This Just In...
Maui Snorkel Tours
Stay & Play Maui
Maui snorkel tours are at the top of the list in terms of popularity for activities on Maui.
Never been snorkeling on Maui before? Enjoy a Maui Snorkel Charter.
These tours are simple to arrange and snorkeling can be learned in a matter of minutes and mastered on your first outing. Snorkeling is easiest to learn with the assistance of one of the charter boat crew members. Tom Barefoot's Tours offers quite a number of discount snorkel tours at various locations including Molokini and Lanai.
What are the reasons many people choose a Maui snorkel charter:
- Maui snorkeling is fun because the ocean waters surrounding Maui and its neighbor islands of Lanai and Molokini are comfortably warm. The average water temperature during the year generally varies between 74 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The waters surrounding the island are ideal for a Maui snorkel boat as many of its most popular Maui snorkeling locations have great visibility. This is particularly true of the protected marine reserves such as Molokini and Honolua Bay which often have visibility in clear crystal waters in excess of 100 feet.
- Maui snorkeling locations are often teeming with beautiful coral formations and colorful tropical fish.
- The close proximity to Maui of the islands of Lanai and Molokini provide some of the very best snorkeling locations and snorkeling conditions to be found in the state.
- Another big allure is the fact that discount snorkeling Maui tours are often quite available through out the seasons.
Is taking a Maui snorkel charter better at certain times of the year or at certain times of day?
- Maui Snorkel Tours depart all year long. Obviously it is better to go on a snorkel charter when the weather is excellent and the ocean conditions are the most pristine. Generally speaking, the summer months are usually storm free and make for the most ideal conditions. Winter months, just like on the mainland, are when we typically have storms and these obviously are not a great time to go snorkeling however the time between storms in the winter provide some of the most beautiful days of the year and some of the very best conditions for snorkeling.
- As far as the time of the day to go snorkeling, the morning time is usually the best. This is when the oceans are quite often the calmest and the viability the greatest.
What will you see on a Maui snorkeling excursion?
- On your Maui snorkeling adventure you will see many types of colorful coral the most common of them being cauliflower coral which is usually brown or green but can also be a rose color, lobe coral which blooms in large mounds in protected shallow and deeper waters, and finger coral which is generally found in reefs at 15' in depth.
- The list of reef fish you might find on your Maui snorkel is seemingly endless but probably includes some of these categories of reef fish: Parrotfish, Wrasse, Filefish, Butterfly fish, Angel fish, Damselfish, Triggerfish, Eels, Unicorn fish, Hog fish, Surgeon fish, Cardinal fish, Soldier fish, Squirrel fish, Sanperch, Scorpion fish, Frog fish, Hawk fish, Lizard fish, Goatfish, Mullet, Puffer and Groupers.
- Some of the larger marine life you may see on or near the surface on your Mauisnorkel tour could be Green Sea Turtles, Bottlenose Dolphin, Spinner Dolphin or the benign White Tip Reef Shark.
Here are some spots the Best Maui Snorkel Tours will take you!
- Molokini always tops the list as the most popular place to snorkel. Molokini is a small, crescent shaped inlet island located about 4 miles off the coast of Maui. The snorkeling conditions here are generally excellent in the mornings before the normal trade wind conditions arise. Afternoon trips here can also be good but the likelihood of wind-free and calm conditions is much less than in the mornings.
- Turtle Town is also a popular place on the itinerary of many snorkel tours and it is most frequently visited in tandem with a Molokini snorkel tour. This spot is located just off the coast of Wailea and is an area frequented by the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle.
- La Perouse Bay and the Kanaio Coastline are visited by Maui Snorkeling adventures that can easily and swiftly travel the distance between MaalaeaHarbor and this bay and coastline. There are not many boats that have this capability so this tour is not as available as tours to Molokini. Some smaller boats and rigid-hulled rafts can also leave out of the Kihei Boat Ramp which is much more accessible to these areas.
- Honolua Bay off the northern coast of West Maui is a protected marine reserve and is one of the best places to snorkel on Maui during the summer months. In the winter Honolua Bay is frequently battered by large surf and is a favorite spot for Maui big wave surfers. During the summer months the bay is calm and ideal for snorkeling. Most of the boats that visit Honolua Bay for snorkeling will depart from either Kaanapali or Lahaina Harbor.
- The coast off Lanai will provide some of the most interesting and varied snorkeling to be found in Maui County. Many Maui snorkeling tours will leave from Lahaina Harbor or Kaanapali Beach and visit the Lanai coastlines which, in addition to large reefs and beautiful fish will also give you the best opportunity on Maui to see dolphins.
Seeing Whales on your Maui snorkel tours.
It is highly unlikely of course, that you will go snorkeling with whales but it may be a good thing to keep in the back of your mind that if you choose to take a Maui snorkel boat in the Winter months it is very likely that you will be seeing whales from the boat as well.
Pride of America Cruise Ship:
Your Maui snorkel charter will not pick up directly at the cruise boat pier but these snorkeling tours on Maui can be reached via a Rent-A-Car that can be arranged through Tom Barefoot's Tours and you can be picked up by the Rent-A-Car shuttles right at the cruise ship dock. The majority of these Maui snorkel excursions are available on the Sunday or Monday of your Maui cruise itinerary.
We’re proud to keep Maui homes healthy and clean! Pono Chem-Dry is locally owned and operated, and it’s our privilege to serve our neighbors.
With our revolutionary cleaning process and non-toxic, green-certified cleaning solution, we'll leave your home not only cleaner but safer and healthier, too.
This is a perfect Second home or move right into an ongoing rental operation making with this complete turnkey Unit. There is over 1700 square feet of living space including the large lanai, making this one of the best floor plans currently available in this price range. The unit has tile and waterproof vinyl floors throughout. Air conditioning in the Living room/Master Bedroom area. Nicely appointed and fully furnished this is currently operated in a successful rental program. There is abundant storage including an additional secured exterior storage area. Exceptionally big Ocean views from this very open floor plan. This is a perfect Second home or move right into an ongoing rental operation making with this complete turnkey Unit. In addition to direct access to the beach the Sands of Kahana features two swimming pools, two heated outdoor spas, three tennis courts, two fitness rooms, Restaurant and Bar, several gas Bar B Que areas, 24 hour front desk, 24 hour security patrol, putting green, large koi pond, concierge desk, sea kayak and stand up paddle board rental onsite. In addition, there are five more restaurants, shops, activities, Whaler General store, gas station and additional amenities and services all within walking distance. Call your favorite Realtor today to set up a showing today.
Science and Hawaiian Culture Lock Horns on the Big Island Hawaii's Largest Selection of Activities On Hawaii's Big Island protests by Native Hawaiians have flared for years against the construction of an 18-story telescope atop the volcano Mauna Kea. In a sense these protests have roots in the creation story told from one generation of Native Hawaiians to the next: Wakeia, the union of Sky Father, and Papahānaumoku (Papa, for short) and the Earth Mother gave birth to the Hawaiian islands with its highest summit, Mauna Kea, as its piko or navel. Some Native Hawaiians consider Mauna Kea to be their living elder sibling. Mauna Kea’s summit is believed to be where the gods reside. Some families still place umbilical cords on the summit after childbirth because of a living connection to their ancestry tradition. The conflict between Native Hawaiians, scientists, government and its legal system over construction of The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is very complex, involving issues of indigenous rights, sovereignty and environmental stewardship. The TMT is not the first such project to break ground on Mauna Kea. Rather, over the course of 50 years, thirteen telescopes have preceded it, ever since Hawaii and the University of Hawaii foresaw the possibilities of an astronomy boon for the economy. For scientists, Mauna Kea’s summit is an ideal site in the northern hemisphere, even the world, for astronomy and its quest to find signs of extraterrestrial life. The Hubble space telescope can see objects 200 times sharper than Galileo’s telescope. The TMT will be able to see objects three times sharper than the Hubble: planets orbiting stars, details of the galaxy at the beginning of time. Understandably this is all very exciting for scientists, but even current astronomy facilities already threaten Mauna Kea's fragile ecosystem and have destroyed habitats for native species. The summits of both Mauna Kea and Haleakalā are home to unique ecosystems and rare and endangered species, many of which are found nowhere else on our planet. These summits are themselves part of the larger ecosystem of the entire Big Island. And each of these volcanoes is part of a complex and uniquely Hawaiian eco-cultural system involving freshwater, land, plants, animals, ocean, and people. Managed today by the state of Hawaii and the University of Hawaii, Native Hawaiians have never relinquished their claims to either Mauna Kea or Hawaii’s almost 2 million acres of land. No surprise, therefore, that TMT has resulted in Native Hawaiians mobilizing around aloha 'aina, their core philosophy that translates into deep love of the land and guides the relationship of Hawaiians to Mauna Kea and the rest of Hawaii’s environment. Guided by aloha ‘aina, protesters refer to themselves as “protectors” making a stand for their native land and Hawaiian culture. They view TMT as an act of cultural desecration that also is detrimental to the ecosystem. Protests that began locally have gone global, especially after the Supreme Court of Hawaii validated TMT’s construction permit a year ago. Adding to the complexity of the conflict, polling has consistently shown that a majority of Hawaii voters support the construction of the telescope by a margin of more than 2-to-1. Polls even have shown that a majority of Native Hawaiian support the TMT project. So what really is at stake? How should visitors to Hawaii interpret the conflict between Native Hawaiians and most of Hawaii’s population? Is this just a case of native beliefs versus modern science or is something more fundamental in play? For those of us who help visitors find their way to and experience Mauna Kea, this great mountain symbolizes the conflict between different ways of knowing and experiencing the world. For many Native Hawaiians and other indigenous peoples elsewhere, sacredness means much more than merely a concept. It is a lived experience of oneness and connectedness with both natural and spiritual worlds. Native Hawaiians are not protesting science. They are embracing some of the same core values that attract visitors to Hawaii. Visitors are attracted to the Hawaii because it lies far out in the middle of the Pacific and far off the beaten path. Yes, the atmosphere is much cleaner and mountains like Mauna Kea are the best places on the planet for astronomical observatories. But since climate change and other mounting environmental issues are pushing more and more people to view our planet’s environment as challenged and even in jeopardy, increasing numbers of non-indigenous peoples are coming to places like Hawaii in search of a genuine respite and, at the same time, are truly respectful of the need for stewardship for our planet and its special places like Hawaii.
What to do on your last day on Maui
Our favorite boats and destinations
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to ensure a listing is legitimate. Here are 8 tips to help you get exactly what you’re looking for when booking a vacation rental.
Healthy Tips
Zippy’s to Open in 2020 on “Ninth Island,” Vegas
Maui's favorite jet propelled snorkel and fishing boat
