POA and Whale Watch Tour Heads Up!

[Love Overboard]

If your wanting to do a whale tour off ship in the winter months then you need to read this.

 

The only island that POA stops to do whale tours is Maui.

 

The ship docks Sunday at 8:00am and and leaves the next day at 6 pm.

 

There are two locations Lahaina and Ma'alae, the later has free parking and for those that know getting parking in Lahaina can be quite problematic as public parking is limited and comes with time restrictions etc. And the meter maids hide behind the trees.

 

Upon checking with four of the highly recommended operators here is what I found:

Paragon and Trilogy Tour Operators do not offer tours on Sundays. As for their Monday schedule it didn't work for us and if I remeber correctly Trilogy schedule wasn't up but I did call them. Roberts (gorabbitgo) has not posted their winter tour schedules as yet but upon talking to them there is a big chance they will not be offering the whale tour this season, and if they do it would not be much cheaper than ship tour as they would be the middle man.

 

Lastly is "Pacific Whale Foundation" which we booked with.

They offer the following days and times: Lahaina Sunday and Monday 9 am 10:30 11:31, 12:31 am 2 and 2:30 pm and 4 pm.

 

According to their website you need to be there 45 min before your scheduled time for briefing so there are very few times to work with. Their tours run approx 2 hours.

 

You need to know that most car rental companies shuttles ie: Thriftys first shuttle is 7:15 am so allowing for driving time etc to Lahaina approx 45 to 60 min. your limited even more. Also the best times to see active whale's is morning. Don't forget that you don't dock on Sunday till 8:00 am.

 

PWF Ma'alaea location times are 8 and 10:30 am 12:30 and 3 pm. This location from cruise ship pier is about 20 min. and about the same from Thrifty car rental give or take 5 min.

NOTE that their 10:30 spot is always full and that's because (Im guessing) that NCL has it blocked off all the way through the season.

 

So again factor in the points from Lahaina (above)and your limited.

 

Now PWF does offer a 6:30 am sunrise tour out of both locations which could work for those that are keeping car rental over night.

 

I suggest you book car rental first because you can always cancel it or make time changes right up to last day,then book whale tour as they will process CC right away just as we found out.

 

Care rentals and tour spots do fill up fast so don't procrastinate on this one. I also found that for 3 or more people cost wise was advantageous for us to do it on our own.

If you time it right the Maui Ocean Center is right next door to the PWF Ma'alaea location.

[CruiserBruce]

Good info. I might toss in here a couple of items.

 

First, the reason POA only offers whale watching on Maui is that it is, by far the best place to see whales.

 

Secondly, the best place to see whales is off Lahaina. It is quite a bit better than Ma'alaea.

 

Thirdly, near Lahaina, there is a small port called Mala Harbor that has a couple of venders also. While limited, parking is free. Capt Steve is the one we use, he sails at 7:30, 9:45, 12:00 and 2:30. He is on the Internet. Be aware, he uses small rigid hull inflatables, but is the best we have ever had, in many, many excursions.

 

Lastly, yes Lahaina is a royal pain for parking, particularly if you get there after about 10 am. But, in my experience, as there are more whales in this area- the deep water of the channel- there is also more venders offering tours.

[Budget Queen]

A significant error, Humpbacks are NOT more "active" in the morning. I've whale watched extensively in Hawaii, went out twice my last trip, and simply is not true. I spend an extra week and saw humpbacks every day, with many episode of breeching (the MAIN behavior that is desirable to see) all hours, and well into the evening.

 

The tours, as mentioned are not just in the above two listed areas. I go out with a vendor , which is EASY drive up past Lahaina.

 

I am on my way to Alaska on Wed, to catch these same whales on the end of the migration around Dickson Passage, Will be out all day in Juneau on three whale watches, and all day with a friend out of Hoonah.

[CruiserBruce]

Budget Queen, I agree, they are active 24/7. However, as you know, it gets windier and rougher as the day progresses most days on Maui, and visibility of spouts and backs gets a little rougher.

[Love Overboard]

I'm totally aware of the local vendors and have planned to do this the 1st week when we don't have older relatives with us that will be joining us on the 2nd weeks cruise, they are already nervous because we have them doing off ship excursions.

 

The info I posted is for those that want to be guaranteed a spot for an off ship whale tour and are not as adventurous as others and also to layout some time frames considering tour times, length of tours and driving time.

 

AS well for most cruisers this will be their first cruise to the islands and possibly their only one, not like myself and others that have been a few times and know our way around.

[GypRasc]

This past March we went with PWF from 11:00 -1:00 pm in Lahaina. Not only did we see whales doing almost every movement you would want to see we also got to see some false killer whales which are on the extreme endangered species list. The naturalist on our boat was running from one end of the boat to the other as excited as could be following them. She was super excited as she said that was the 1st time she's seen them in Hawaii although she did say she knew there was a small pod of them in the area. They look more like dolphins than whales but it was pretty cool to see something on the endangered list.

 

Do be careful with parking - we ended up with a $60 parking ticket. Totally did not notice the limited parking sign.

[Love Overboard]

This past March we went with PWF from 11:00 -1:00 pm in Lahaina. Not only did we see whales doing almost every movement you would want to see we also got to see some false killer whales which are on the extreme endangered species list. The naturalist on our boat was running from one end of the boat to the other as excited as could be following them. She was super excited as she said that was the 1st time she's seen them in Hawaii although she did say she knew there was a small pod of them in the area. They look more like dolphins than whales but it was pretty cool to see something on the endangered list.

 

Do be careful with parking - we ended up with a $60 parking ticket. Totally did not notice the limited parking sign.

 

 

Thanks for the info. Did u get the ticket in Lahaina? I know parking there is a nightmare and its timed and they mark your tires, at least they did it to us in 2008.

[robbinsca]

We were on the POA Molokini Snorkel tour and saw quite a few whales on our trip back and forth. We were impressed with PWF's crew- they were young, fun and very knowledgable. They catered to every age group and were very excited by everything they saw. Try as you might you sometimes get the tour guide that just isn't "on" that day- and we didn't feel that way at all.

 

Plus- it is a good cause. I'd rather give my money to them than a pure profit tour. the proceeds from the tours they give help support the research about the whales and other sea life in the area.