Snorkeling in Maui (I need advice)

tannersmith2000

tannersmith2000

New member
Hey

I am getting married in June of this year and I am going on my Honeymoon to Maui. Sooooo with being a huge reefer lol and a guy who loves to snorkel in shallow reefs, I want to book a place to stay in Maui where I can easily access a place to go snorkel with awesome underwater scenery.

Can anyone who has been to Maui to snorkel/dive tell me where the very best snorkel sites are? My fiancee and I wanna do a lot of snorkeling while we are there but we wanna find some nice reefs to check out and we also wanna stay relatively close to these snorkel sites.

Thanks a ton!

Tanner
 
jcanute said:
book a trip to molikini crater . you wont regret it.
Click to expand...

+1... And I'd also recommend the sunrise/bicycle trip to the volcano! It's great and don't worry...the 30 mile bike ride to the ocean is downhill!
 
jcanute said:
book a trip to molikini crater . you wont regret it.
Click to expand...

A great dive. I haven't snorkeled it though. I'd imagine it's not a cheap snorkel trip. The only shore dive on Maui that I've done is Honolua Bay. It was nice and free is always nice:p
 
Napili point, go to the cove, tons of green sea turtles. Honolua up the road is the best snorkling on the island. You can stay shallow or go a little farther out and see some big jacks. Both of these spots have an abundance of live corals.
 
Tanner,

It has been a few years and things change each time we go. That being said; we love the Mahana for lodging. Just south is Kahekili Beach Park which has reliable visibility, conditions, restrooms and fresh water rinse showers. Black Rock is within walking distance to the south; it will be a 10-15 minute walk but you sound young and fit. For some swimmers, the current can be stronger around the very point of Black Rock so if you find it too strong simply go with it and go to shore on either side and walk back. The south side of Black Rock is the Sheraton and you will find a lot of swimmers there; occasionally they get swept around and have to walk back. Black Rock will present as a wall feature dropping to 25 ft. depth; we always find big turtles and frequently see cuttlefish, eels, and frog fish if you have the eye.

The best advice I can give you is drop into a Maui Dive shop (many locations) and they will provide a map with sites to explore as well as advise you on daily conditions. Additionally try you can check out shorediver.com. Finally, when I mentioned reliable conditions previously; if you get to a site and it looks rough, lots of waves and stirred up then go somewhere else and try again another day.... We have been to Honolua and been totally blown out. Likewise, we have been there when conditions are phenominal....it all depends on the wind that day. Incidentally, there are no facilities at Honolua.

Enjoy,

Dave
 
Oh ya,

if your planning to do the "sunrise/bicycle trip to the volcano! It's great and don't worry...the 30 mile bike ride to the ocean is downhill! "

Plan it for your first or second day; you will be up anyway with jet lag.... but pack warm clothes. It will be in the 30's before sunrise at the start.

-Dave
 
I also was married in Maui on the beach in June. Molikini was well worth the dive all you need is a snorkel mask and deep breath.
Congrats and Good luck with your snorkeling.
P.S. Find the boat that has all you can drink beer!
 
Honolua is very nice. Just be warned you will get a stern talking to if you wear sunscreen here. There is a local family here that insists apon no sunscreen in "his" bay ;) Look for all the cars barely parked off the road and walk in. It's beautiful!!
 
Been to Maui 3 times in the last ten years.
Honolua Bay and Black Rock are the best that I remember on Maui.
 
Everyone..Thank you!!!!

I sort of have this all mapped out now. I appreciate all the feedback.It sounds like it might be wise for me to get a place near Honolua so we will be in close proximity to snorkeling there but I know she and I would enjoy taking a boat over to molikini crater. I guess if we took the morning boat it's a 5 hour snorkel session in the crater plus it's got a glass boat with everything on the boat. Honolua Bay sounds like my type of place.

One more question. How long would it take by car to travel from let's say Honolua Bay to molikini crater? And from both of these places to a volcano? Is everything relatively close driving distance?

Thanks again for all the advice and help! This is starting to come together.
 
Napili Point has some decent condos at decent prices.

It not a short drive to from Honolua Bay to Lahania about 45 minutes or a little more. You'll take a boat from Lahania to Molikini, but you might have to go all the way down to Wailea which is over an hour to catch a boat.

On Maui you'll see a crater and it's a long drive up that mountain. By far the best Volcano action is on the Big Island. Stay on the leeward side of the island for all water sports.

Personally I like catching a boat to Lanai.
 
You will be good staying anywhere from Kaanapali to Napili; plenty to do within 1/2 hour of that area. We would run into Whaler Village or Lahaina most nights for dinner. Failed to mention, you can also do catamaran snorkel trips from Lahaina to Honolua as well. We scuba from the shore on Maui but agree with smtank and try to do a couple boat trips over to Lanai.

Nothing is far by mainland standards; roads are just slow and curvy and you can get caught in really slow traffic between Lahaina and Maalaea. If you choose to leave for Molikini out of the Kihei area allow extra travel time.

-Dave
 
Book a trip to Fiji if you want to see some true coral reefs. It likely won't cost that much more. Hawaii is subtropical and heavy on Porites, Pocillopora, and Montipora. There is no Acropora (few waif colonies found recently) and has virtually no soft coral. Don't get me wrong - there is some great diving & snorkeling, but if you are looking for true coral reefs like you see in books you will not find them there. Just my humble option after 8+ trips and countless dives.
 
sedgro said:
Book a trip to Fiji if you want to see some true coral reefs. It likely won't cost that much more. Hawaii is subtropical and heavy on Porites, Pocillopora, and Montipora. There is no Acropora (few waif colonies found recently) and has virtually no soft coral. Don't get me wrong - there is some great diving & snorkeling, but if you are looking for true coral reefs like you see in books you will not find them there. Just my humble option after 8+ trips and countless dives.
Click to expand...

Agreed that Fiji has some world class diving/snorkeling. However, the OP stated that he's going to Maui for his honeymoon. It sounds like that's his plan at this point.
 
tannersmith2000 said:
One more question. How long would it take by car to travel from let's say Honolua Bay to molikini crater?
Click to expand...

Can't get there by car, unless your car floats ;) Molikini is an island near Maui. BTW both Maui and Molikini are volcanoes, jut not active in quite some time.
 
There are many more snorkeling/diving spots on Maui than this map shows, but here are some of the more popular spots: http://www.hawaiisnorkelingguide.com/maui_snorkeling.html

I personally love Honolua Bay, and know many others who enjoyed diving there more than Molokini. If you do plan on going to Molokini, take the earliest tour that you can, as that area gets crowded REAL fast in the afternoon.

I personally recommend Trilogy for any of the tours. My wife and I have been on numerous tours with them - and have two more coming up later this week - and love them. They're also the only company that can actually get you ONTO Lana'i; others can only get you just offshore. On top of that, they do a lot of good for the island, as well (Blue'aina reef cleanup campaign, etc.).

Anyway, you're bound to see a ton of wildlife no matter where you dive in Maui - especially Honu (green sea turtles). They're everywhere. Just remember that it's illegal to bother them.

As for the earlier comment about sunscreen, you really just want to make sure that you don't use any type of aerosol sunscreen, as that's the kind that will hurt the wildlife.
 
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