Diving in Maui, Hawaii

[StuartT]

Shore diving in Maui from my experience mainly in South Maui is very good and easy as long as the surf isn't up as others have mentioned. Most of the shore dives will max out at 40 ft or so and if you go really slow you will find all kinds of critters like frogfish,nudibranchs, various species of eels, turtles, reef fish, and probably some white tips. I've used Maui Dreams in kehei for tank,flag, and weight rentals and they are very reasonable. You can easily navigate most of the sites simply by following the reefs or as others have suggested hire a guide like Shaka Doug at least for the first few dives. If you click on the pictures on my profile you can see some pics from 6 weeks ago. Molokini is also good but requires a boat dive. Worth doing at least once 100-200 ft viz and pretty easy diving compared to the PNW.

 

[scjoe]

We most likely will be staying in Kihei. .

Ed Robinson and Mike Severns are long time dive operators in that area. They both have very good reputations.

 

[abies]

I used Mike last Jan and it was great, if your comfortable to 30 feet in Oregon you will likely be fine to 60 in Hawaii. That's what I found after lake diving in Alberta and thinking 60feet was a little scary, going to 60 in Hawaii felt like 15 feet or less at home. The diving seemed easier too.

 

[divekraz]

We went with Ed Robinson for a week of diving over Christmas in 2008. Had a great time. They took your equipment during the time your diving with them and set everything up for you each morning. The boats would leave early in the morning as to avoid the winds which usually picked up in the afternoon. Except for the collapsed crater , the other diving was 30'-60' deep. The crater you can decide for yourself how deep you want to go.

 

[Scuba.com]

There are some really fun and easy places all along that side of the Island to do a shore dive. Over the years I've seen turtles till I'm sick of them, Whitetips, Snowflake eel, and plenty more that I've forgotten about. There's no comparrison to diving at home for you, though. The Sound has an endless amount of shore diving once you learn to time the tides where you happen to be diving, and Oregon? Even though it's my home state, and there is SOME shore diving, over all, not among my top destinations for a shore dive.

You'll have a great time in Maui!

 

[DiveMaven]

We dive Maui at least annually and concur with everything that has been said. Ed Robinsons is our preferred dive operator, but if you decide to dive with them, stick to the regular 2-tank dives. The 3-tank and Adventure dives are geared toward the more experienced diver, usually having deeper and/or more aggressive profiles, in addition to usually being live boat dives (which can make reboarding challenging at times). B&B is definitely highly recommended around here as well, so you wouldn't go wrong with either.

For shore diving, Shaka Doug always gets the nod around here. Another good choice would be Maui Dreams, though Shaka's dive bus means the "dive shop" is at the dive site, which I'd think would be a huge advantage.

Also consider driving up to Lahaina and catching a boat over to Lanai to dive. The Cathedrals are pretty spectacular and it's definitely worth the boat ride. For beginners, Lahaina Divers does a fantastic job, but Hawaiian Rafting Adventures (no head on the boat) or Extended Horizons both are reported to be great operators as well.

 

[wadivediva]

We just got back from Maui and dove twice with Ed Robinson - great crew and really great with beginnners. They split us in two groups and the more advanced divers went into a deeper area where the beginners went to easier areas. I talked to one of the beginners who said they felt very comfortable with their dive master. Inside the crater was very nice and easy - we were about 60 ft. Lots of cool fish and stuff to see. Highly recommend these guys! Also, went over to Moloka'i w/ Lahaina Divers to find the hammerhead sharks (which we did!). Good operation also but this was an advanced dive only (depth and current)
Diving is much easier in the tropics versus Hood Canal and the cold water stuff! You will have fun.

 

[Para Goon]

My wife and I did the same thing a couple of years ago. We got certified here in the NW. With our open water dives at Hoodsport. We also did a dive boat trip with Bandito's in Puget Sound the week before we went to Hawaii. We each had 8 dives when we went to Maui. We had planned on doing a lot of shore dives, but there was a south swell (~8') that ruined that for us. We even had some shore scooter dives booked, but they were cancelled due to the swells. Our first and only shore dive was at Turtle bay (i.e., Kapalua bay). Which is great for beginners, because it is somewhat protected from swells and current inside the bay. I saw two green turtles at the cleaning station near the opening of the bay. I wished I would have had a camera! The parking there was tight; so, get there early. The Maui Dive Shops are a great resource. We rented our tanks, weights, and dive flag from them. At turtle bay, one of the Maui Dive shops instructors gave us a tip on parking there. We parked on the shoulder, and partially on a grassy area, near the restrooms. We only got a warning like he said. One thing to keep in mind is to not gear up in the sand. We started to gear up on the beach, and I quickly realized the hazard of getting sand in the connection points of the regulators...so we moved up to the grassy area. I noticed other divers were gearing up at their vehicles, and then trekking down to the bay. Which is a walk that my wife would not have liked that at the end of the dive.

The rest of our diving was with Lahaina Divers, and we loved them. My favorite dive was Molokini Crater. The visibility was 180+ feet even with the south swells. The area is protected from the southern swells due to the crater. It was like jumping into a fish bowl, and the deepest I went was 80'. Of course you don't need to go that deep, and most divers didn't. I had a tendency to hug the bottom. When I compare all of my 100 dives, Molikini is number one to date. I know there are probably bettter dives out there, but I haven't been there yet! We also dove the Catherdrals, and that awesome too. Like others have pointed out, the diving in warm water is so much easier than the colder NW waters.

We also stayed in Kihei and did the drive to Lahaina. Planning one hour for the drive to ensure that we got there on time. Since we were doing multiple dives with Lahaina Divers, we left our gear at the shop. Which was great not having to pack it back and forth every day.

Happy diving.
James.

 

[k374]

Molokini is fantastic imho...although on my guided dive I hit around 110' but you don't need to follow the guide that deep, you can stay at 70' and watch the other divers from above. The back wall is also excellent but requires more experience and good air consumption and BC as it's a fairly deep dive.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Our first and only shore dive was at Turtle bay (i.e., Kapalua bay). Which is great for beginners, because it is somewhat protected from swells and current inside the bay.

Kapalua Bay has no i.e. Kapalua Bay is Kapalua Bay. There are some who call one of the small bays south of Napili Bay "turtle bay." There is only one "Turtle Bay" in Hawaii, on Oahu's North Shore.

The parking there was tight; so, get there early. The Maui Dive Shops are a great resource. We rented our tanks, weights, and dive flag from them. At turtle bay, one of the Maui Dive shops instructors gave us a tip on parking there. We parked on the shoulder, and partially on a grassy area, near the restrooms. We only got a warning like he said.

So the MDS instructor who called Kapalua Bay turtle bay told you where to illegally park and get off with just a warning, and you really appreciate that. I find instructors like that only slightly more offensive than tourists like you. :mooner: