Our kids wanted to take surfing lessons in the morning at Waikiki Beach and spend all afternoon on the beach. I inquired by e-mail about all the details and we was recommended that we should rent a set of umbrella & chairs. You think that you would want to enjoy the sun while you're in Hawaii, but I am glad that we rented a set. There was no way we could have stayed in the blazing sun all day long even if we had sunscreen on. We paid $50 (plus tax) for a set which came with one large umbrella and two lounge chairs. Kids also appreciated the shade. No food or beverage services are allowed on the beach but we went to a nearby store and brought some Musubi and water and ate in the shade.
If you are thinking about going to spend a day on the beach, I strongly recommend that you rent a set, and it was a good service worth paying for.
We were also suggested to check in early in the morning as they said they could not set out our umbrellas until we physically checked in. We got there around 7:30AM ad glad that we did. The public beach filled up very quickly, and if we got there mid day (not that we would have because the kids took 8:30AM lessons), we would have been sitting far back of the rows of the umbrellas, away from the water. So get there early!
Thanks again for recommending the umbrella set service. We'll be back again next summer!