Exploring Oahu: Lanikai Beach

Everyone always wonders, where's the best beach? Well, everyone has their opinion and it's hard to set fair criteria but for many people exploring Oahu Lanikai Beach tops a lot of people's list. Lanikai Beach is on the windward (east) side of Oahu in the residential community of Lanikai next to the town of Kailua. You know you're on Lanikai Beach when you see the twin islands, "the Mokes" short for Na Mokulua and your cares ease away.

Lanikai beach is especially known for its powdery white sand and very gentle waves from the barrier reef offshore that protects the beach from the mighty Pacific Ocean. The Mokes are a popular destination for kayakers and if you don't have one you can rent one nearby. The beach is a popular backdrop for couples photography and beach weddings and being on the east side is a spectacular place to watch the sunrise if you want to get up early enough. The beach can get crowded on holidays though and be mindful that there isn't much parking around in the area. It's best to park in Kailua and hike over to Lanikai Beach.

The name Lanikai comes from the Hawaiian word Lani which means sky or heaven and Kai which means ocean so Lanikai is where the sky meets the ocean. Or the ocean is heavenly or the sky is like the ocean or vice versa. What did they really mean when they named this beach? Either way we love both the sky and the ocean and we spend time looking at both, especially when the bright Hawaiian sky is reflected on the beautiful Hawaiian ocean so we thought it would be perfect to name our sunglasses Lani Shades. The Lanikai collection in particular was named after this inspiring beach. We think Lani is such an appropriate name for wood sunglasses, someday people will just call all sunglasses "Lani's"... catchy isn't it?