Maui excursions

[jenny368]

We would like to snorkle the volcanic crater and also whale watch. Has anyone done an excursion in Maui that would cover both of these areas? We will be on the Infinity on Sat. 4/2. We will be in port from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

Any information is greatly appreciated.

[10X]

When you mention the "volcanic crater" is assume you mean Molokini. It's a great place to go and is accessible only by boat. You can get discounted tickets for snorkeling excursions to Molokini here:

 

http://www.barefoottours.com/

 

You don't say where your ship will stop, but in Lahaina it's easiest to get a whale watching excursion by just walking down the pier side. There are a dozen or so vendors to take you whale watching. Some offer more than others, like a meal and drinks, and some are just bare bones. Whale watching tours leave about every 2 hours.

 

We went with the Pacific Whale Foundation this year and had a fantastic whale watching event, with 3 whales right under our boat. If I had 6 foot arms I could have reached out and touched a whale.

 

I think their exucrsion was $29 per person.

 

We'll be going with them again in February, when we return to Maui, where our son is getting married.

[pugsbest]

I have been checking into snorkelling excursions to Maui (we'll be there in August, so not whale season). My biggest issue is that the morning excursions leave really early, and with our arrival time and the drive time from port to where the excursions leave, we wouldn't make it in time. I have found a couple companies that do afternoon excursions, but I'm not sure they do them year round or just during the summer. Here's a couple links you can check:

 

http://www.mauicharters.com/

 

http://www.prideofmaui.com/index.html

 

Julie

[Divetex]

I'm sorry, but I must disagree with MX about Molokini Crater. It's a great place to scuba dive (on the back side, outside the crater), but in my opinion, it's lousy snorkeling. The water is 25-40 feet deep, and you just won't see much. The Four Winds catamaran that goes there does offer SNUBA, but I don't recommend that, either. If you really want to go snorkeling during your "stay" on Maui, there are better places. Unfortunately, though, Maui isn't known for its snorkeling. My best advice would be to snorkel south of Kona (See listings on this board for Capt RayJay) at the Capt. Cook Monument, or at Hanauma Bay on Oahu. Unless you're really dead-set on snorkeling, there are better ways to spend your time on Maui....like the Road to Hana, windsurfing the north shore, etc. Hope this helps.

[bankofdad]

I agree with Divetex on this one. We did take the Maui Charters tour (on Four Winds II). I did my review the day after we got back form Hawaii, so it was still fresh in my mind after returnig. Here's an extract of what I thought about it, but this is only MHO, and others have enjoyed the tour:

 

Day two in Maui we drove down to Maalaea Harbor for an AM tour of the Molokini Crater on the Four Winds II. The cruise ship does offer a Molokini Crater tour, but it is on the afternoon of the first day in Maui. The problem with that tour is that all reference guides say the an afternoon trip that makes it all the way to Molokini is very “iffy”, and that they often times choose an “alternate site” because of increasing wind and surf conditions. Further, we selected Four Winds II over the other operators based upon information read in several guidebooks, including “Maui Revealed”.

 

 

 

First, I’ll comment on the crew and the food. Outstanding in every way. Very accommodating, helpful, friendly. The BBQ lunch was very very good for a snorkel boat, and very generous. The bar was open, and included all sodas and beer. The boat, while very nice, did have a crowded feel to it. Sailing on board with us were probable about the same number as we had sailed with in Kona, but the boat felt crowded.

 

 

 

Also, I have to say that I was really put off by the “video-tographer” and “snuba” sales pitches. I’m sure we spent the first 30 minutes at sea listening to sales pitches, and then the next 30-45 minute being photographed for a “still shot CD” sale after the cruise. You couldn’t even go in the water and peacefully snorkel without being perused by the underwater photographer. To me, this was a real big turn-off, and just made me think of Maui commercialization, not it’s beauty.

 

 

 

As for Molokini itself, I was very disappointed. The reef is very beaten up, and there were a number of tour operators moored very close to each other. After experiencing Kona, this was a real let-down. I would suggest researching other high quality snorkel spots in Maui, and skip this one (regardless of who the tour operator is). I would much have preferred a quite beach day over this excursion.

I'll add this in, too. We were there on an overnight stay on POA, and the first day we drove to Lahaina and stayed off of the ship. We stayed at the Sheraton Kaanapli that night, and I snorkeled around Black Rock, which is right in front of the hotel. IMHO, the snorkeling there was even better than Molokini. Just MHO

[breeding]

We don't leave until June so I was going to wait a while before getting into the excursion questions but I just can't wait. We will be on the Wind for the 10 day cruise.

 

First I will say most of the stops we want to have the peace of mind that the boat will wait for us, but any and all information is wonderful!! We are stopping in Lahaina when we go to Maui but we do have a very long day there and I would like to do something on our own that day. The girls have never Boogie boarded or surfed - Is there a big difference. Would they like one over the other. We have two options of surf lessons each are 3 hours long . The one on Maui is called catch a wave and doesn't tell us where they would take us? The other one is on Kaui and is at Poipu? Should we choose one over the other. Actually only our oldest daughter (14) and dad think they want to surf. Could we learn boogie boarding on our own?

 

If part of our group does an excursion like catch a wave on Maui and the rest of us rent a car and go see the Io Valley or the tropical plantaion or other sites could we catch up with each other and spend the rest of the day at Ka-anapali beach? How can we hook up after an excursion if we go two different ways??

 

Also I just read two entirely different reviews about the Body Glove in Kona. The excursion we think we want to take is called Body Glove Snorkel and Dolphin Sail and it says we are going to Pawai Bay. Is that the good one?

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

[jenny368]

Thank you all for your comments. You are very helpful!

[spleen93]

Boogie boarding is relatively easy to learn on your own. Heck, I learned on my own. :) Surfing is much harder - you'll need someone to teach you.

 

Spleen

[Divetex]

Breeding,

 

I can't say this with any personal credibility, since I haven't done it...but my wife went on the Body Glove excursion to Pawai Bay when we were there in May, and she wasn't impressed. The water was way too rough to get close to shore where it was shallow enough to see the fish well, and the bottom drops off very fast where they were. Way too deep for decent snorkeling. Sorry.

[marly]

I'm reading this post with much interest. My husband and I are "spoiled" divers. We like the warm water of the Caribbean, so we've ruled out diving in Hawaii. We were considering snorkeling in Maui, but it seems that's not the best way to go either. Any other suggestions for exciting shore excursions there?

Marly

[spleen93]

Marly - old threads:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=82069&highlight=maui+recommendations

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=75923&highlight=maui+tour

 

Spleen