Hawaii’s beaches are arguably among the world’s best beaches. You won’t believe the variety of color in a sandy beach in these islands. White is nice. Everything goes with black. Brown is average, comes in various shades, and meets expectations. Green goes with my eyes…

Whenever you see a list of top beaches in the world, Hawaii ends up with four or five. Maui alone has a couple on everyone’s list. Even surfers (who don’t always care much about the color or coarseness of the sand) have favorites. Everyone knows you can’t surf well near a beach with green sand. And nude beaches? Well, nude goes with everything. Or nothing. I have trouble remember all the beach rules.

What’s nearly unanimous is that Hawaii beaches are great.

We’ve seen white powder sand. All the shades of brown and tan and light brown colors. Of course, the famous “black sand beach” of the Big Island shows up on a few lists and tourists love showing their photos to family and friends when they return home.

The most striking and memorable beach? It’s the Green Sand Beach on the south end of the Big Island. In Hawaiian, Green Sand Beach is called “Papakolea” which doesn’t have anything to do with green. Green Sand Beach is out of the way, but a marvelous trek and full of memories.

It’s the only beach in Hawaii that’ll look great with green eyes. Mine are green. Honest.

Green Sand Beach is on the same section of Hawaii as another famous beach: Punaluu Black Sand Beach. Guess what color sand you’ll find there.

Both beaches are located in the Kau district. At the end of Kau you’ll find Ka Lae, the southernmost point of the entire United States of America. Guantanamo Bay doesn’t count.

Ka Lae is also called South Point—farther south that anything in Florida. The next stop after South Point is Tahiti. Or lunch for a shark.

The Ka Lae area is also home to the ugly Kau orange. It’s sweet but ugly. Like my neighbors.

To gete to Green Sand Beach you’ll need to hike. It’s a 2.5 mile trip by four wheel drive. The beach is unprotected and the surf is dangerous.

But the sand, oh the sand. It’s an emerald green sand that borders on olive. In fact, Olivine is one of the materials which crystallizes when lava cools, hence the green in the sand.

This olive colored crystal is only found in Iceland (lots of volcanoes) and Hawaii (lots of volcanoes) and on the Moon. Go figure.

I swear. My green eyes look great on this beach; in a monochromatic sorta way.

Farther east is Punaluu and the Black Sand Beach. The beach here is less threatening, picturesque even. Swimming is OK. Don’t swim south unless you like sharks or you’re certain you can make it to Tahiti.

Summary: If different colored sand is your thing, Hawaii has a beach with your color on it; sans Pink.

Pros: The Kau area is out of the way, a few hours from Hilo by car—but stunning beaches. Just stunning.

Cons: Did I mention that the beaches are far away from anything madding?

Want to know the best places to eat in Hawaii? Click over to Ono Dining for totally biased reviews on Hawai's best (and not so best) restaurants.