If only have one day to dive in Maui, what should I do?

[diversteve]

Sorry, I guess I should have mentioned my experience level... I consider myself a beginning diver and have not gone further than 65 ft. I'm staying at the Ritz Carlton.

I would LOVE to dive with hammerheads! I would also like to see Manta Rays, and I've read they are sometimes out there.

1. How long does it take to get to the backside of Molokini?
2. How long does it take to get to Molokai?
3. Are there always hammerheads there?

Molokai is Advanced diving. In addition to being blue water and a live drop, it's 80-120' where the Hammerheads are sometimes seen. If you consider yourself a beginner, it's not for you. http://www.lahainadivers.com/content/hammerhead-diving

Really neither is the Molokini Backwall:

An advanced dive, the Molokini Wall is a World Class Wall and Drift dive for certified divers only. The Wall is approximately 360ft in depth, however divers will level off at 80ft or less. You may see white tip, black tip, and/or gray reef sharks; manta rays, dolphins, and schooling fish. This is a very exciting dive for the sheer, vertical wall and blue water. Divers should have recent diving experience, good buoyancy control, and be good on air consumption.

The Manta Cleaning station is just off the Maui coast off Ukemehame Beach Park - about 5? miles south of Lahaina. Lahaina Divers goes there. They probably make the most sense for you from a proximity and experience level. Extended Horizons is another Lahaina option but they have a smaller boat. Lahaina has 2 46' Newton Dive boats - in June that's an advantage with all the tourist divers since EH's boat can get pretty crowded when full.

The Cathedrals are a good dive. Either one. Personally I like the 2nd better but the 1st is probably slightly more dramatic. Suitable for a beginner since there are a lot of ways out - it is a semi-collapsed lava formation so somewhat overhead obstructed. There's also at least a 1/2 dozen other good dives in that area - most trips we've done both morning dives there. A good double is Sharkfin Rock (1st) but stay between it and the island - the currents can be ripping outside the rock - I speak from experience...

1. Is there anywhere else to see Hammerheads for a beginner? No - except the Ocean Center.
2. Is the Manta cleaning station suited for a beginning diver? Yes

I'm not sure what's there now but at one time the Ocean Center had Tigers in the tank also. Be a good story to tell your buddies:

I went to Maui and dove with Tigers and Hammerheads...

You might check with Kapalua Dive Company also, they do escorted shore diving in Kapalua Bay. They teach an Intro to Dive course in the Ritz pool in the afternoon.

 

[mainedvr]

Shaka doug is your man give he will not only give you a safe fun dive he is an awsome guide and knows the history, cant wait to dive maui again .

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Debbie and I have dove Maui a bunch. Also Kona, Molokai, and Lanai. If your one day of diving is a 2 tank boat dive, I suggest a morning boat to Molokini, doing the front side, not the back wall, and the second dive is likely to be at or near a site called 5 caves, where you will see tons of turtles and other neat stuff. You can take that trip through a variety of dive shops out of Kihei or Lahaina. If you want to take a full day and do 4 dives off boats, then I suggest Lahaina Divers morning run over to Lanai for 2 dives (the cathedrals are worth it) and then after they return to port, change out tanks and off load and on load divers, their afternoon trip to close in sites is likely to include Mala pier and another site.
That is all you need to know.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Mark Derail]

I'm a beginner (less than 50 dives) - you can search for posts under my name in this sub-forum for more details.

At Maui last year, we did two boat trips, then shore snorkeling from various beaches.

Based on my personal experience :

1) Molikini was boring (left tip, facing the hollow), second shallow on same op, on the way back from Molikini was awesome, lots of turtles

2) Cathedrals in Lanai were spectacular! Just say a baby turtle, but saw lots of other stuff, fish-wise. Even an octopus. Inside the cave some crabs, say a Nudi, and the red eggs of a Nudi laid out in a rose-shape. Two dives there, we were able to make a shallow-shallow group, as not that many wanted to go below 70'.

However, the trip out & back, with the two dives, left at 7am back at 11-ish. So you still have the afternoon for another two dives, say from shore. Get a guide for the shore dives.

FWIW, diving at Little beach & Big beach (nice rocks with life in between), allows for great viewing of hominids, especially on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

 

[DiveMaven]

If I could do only two dives while in Maui, I would do a 2-tank charter out of Kihei to Reef's End at Molokini + Red Hill in South Maui. Unfortunately although Reef's End is almost always diveable, Red Hill isn't (due to current).

After nearly 200 dives in and around Maui, Red Hill is easily my favorite dive site. If it weren't so dicey to do as a shore dive, I'd be doing 90 minute dives there multiple times a week while on island.

I do agree about Mala Wharf too, it's one of my favorites, but it wouldn't be my first choice if I could only dive one day.

FYI, the nudi eggs that are rose-like are Spanish Dancer eggs and can be seen just about everywhere.

 

[spoolin01]

If I could do only two dives while in Maui, I would do a 2-tank charter out of Kihei to Reef's End at Molokini + Red Hill in South Maui. Unfortunately although Reef's End is almost always diveable, Red Hill isn't (due to current).

After nearly 200 dives in and around Maui, Red Hill is easily my favorite dive site. If it weren't so dicey to do as a shore dive, I'd be doing 90 minute dives there multiple times a week while on island.

I do agree about Mala Wharf too, it's one of my favorites, but it wouldn't be my first choice if I could only dive one day.

FYI, the nudi eggs that are rose-like are Spanish Dancer eggs and can be seen just about everywhere.

I am intrigued by your comments about Red Hill - I've done a few dives towards Red Hill from the beach there. Are there other spots - out farther maybe? What about it gets your fav rating? I' m headed to Maui tomorrow, with a few days to dive while in Kihei, and am debating which shore spots to try again.

 

[DiveMaven]

Red Hill is really a one way dive, which makes it challenging as a shore dive. You enter at Makena and exit at Big Beach, but that's only if there is little to no current. Basically you either need two cars, or one person has to walk from Big Beach to Makena while the other watches gear.

Red Hill Is really best done as a live boat dive so you don't have to worry about the exit point and possible current sweeping you away.

 

[Linedog]

I would contact Shaka Doug when you get to Maui. He can take you to the best place for the conditions of the day so you can be assured of a great dive. Mala Wharf is on my to do list in September !

 

[spoolin01]

Red Hill is really a one way dive, which makes it challenging as a shore dive. You enter at Makena and exit at Big Beach, but that's only if there is little to no current. Basically you either need two cars, or one person has to walk from Big Beach to Makena while the other watches gear.

Red Hill Is really best done as a live boat dive so you don't have to worry about the exit point and possible current sweeping you away.

I didn't know that about Red Hill - the couple of times I've dove along below the hill from Makena Park, I don't recall encountering much current, but we didn't go all that far probably. I drove by there today to confirm there's still access to the beach, and will give it a try in a week or so when I can dive.