Going to Maui in December - What Will We See

[nuxx]

Here is a pair of Achilles we saw while snorkeling off of Lana'i (Saw a lot more there):

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Here is a smaller pair of Achilles in the surge zone off of Molokini:

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Large Whitetip Reef Sharf while scuba diving off of the Mala Wharf:

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These were short videos for Facebook... need to put up the full ones later on...

 

[kkittredge]

very cool. Going to Maui this summer. Any feedback on top 1 or 2 spots to go to?

 

[nuxx]

very cool. Going to Maui this summer. Any feedback on top 1 or 2 spots to go to?

Best where the day trip to Lana'i, basically best fish were just off of the beach.

Most people on our trip just hung out at the beach while we were in the water for hours

Also Molokini probably had the best variety of wildlife. Easy to get away from the groups and check out most of the fish close to where the water breaks.

 

[kkittredge]

Thanks. Really appreciate reply.

 

[nuxx]

Thanks. Really appreciate reply.

No problem, was really not let down at all.

I have pretty high expectations and I left Maui pretty happy

 

[snorvich]

Best place for Achilles is the shallow wave swept water, right in the surge. Most snorkeling ops get very nervous and don't like you in those spots....easy to get knocked into the rocks and cut up a bit or sea urchins spines jammed into you.

I agree. They habit surge areas usually fairly shallow.

 

[nuxx]

I agree. They habit surge areas usually fairly shallow.

They aren't that hard to find, probably saw at least 20 on the 2 dives and 3-4 snorkeling trips we did.

Looks like we're heading to Oahu this July as well

Any tips?

 

[NTP66]

They aren't that hard to find, probably saw at least 20 on the 2 dives and 3-4 snorkeling trips we did.

Looks like we're heading to Oahu this July as well

Any tips?

Avoid H1 at all costs. Seriously, just don't do it. Hanauma Bay is a must if you're on Oahu, and plan on getting there as early as humanly possible.

 

[nuxx]

Avoid H1 at all costs. Seriously, just don't do it. Hanauma Bay is a must if you're on Oahu, and plan on getting there as early as humanly possible.

Suggestions of where to stay? Will probably only want to stay in the city for a day or two.

Thinking the North Shore, haven't really put much thought into it...

 

[NTP66]

Suggestions of where to stay? Will probably only want to stay in the city for a day or two.

Thinking the North Shore, haven't really put much thought into it...

I've only been to Oahu once, so I'll defer to others who have visited more frequently. We stayed at the Park Shore Waikiki last winter and have nothing but good things to say about them. Outstanding location in that area (free parking on the next street over, which is hard to come by), and very reasonable in terms of price.

 

[nuxx]

I've only been to Oahu once, so I'll defer to others who have visited more frequently. We stayed at the Park Shore Waikiki last winter and have nothing but good things to say about them. Outstanding location in that area (free parking on the next street over, which is hard to come by), and very reasonable in terms of price.

Thanks we'll check it out.

Stayed at a VERY nice hotel in Maui, but ended up not using the room at all. We were always out. Really no need for a suite with ocean view haha

 

[NTP66]

Thanks we'll check it out.

Stayed at a VERY nice hotel in Maui, but ended up not using the room at all. We were always out. Really no need for a suite with ocean view haha

We were always out and about, too. Still, we've always had at least an ocean view or oceanfront unit in Maui, and going during whale season is reason enough, to be honest. We can see and hear the whales from our unit in Ka'anapali, which made for extremely pleasant breakfasts on the lanai.

One thing I'll say about Oahu is that, while it's still an incredible island, don't expect it to be like Maui. Maui has a charm all to its own, IMO.

 

[kkittredge]

Straying a little, but did anyone go to the Wakkiki aquarium? Looking forward to that as well. Curious as to recommendations of anything special to do outside of normal admission?

 

[NTP66]

Straying a little, but did anyone go to the Wakkiki aquarium? Looking forward to that as well. Curious as to recommendations of anything special to do outside of normal admission?

We did, and were a little disappointed. It's incredibly small, though they did have some gorgeous triggers on exhibit. The peppermint is kinda cool if you're into Angels. The zoo was more fun.

 

[Deinonych]

One thing I'll say about Oahu is that, while it's still an incredible island, don't expect it to be like Maui. Maui has a charm all to its own, IMO.

+1

Not a big fan of Oahu. Love Maui, Big Island and Kaua'i (in no particular order, each has its own individual charm). Waikiki/Honolulu is fun in small doses, but I'd rather spend my time (and money) on the other islands.

 

[Deinonych]

Suggestions of where to stay? Will probably only want to stay in the city for a day or two.

Thinking the North Shore, haven't really put much thought into it...

We've stayed at both the Waikiki Parc and the Aqua Lotus Diamond Head. Both are nice boutique hotels. The Parc is in the heart of Waikiki, and the Lotus is closer to Diamond Head, a few doors down from the Waikiki Aquarium.

 

[kkittredge]

We did, and were a little disappointed. It's incredibly small, though they did have some gorgeous triggers on exhibit. The peppermint is kinda cool if you're into Angels. The zoo was more fun.

Thanks. If they just have the tank with the peppermint it will be worth it to me. I had heard it was on the small side. Would be cool if you could do a behind the scenes tour.

 

[NTP66]

Thanks. If they just have the tank with the peppermint it will be worth it to me. I had heard it was on the small side. Would be cool if you could do a behind the scenes tour.

The Peppermint is still there.



They actually have glass panels showing you the equipment that runs the tank the Peppermint is in, which is pretty cool. I've seen other aquariums start doing this recently, too, which I'm happy about. The behind the scenes stuff is sometimes more interesting than the actual exhibit (as was the case at a recent trip to a zoo in Texas).

 

[AZRippster]

I was just at the Waikiki Aquarium. Not super big, but they do have some nice stuff. I did a little thread with some photos:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2492603

Not a big fan of Oahu, I have to go there for work. The diving is very disappointing. The Big Island however has some nice diving, especially around Puako. There is a reason Hawaiian fish collection regulators/regulation is targeting the Big Island, it's where it's at. The most recent Coral Magazine has a good spread on it, and through deductive reasoning, identifies what island to dive in Hawaii.

 

[Scubareefman]

I have hundreds of dives logged in the Hawaiian waters IMO take a chatter out to dive site known as Cathedrals. posting from my last dive there. sorry for the picture spam. Also if you have never dove Hawaiian waters before just make sure to understand that most life camo's itself extremely well and the reef is volcanic so its reds, blacks, yellows, and greys not white like other locations around the world. A lot of folks expect bright whites with tons of bright colors but Hawaii is the opposite in that everything is very good at not letting you see it for the most part...so keep your eyes open and bring a good LED light day and night!
Hawaiian day Octo

open reef

http://s1299.photobucket.com/user/T...82648536863_1521399159_o_zpswudku26w.jpg.html
Eel checking me out.

me checking the eel out

Jack


tons of other shots I would post but......yep

Cheers

Tom