Activity Tips
Kevin Ditamore – Owner / Manager
A Lanai dolphin adventure is a must-do on my list of Maui activities. If you have time for two snorkel boat tours, go to Molokini and Lanai. If you only have time for one, go to Lanai!!! The reef there is just as good as Molokini (better in places) with lots of fish and turtles … and there are a lot less people.
Lanai trips are definitely a good way to go for people staying in the West Maui area (Kapalua, Kahana, Honokowai, Kaanapali, and Lahaina). Lanai trips leave from Lahaina, so much less driving is involved than most of the Molokini boats.
While none of the Lanai trips GUARANTEE dolphin sightings, it is unusual to not encounter dolphins along the south coast of Lanai. Your chances of seeing dolphins is in the 75-80% range on any given day.
Lots of people ask if they can swim with the dolphins. The honest answer is “probably not.” Snorkel tours have to be very cautious in approaching dolphins … they are protected marine mammals. Once in a while a boat will stop to snorkel and the dolphins will approach out of curiosity. If this happens, enjoy the moment … you are truly blessed. Don’t plan on it happening. You will likely see plenty of activity just watching them from the boat … the large pod of spinner dolphins at Lanai is very active. You will likely witness acrobatic behavior and dolphins will probably swim on both sides of the bow of the boat just a few feet away from you.
The Lanai Explorer is our most popular Lanai tour …. it offers the adventure of rafting … but more comfort than most rafts as there are real seats on board the vessel (you don’t have to sit on the innertube sides of the raft unless you want to). The Lanai Explorer also offers quite a bit of shade and has a marine head on board when nature calls. We absolutely LOVE the Lanai Explorer with Landing tour. Grab your camera and hit the trails that go out to the point beyond Hulopo’e Beach … see the colorful tidepools and sea arch, scrample down a wooden ladder to the hidden beach that looks out to Sweetheart Rock (the Hawaiian placename is Pu’u Pehe), and hike up to the overlook. You can even walk up to the Manele Bay Hotel … the place Bill Gates rented out entirely when he got married here on Lanai. This tour is doable for the majority of our clients … but not all. Keep in mind that there is a walk of about 5-7 minutes each way to and from the beach.
The non-landing version of the Lanai Explorer is a great choice for people who have been on-shore at Lanai before … and want to spend more time out on the ocean around the island.
If you’re looking for more adventure to Lanai, check out Ocean Riders.
One more Lanai ocean adventure worth mentioning … for CERTIFIED scuba divers, Extended Horizons operates an excellent scuba diving trip to Lanai … they typically visit the spectacular underwater grottos called “Cathedrals” as well as one other site. For more information about Lanai scuba diving see our Scuba Diving page.