Molokini Crater Snorkel

[Dr.Acula]

My wife and I are in our late 20's and are sailing on the POA on Jun 6. We have some snorkeling experience and are strong swimmers. It's important to us to see fish and other marine life, as well as coral. Good food is a bonus but not a dealbreaker. We booked an excursion on NCL POA for the Molokini Crater Snorkel (price $105 each). We read in Maui Revealed about the various companies that provide snorkel tours to Molokini Crater at a lesser price ($70-$85 range). We were wondering if it was worth it to go with NCL or to book on our own. Any opinions?

[2disneydads]

I have not done the tour but I have been communicating with the Pacific Whale Foundation, which runs the tour for NCL. PWF gets generally high marks for the tours it runs, and you can read more detail about the tour at pacificwhale.org. The NCL tour includes the transportation to the harbor, which is about 30 minutes away. All of the articles I've read on Molokini strongly suggest going out early in the morning, so getting a car and driving down to the harbor for a Molokini trip could be an issue for you. There are some other more intensive trips, such as PWF's sail that includes Lanai and both Trilogy's and Paragon's sails to Lanai (one of which NCL offers, too, including transportation to and from Lahaina), that you might want to consider. Just some suggestions for your thinking.

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

If NCL is using Pacific Whale Foundation it will be a good tour - we've done them privately; also Pride of Maui and Trilogy and they are all good. I'm not sure where you dock, but if it's in Kahului then I would take the ship's tour for the same reasons the previous poster had; most of the tours leave from Buzz's Wharf or Lahaina/Kaanapali area and if you are in Kahului it will be a bit of a drive, so $105 including transportation is a good price.

 

We have snorkled Molokini several times since the early 1990's and I have to say it is not nearly as good as it used to be. If you are really interested in the snorkeling aspect and you have the chance to head to Lanai I would take that as an alternative just MHO

 

Whichever you choose I would recommend taking the earliest tour you can as it is always better in the morning, no matter where you go.

 

Have fun - maui's a wonderful island.

 

YaYa

[TyrnaD]

Blue Water Rafting Express Tour is the one we did, it was AMAZING. The boat is smaller and goes much faster, so getting there is also an adventure in itself. Definitely look into that one if you can.

[simonv]

I would take Lanai over Molokini, if it's offered by ship. Molokini isn't what it used to be as Ya Ya Cruiser says. Too many ships for the small area, anchoring rather than buoys for many years, snorkeling boats throwing bread to attracting fish thus dominated by aggressive ones rather than colorful butterfly and angel fish, and just too many snorkelers for so many years and the combination of it took a toll. Coral is less damaged in Lanai because of accessibility, and that means more fish.

[Denise&Paul STL]

Does the NCL tour do a video of the snorkel experience? I think that will be my deciding factor on which company to go with.

[Dr.Acula]

DeniseandPaulSTL,

 

I think NCL uses Pacific Whale Foundation as their snorkel vendor, and when I was doing research on their website, I didn't find anything regarding selling videos of the snorkel trips.

 

We recently bought the Maui Revealed book by Andrew Doughty and there is a wealth of great information about snorkeling and other activies.

 

John

[Flyingirl]

Where on Lanai do you guys recommend going for snorkeling? I have found the ferry that goes over to that island for $30pp each way. But, I can not seem to find how to get around once there or where to head for snorkeling? Thanks so much as the snorkeling is the highlight for us!

[Karen_N]

Maui is very easy to get around. All beaches are public and some of the best snorkeling I have done is right from the shore. I have been to Lanai with Trilogy. While it was a wonderful day, it was long, expensive and did not provide for a lot of snorkeling time.

Black Rock at Kaanapali Beach is wonderful, for both sea turtles and lots of fish. The beach is great.

Napili Bay -sea turtles and lots of fish... beautiful beach.

Honolua Bay was great... very clear and a very easy hike in. A rock beach which is very interesting.

 

Maui Revealed is a great reference. It will tell you all the public parking spots, and all the great beaches and snorkeling spots.

 

Here is another great link showing snorkeling spots.

http://www.mauiinformationguide.com/maui-snorkeling-maps.php#westmauisnorkelmap

 

We spent 8 days in Maui and snorkeled every day! That is what I call a holiday.

[Flyingirl]

Thanks Karen! I had been too cheap to buy the Maui Revealed book but went and bought it tonight! Appreciate the info on Lanai as that made up my decision.

[cruzfool]

just returned from 5/2 sailing of POA. did Molokini Snorkel with NCL and yes they used pacific whale foundation boat. overall good tour, yes you can book cheaper tours directly with them and or with others. 90 people on our boat holding about 120-130 I think. crowded but not too bad. snorkeling good. take wetsuit top or get cold, or rent theirs for $10. must get own transport to harbor if you don't use their tour which includes bus trip plus you also stop at the harbor for shopping on the way back. overall I'd rate the tour as good value for the $105. 8:20 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. any other questions? LMK.

[auntsister]

We went with the NCL tour with the Pacific whale foundation and loved it. It is one of the excursions we plan on repeating this spring. We also loved the kayak tour in Kauai, this is also a must repeat.

Next trip I want to book a snuba tour also, will be looking for this next.

[Dr.Acula]

Cruzfool, thanks for the post. I think we're going to stick with NCL's Molokini crater and then rent a car when we get back so we can leave early the next morning for Road to Hana. Thanks again for the info!

[Denise&Paul STL]

Thanks everyone for the info. I was also too cheap to get the Maui revealed since we are visiting all the islands and need to get one for all, but I am now seeing that it will be worth every penny! Thanks!

 

And thanks for all the tips. These were great!

[Dr.Acula]

Denise&Paul STL,

 

I would check out Amazon.com. You can get really cheap used versions of Maui, Kauai and The Big Island Revealed. We were in really excited for the cruise-mode and just went out to Borders and dumped $45 on them. Wish we would have checked Amazon first!

 

John

[Denise&Paul STL]

Dr. Acula, thanks for the tip! Glad I checked back here before running out to Borders! I got so excited, I forgot myself! :eek:

[adventuregrrl]

We were just in Hawaii and booked the Molokini trip on the Four Winds II through Maui Charters. It was one of the best tours we've ever been on. The Captain and crew were so much fun. They offer a video and cd photos of the whole trip and rent cameras. Some in our group tried SNUBA.

 

We saved money by booking on-line in advance. We did a two day car rental and drove out there for the morning snorkeling. It was a blast. They cooked burgers and served complementary beer, wine & soda.

 

http://www.mauicharters.com/

[Denise&Paul STL]

Thanks adventuregirl, that was one I was interested in!

 

I ended up getting all four revealed books on Amazon for under $30 (used of course). Thanks!!!

[adventuregrrl]

Thanks adventuregirl, that was one I was interested in!

 

I ended up getting all four revealed books on Amazon for under $30 (used of course). Thanks!!!

 

A coworker loaned us the revealed books and they are really great. We used them, plus these board to plan our trip. I posted a little more info on our adventure and a link to our pictures at: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=989068

 

Enjoy!

[Denise&Paul STL]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing!

[Chesterpeake]

I agree with adventuregrrl! I've also had a wonderful snorkeltrip to Molokini with Four Winds. One of the bonuses I didn't know about ahead of time was their venture to Turtle Town on the way back to Ma'alaea Harbor; saw dozens of turtles.