If you had to pick just one.

[spoolin01]

Maui shore diving is pretty mediocre in my experience - no coral, no fish, low viz, few accessible spots. That's a bit of an exaggeration - there are a small handful of OK dives - but by comparison to the Big Island, not far off. The diving on Lanai and Molokai is likely much better - I've been a couple of times to Lanai. It reminded me of Big Island diving.

Almost all the diving on Kona - dozens of sites you can be in the middle of, 2 minutes after parking your car - is like what you'll pay approaching $100/tank for, taking a boat from Maui to one of the other islands.

In Kailua-Kona, you can stay in a shoreside condo anywhere along the 5 mile stretch south of town, for as low as $90 a night, and walk from your room into the water for diving as good as all but the best one or two Maui shore dives, and that's the bad Kona diving.

Don't get me wrong , I've been several times to Maui for the diving, and will go again - I just don't see that it can hold a candle to the Big Island for shore diving. Oh, and the Maui farmer's markets suck. Love those canteloupe-sized papaya (thank you, GMO), 5 for $2.

ETA: two thumbs up for Maui Dreams in Kihei. Very nice folks, ample rental tanks.

 

[DiveMaven]

Well Maui it is. just booked flights today. No mantas this time but I am looking forward to it, who wouldn't. Now time to start looking for operators that fit our needs. Are there places to rent tanks and lead easy to find. Also looking for everyones suggestions about their favorite shore dives and why.

Specific recommendations will depend entirely on where you're staying on island. If you're in West Maui, you won't want to be driving to S. Maui to get tanks.

What I will strongly recommend though is that you consider hiring an excellent guide for most of your shore diving. An excellent DM can make the difference between seeing everything and seeing nothing. For example, I was on a charter one time and everyone on the boat wanted to go to a site called Red Hill....well, everyone except for 2 folks. They complained that they had been to Red Hill earlier in the week with another dive operator and had seen nothing. Since they were sitting near me and Red Hill is arguably my favorite site on Maui, I began speaking with them about what we've seen there in our many, MANY dives there.

When we got back on the boat after a 60+ minute dive at Red Hill, they were RAVING about what a great dive that was! They were shocked that we spent about 15 minutes on one pinnacle finding all sorts of macro creatures when the charter they had done earlier blew past the same pinnacle. They went on and on about what amazing things the dive guide had found during the entire dive and how they now understood why people love Red Hill. They also admitted they almost stayed on the boat and only splashed in because they had paid for it.

It was literally the difference of having a great DM that made a huge difference in the quality of the dive for them, and I have to say having experienced both great DMs and "underwater tour guides," I definitely appreciate those special DMs who slow way down and find everything there is to find.

Hawaii has so many endemic creatures that you can only see in Hawaii. There's also an amazing amount of macro that is missed by divers inexperienced in Hawaiian waters and don't know what to look for. It is sad to me when I run into folks who remark that there aren't any corals or marine life in Hawaii, when its clear to me they didn't have a good guide and didn't understand how special and different Hawaiian creatures and topography is.

After 250+ dives in Hawaiian water, I still look forward to diving with my favorite guides since they enhance my dives and find creatures that I might not find on my own.

 

[Rustydiver]

Check out scooter diving with Www.mauiscooterdivers.com


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Did 5 dives in Maui the first week of May. 2 days of boat diving with Lahaina Divers. Did a scooter dive with Greg which was awesome. You have to try it! We stayed in Kaanapali and Lahaina Divers was a great op and very convenient. I have dove all the Hawaiian islands and Maui is my favorite!

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Maui #1 for shore diving by far. Lots of sites, easy entry and access, good shore parks with facilities. On Kona, shore entries are not as user friendly, and there are fewer accessible sites whihc therefore tend to have more than a couple folks at a time. Both locations are great for diving, but I think you should do Maui first. If you go to Kona for a day, make it an overnight and do the manta ray night dive.
DivemasterDennis

 

[spoolin01]

If you like Monastery entries, NorCal visibility, swimming pool depths, and tip of Haunauma Bay coral quality, Maui is your #1 shore diving destination.
I don't know where you get that BI has fewer accessible sites. I can count more sites just along Alii Dr. than pretty much all of leeward Maui - and while those are the bottom rung of BI diving quality - they top all but the best of Maui. The remaining 2/3 have no peer from Maui shores. Just my O.

 

[Bryan Burt]

We are planning our first trip to Maui, while I love the look at the charters, our budget will only allow for a couple of charter dives. We would like to do a variety, couple of charters along with shore dives we can experience without a guide. Can I ask if your would recommend any particular guides and perhaps any spots that would allow for a good shore dive without the need for a guide. PS... We are average divers, do not need to push limits to have an enjoyable dive