Began diving at age 64 - where should I dive in Maui?

[tahoemom]

I have a few dives under my belt but still consider myself a beginner. All my dives have been in cold California coastal waters and all the heavy gear is combersome for me.
I am on my way to Maui to swim in warm water. To begin, I would like to find a nice little cove to try shore diving where it is easy to get in and out of the water and I want to see lots of beautiful fish. I also would like to do a boat dive if it is recommended.
I have a dive buddy and a husband who help carry gear for me. Strong surf or slippery entry steps dont work well for me. I need easy, easy entry.
What suggestions do you have for me.
Thanks,
Tahoemom

 

[TSandM]

I would recommend Ulua Beach. Park briefly at the end of the road and offload gear, and then park the car. It is an easy walk down the hill to the water, and a simple sloped beach with no significant berm. If the swells in general aren't high, it's a very easy wade into the water. The reef is a good one with a lot to see, and it's fairly shallow (max depth, if you go to the outer reef, is about 40 feet, IIRC).

For a boat dive, any of the boats going out of Kihei will go to Molokini. I did my 10th dive there, and in about 40 feet of water, rolled over and looked up through hundreds of fish to the sunlight glistening on the surface. It was a beautiful dive.

 

[dwaters]

Welcome to the 'board!!!

Lot of great shore dives in Maui....along with Ulua on the south side is 5 Caves and more on the west side... if you want guided shore dives, check with Shaka Doug and kidspot here and drop down to the O'hana forum: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hawaii-ohana/

Feel free to drop on down to your local forum and join in the fun here:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/norcal/

Make sure you jump back into our great cool waters of California as soon as you get back so you won't get too soft...hehehe

 

[Brandon]

I'll second the votes for Ulua - I don't know that diving gets any easier than that particular dive site. Shorediving.com has an overview of it, and you can find it on Google Earth too. Hard to get lost on that reef and depths are mild at 20-40 feet. Short walk to beach from parking lot, and extremely easy sloping sand entry into the water.

I've spent 20 minutes there watching an octopus out hunting on the inner reef in about 15' of water, and there's definetly lots more to see; fishies, eels hiding in holes, nudibranchs in the coral, etc.

High marks from me, you simply can't beat Ulua's effort vs reward ratio!

-B

 

[floridanewbe]

welcome aboard

 

[Sue-ba]

Welcome. Make sure you try Mala Pier sometime. I loved that dive best.

 

[tahoemom]

Thank you so much for the advice. We look forward to trying your suggestion.
Carole

 

[tahoemom]

Thank you so much. We are excited to go diving.
Tahoemom

 

[princessaprilia]

Hi Tahoemom,

I'm positive you are going to love Maui. When are you going?

 

[llqwyd]

for a great operator while you are there, look up Maui Dreams...