How easy is it to book a tour or snorkelling trip as you disembark in Maui?

[POHherewecome!]

How easy is it to book a tour or snorkelling trip on the pier as you disembark in Maui?

Instead of trying to schedule everyday with a pre-booked excursion, I thought I'd leave Maui open and do what we feel like on the day.

[beachchick]

Snorkeling: Non existent. First, all the snorkel companies leave from the west and south-west side of the island. They are across the island from Kahului. Second, the state of Hawaii (unlike some other tourist destinations) is not dependent on cruise pax for tourism. There are thousands of vistors on the islands year roung--and on Maui, most of them will be staying on the west/south-west side. The snorkel companies are not hurting for business or waiting for ship days.

 

If you want to do a snorkel excursion on Maui, you need to book in advance and rent a car (or research which, if any, commercial shuttles make the trip) to get across the island. You could take a taxi, but it will be expensive. I'm guessing r/t from Kahului to Ma'alaea would be at least $60 (maybe/probably more). The snorkel companies typically do not send shuttles to the ship because of the time, distance, and fuel expense.

 

Also keep in mind that morning snorkeling is almost always better than afternoon. It would be pretty much impossible to get off the ship, get a car or transport, and get to Ma'alaea (or Kihei or Lahaina) to catch the morning excursions on your first day. You'll probably want to look into it your second morning.

 

Your best bet is to do an advanced search on this forum only and go back about 3 months (or 6 if needed) for "maui snorkel" and "maui excursion" because this subject comes up often and there's some good info available to help you decide.

 

Other tours: At Kahului, independent operators can't just drive up to the pier and wait. There is very tight security and only certain vehicles are allowed in to the area. I recall "slots" along the side of the pier walkway for things like "Hilo Hattie's" shuttle; "shopping" shuttle; and certain tours (but I don't know if those were ship excursions or independent). It's not like the Caribbean (or even Hilo) where you have a bunch of tour vans lined up waiting to sell you a tour. There may be some, but they were definitely more regulated and not as readily available.

 

beachchick

[POHherewecome!]

Thanks Beachchick! You've saved me from making a huge mistake. We could have been stuck at Hilo Hatties all day in Maui, missing all the Island's beauty and attractions. Now I know what I need to do. I think I might just book the snorkel excurion through the ship. That way we don't have to pay taxis etc to get to the other side of the Island to use an operator and it seems like the ship uses Pacific Whale Foundation which repeatedly comes up as one of the better operators. Thank You! I just hate to over plan and book everything.

[beachchick]

POHherewecome: My pleasure. I understand about the overbooking issues. We're the same way. I can see why you wouldn't want the hassle of renting a car, but it will give you the most freedom. Second best bet will be to take the ship's excursion. Pacific Whale Foundation has an excellent reputation both in Hawaii and on the mainland. Molokini can be good to quite good for snorkeling (depending on the water conditions, as all places are). Even though it's not the best snorkeling in the world, it is quite fun and we've never been disappointed. There really isn't anything to do right around the pier area in Kahului (except some shopping, which isn't our cup of Kona even on a regular day, never mind a vacation day!).

 

Have a lovely (and relaxing) cruise.

 

beachchick