sky begins to reveal the jagged asymmetry of Koko Crater’s gaping rim in the far distance, Ka‘ili‘ili Bay, on my left, makes its presence known with fingering inlets that present marshy vegetation. Pools have gathered here and there in the flat, inland sands and given rise to surreal clusters of mangroves. Their myriad roots are spindly appendages rising in arching symmetry from the sandy floor of nature’s reflecting pools.

As the path veers away from the beach, there’s a shift from oceanside lava rock to tall, dry, grassy fields, reminiscent of golden African savannah. But here, the gold is doubly vivid, like a glowing vision from a treasure chest, as a flood of rays drenches the rich veneer of the morning across the land.

Every picture is perfect here. Layers of the horizon, when looking toward the ocean, change from straw-ochre to plush green, provided by an outcropping of hearty naupaka clusters, that contrast drastically against an inky black silhouette of sharp-edged lava rock. Gnarly rock protuberances segue through a stretch of tide pools into an expanse of liquid blue that meets the sky’s fiery vibrancy of atomic yellow. There’s no silver lining here. It’s more of a celestial caldron boiling up such a flaming brew in the heavens that plump clusters of clouds stand out like a hovering convergence of alien spaceships.

Next on my path is Kaloko Inlet, a waterway that requires passing over picturesque Wawamalu Bridge. The inlet reaches all the way to Kalaniana‘ole Highway, which at this point is parallel to my path. A network of side paths spread through the grasses and sands, but I’ve kept to the one along the shoreline. Pre-1800, this entire Kealakipapa Valley was once home to the farmers and fishermen of Wawamalu Village. The village’s name suggests shade, in reference to forests that once stood here. A ranch was established in the area in the 1920s by Alan Davis, with some locals still referring to Kaho‘ohaihai Inlet as Alan Davis Beach. A tsunami wiped out the ranch’s several houses, horses, and cows in 1946. Since then, groups like Sierra Club have lobbied to protect this magical stretch of shoreline from development, with its sunrises that are worth more than gold.

The trek ends shortly thereafter at Wawamalu Beach Park, and I wend my way back toward my car, against the harshness of the risen sun. The day is already hot and I seek shade after my dreamy morning that’s already bidding me return to these mystical shores, and soon.

TRAIL: Kaiwi Shoreline Trail

LENGTH: 2.5 miles round trip

HOW TO GET THERE: From Waikiki, take Kalakaua Avenue to Diamond HeadRoad. Follow the signs for H1 freeway going east. H1 quickly turns into Kalanianaole Highway. Go past Hawaii Kai, Hanauma Bay, SandyBeach, and Hawaii Kai Golf Course. About a mile past the golf course, turn right onto Makapuu Lighthouse Road, entering an open gate marked by a sign that reads “Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline.”

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Hours

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is open year-round, except for Tuesdays, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Plan to arrive as early as you can or wait until the crowd trickles out in the mid-afternoon. During summer, the state park opens at 6 am and closes at 7 pm. It closes at 6 pm in winter.

Hanauma Bay is CLOSED on Tuesdays.

Parking & Shuttles

Parking can fill up as early as 7:30 am and costs $1 a vehicle. If you want to avoid battling the limited 300-space and often packed parking lot, you can take the city bus or book a private shuttle service. The shuttle service includes round-trip transportation to and from your Waikiki hotel as well as fins, masks, and snorkel.

Here is the private shuttle tour offered:

Walk or Ride the Tram

From the parking lot, it’s a short but steep 10-minute walk into the beach. If you don’t want to walk, you can take a quick tram ride down for $1 and back up for $1.25.

Amenities

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve has lifeguards, restrooms, changing rooms, and showers, as well as food concessions and snorkeling equipment rentals. All you really need is something to swim with, your entrance fee ($7.50 per person over the age of 12), and a small cooler if you want to pack a picnic lunch.

You can click here to visit the official Hanauma Bay website.

Savor the Beauty

Once you’re there, relax and savor Hanauma Bay’s breathtaking natural beauty. It’s been Native Hawaiians’ favorite escape for thousands of years and a place of entertainment and fishing for their royalty. Hanauma Bay has also been featured on various films including Blue Hawaii and the John Wayne film, Donovan’s Reef.

Book a Shuttle Tour to Hanauma Bay

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