Going to Maui in June

[blackfin]

We are planning a family vacation to Maui in June and will be staying at the Embassy Vacation Resort in Kaanapali. If anyone has stayed in that area I have a couple of questions:

1. Is there shore diving available?

2. What dive shop would you recommend for boats trips? Don't want to be on a cattle boat for the prices they charge.

3. If I would only do a couple of boats trips, what dives sites would you recommend?

Thanks much,

Joe

 

[stevenq99]

you will have a great time. I was there in January and stayed at the Mahana 2 properties down from the Embassy.

There is lots of shore diving available and it was very good. I remember someone shore dive right in front of the Embassy.

We went with Lahaina divers for shore diving rentals and our boat dives. The boats were bigger with about 15 people on each charter.

The one must dive imo is Molokini crater.

here are some other places to look at for Maui information:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forumdisplay.php?f=291

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=130879

here is a good list of shore diving locations:

http://www.scubashack.com/map.php3

my favorite was Ulua beach but it is about a 45-50 min drive from where you are staying.

have fun!

 

[blackfin]

Thanks so much the the great info! I have bookmarked the Lahaina divers and ScubaSchacks website. Did you make any dive reservations prior to arriving on the island?

 

[stevenq99]

Just went over to the shop when I got there. Too bad the whales will be gone by then it was cool to hear them when diveing.

Steve

 

[Shaka Doug]

Aloha Joe,

There will be some great shore diving opportunities down south (Makena and Wailea) during your stay. It's well worth the drive! I hit these places on a daily basis. Please feel free to PM me if you want to get some details.

 

[caymaniac]

I agree about Molokini, especially the outside dive. I've stayed at the Kaanapalni Beach Resort which is right near Black Rock. Black Rock juts out from the land and some of the Lua shows from the nearby hotels use the rock bluff to dive off into the ocean near sunset time. Black Rock offers some great snorkeling, we saw turtles, and about every other kind of fish that we saw diving just snorkeling at Black Rock off the Kaanapali beach.

 

[DiveMaven]

We stay in Kaanapali and dive with Lahaina Divers when we're on Maui, having done both Lanai and Molokini with them. We find them to be professional and loads of fun to dive with. We also love their big 46' Newton dive boats and even though they can put 22 divers on the boat, we've never felt crowded. Frankly, we've never had a full boat except on afternoon charters, so we avoid those like the plague.

We've since decided that the drive down to Kihei is worth it for Molokini charters, and will be diving with Ed Robinson's and B&B in the future. I'd strongly recommend that you check out B&B, Ed Robinson's, and Mike Severns for charters out of S. Maui, they are the most recommended dive ops in S. Maui and have excellent reputations for customer service and safety.

For shore diving, I hear that Shaka Doug is "da man", so you might check his website out for more information.

 

[Happy2BMe]

My husband and I just got back from Maui today. Doug was recommended to us for our open water certification dives. We did 5 shore dives with Shaka (Ulua, Makena / 5 Caves). One of the best things was the group size. Dives 1 & 2 - us, Doug and one other guy. 3 & 4 - us, Doug, a dad and his two young sons. The last dive was just us and Doug. We kind of expected to just go through the required skills and swim around a little, but Doug made each dive an adventure. We had a great time, saw oodles of critters on every dive: octopuses (octopi?), eels, various fish, turtles galore - reef shark, etc. Thanks, Doug! (I'll be working on my shaka sign, so I won't be making weird gestures at you next time! )

 

[ScubaHel]

Was in Maui last June, and will be back again this year. Kaanapali is a great area. I had just gotten my certification. I used Lahaina Divers, they're an excellent outfit. If you have the experience I say do the backwall at Molokini I hear its great. The inside of the crater is over-rated in my opinion. (But hey what do I know, I was there once.)

We plan on going to Lanai this year, as well as other spots. Aloha!

 

[AquamanKauai]

Maui shore diving is GREAT! Heck, there is a book on it! (The Divers Guide to Maui - by Chuck Thorne). It has 30+ sites I believe. Sounds like Shaka Doug is a sure thing. I agree about travelling south to go with Ed Robinsons or Mike Severns. When I lived on Maui I always sent people for the extra drive to Kihei and they always said it was worth while. The night dive at Black Rock is AWESOME. Spanish Dancers, hunting conger eels, huge green sea turtles, sleeping parrotfish ... the marine preserves are great on the upper west side and La Perouse Bay on the South shore.

oh, and check out Warren and Annabells show in Lahaina - you'll love it.