Activity Tips
Kevin Ditamore – Owner / Manager
Let’s begin by making it clear … there are MANY boats that do Molokini snorkel tours. There are lots of old icky boats, a host of mediocre trips, and then there are a few great ones and THEY are the ones you are reading about on this page. WE ONLY BOOK NICE MOLOKINI TRIPS!!! You can’t go wrong with ANY of the boats listed on this page. We don’t book OLD boats that are poorly maintained … period. I have personally been on EVERY one of these boats and stand behind these tour operators. Now that you don’t have to worry about us booking you on a BAD boat the only question left to settle is “Which boat is the very best for you?”
My highest recommendation is to first consider Aqua Adventures. Many of our clients want something a step up in terms of personal service and really want to go on a less-crowded boat. I can tell you that you won’t find anything less crowded than Aqua Adventures. Their boat is certified for 49 passengers but they limit the trip to 36. That’s 100 less people than some of the other Molokini trips! Their boat is well designed to handle Maui’s often windy ocean conditions. This is also the best choice for someone who wants to try SNUBA diving; their boat was custom designed with SNUBA in mind, and their instructors are the best in the industry. Aqua Adventures offers a two-location snorkel trip, going to Molokini first and Turtle Arches second on a typical day. This boat is family owned and operated and they have next to ZERO crew turnover. These people love their jobs, love the ocean, and love sharing all of this with you. I recommend this tour for anyone EXCEPT those with very small children or anyone who KNOWS they have a problem with motion sickness. There is no water slide on this boat, so kids might prefer one of the bigger boats. Their deli lunch features HIGH QUALITY beef, ham, and turkey that have been SMOKED at Beach Bums, an excellent BBQ restaurant at Maalaea Harbor. If you are a vegetarian, you might prefer one of the bigger boats that offer garden burgers, but those smoked meats are REALLY tasty!
The Fourwinds is one of the best larger boats. The Fourwinds structures their trip differently than other tours, because there are lots of places where turtles can be seen while snorkeling along the Maui Coastline that don’t require a boat ride, but a boat is the ONLY way you can experience Molokini. For that reason they stay at Molokini the entire time, which gives you more snorkel time there than any other boat. If you plan to snorkel around your hotel too, you’ll probably see turtles then, so the Fourwinds will give you more time to experience Molokini crater. The Fourwinds has the better glass bottom viewing area, so if you have anyone in your party who isn’t going to snorkel, they’ll enjoy that feature. This boat has a capacity in the 130 range, but it’s spacious and well laid out to handle the larger crowds. We’ve seen other large boats that look like people are hanging over the edge … that isn’t the case with this boat. Fourwinds is a powered catamaran that are very stable.
Molokini as a snorkel destination is somewhat weather-dependent … while all of these tours that advertise Molokini as a destination will make every effort to provide guests with the experience they seek, a few days a year the tours get diverted to an alternate snorkel spot. All snorkel destinations are ultimately the decision of the captain of the respective vessel and that decision is always made with the safety and comfort of the guests in mind.
Morning is typically better snorkeling than the afternoon because our trade winds here in Hawaii are typically much lighter in the morning and the wind kicks up around noon or so. Many boats (and activity desks) advertise less expensive afternoon Molokini trips … we don’t find this approach to be an honest one. Because of afternoon trade winds most PM trips go to “Coral Gardens” which is near the tunnel along the Pali Highway between Maalaea and Lahaina. Coral Gardens is a nice spot to snorkel … but it isn’t Molokini. We do offer these afternoon trips, but we take the high road here at Adventuremaui.com … since your chances of going to Molokini in the afternoon are less than 20%, we prefer to market them as Coral Gardens snorkel tours … which occassionally get diverted to Molokini on really calm afternoons. If you want to be reasonably sure you are going to Molokini, you definitely want to book a morning trip when your chances of getting to Molokini are more like 95% instead of 20%.
Other Molokini Snorkel options are Pride of Maui, Aqua Adventures, Blue Water Rafting, and Magic of Molokini & Beyond.
We also offer scuba diving to Molokini Crater which is not found here on this page … see our Maui scuba diving page for details. We offer both certified diving and introductory, no experience necessary dives. The tours featured on our scuba diving page are best if EVERYONE in your party wants to scuba dive. If you have some snorkelers and a few certified divers, the Pride of Maui is the best choice.
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