Looking for Best Dive Locations in Maui

[Scuba Mama]

Hi,

I have a trip coming up in April to Maui and would love to know the Best Dive Locations and Dive Shops to dive with. I am diving alone this time so I would love to find a great guide (or dive shop) that takes people to great locations and not a cattle boat trip (you know what I mean...they pack as many tourist on and not very good safety).

Look forward to hearing all your comments.

Thanks!

 

[Water Bug]

I have been to Maui twice this past year. In late March I was there for 2 weeks and did 12 dives with B&B Scuba in Kehei. You will enjoy April as it is still the tale end of peak whale season and you can hear them singing all the time. Just in December I was back in Kehei for 10 dives with Mike Severns.
I also dove alone both times. BandB was cheaper and they got you back faster but they would take you for second dive where you can dive from shore (usually would be busy with shore divers) they do this because it is shallow so you have less surface interval and they can get you back for their second trip of the day. They are usually full boat due to cheaper price and if you have family waiting for you the 1 to 2 hours earlier return is okay. They also do less safety briefing and are less conservation focused. A lot of the time one guide will have her camera doing her own photography. They do know the area and are great at finding creatures.
Mike Severns is top notch and bit pricier so a lot of the time the boat is not as full - which is great. Their safety breifings are really good, gear rental is top quality, they teach you about marine creatures you may see at each site and their behaviours (they are bang on), they only do one trip per day so there is no rush and the second dive is not accessable by shore and very interesting (approx 60ft instead of 25ft with BandB.). They are focused on conservation and education. Lastly they don't buddy you up with an insta buddy - the dive master will be looking out for singles and they enforce that buddies surface at the same time. I really liked this as I am good on air and was always the last up with the DM.
You didn't mention where you were going to be in Maui but I hope this helped?
Have a great time!

 

[livewire]

I would also have to cast my vote for Mike Severns as a top shelf operation. They're excellent with briefings and taking care of their clients, and the diving on the south side is really fantastic. Unfortunately, Kihei is only convenient if you're staying in the Kihei/Wailea area. If you're in Lahaina/Kaanapali you may want to dive with an operation out of Lahaina harbor. I dove with Lahaina Divers and they were okay, much larger group, less individual attention, nothing to write home about, but it's difficult to compare to Mike Severns as they are excellent. The perk to diving out of Lahaina is that you have easy access to sites at Lanai which are fabulous dive sites as well.

In April you may still catch a few lingering humpback whales, though most will be gone by then I expect. Either way, you will probably hear their whale song underwater as it carries a long long ways. Eerie yet very cool.

Have fun and don't forget to eat at Roy's if you can afford it and have the time!

 

[diversteve]

If you're shorediving contact Shaka Doug here. He runs Shaka Divers and a divebus in South Maui. IMO the best diveshop in the Kihei area is Maui Dreams Dive Co. They also specialize in shorediving and do scooter dives etc.

In Lahaina, check with Pacific Dive. We did a scooter dive with them at Airport Beach, just us and a DM. Cost a little more for the private dive.

Lahaina Divers may/may not be what you're looking for. They have two 46' Newton diveboats but will take 24 divers. We dove with them mid-week once and only had 10, in that case, that big boat sure is nice coming back across from Lanai.

Another option in Lahaina is Extended Horizons, I've never dove with them but have heard good things from people who have.

 

[ScubaThor]

Lahaina Divers wasn't bad, but definitely potential for a full boat. However, they don't put more than 8 divers per DM. The big boat WAS nice coming back from Lanai on a really choppy day.....

 

[DiveMaven]

We dive with Ed Robinsons out of Kihei for Molokini and S. Maui sites. They are geared toward the more experienced diver and will often do slightly more aggressive profiles when the experience of their divers on board warrants.

However, we will always dive with Lahaina Divers for Lanai trips from now on. After doing the crossing to Lanai in a smaller boat, there's no way I'll do it again when those 46' Newtons are so smooth and comfortable. Yeah, I'll compromise a little on the diving since Lahaina Divers is geared more toward the beginning diver, but usually a quick chat with the DM solves some of that problem.

Although Lahaina Divers takes 24 divers, I hesitate to call them a "cattle boat" since they really do an excellent job with safety, and do break dive groups into about 8 divers per DM. When I think about the true cattle boats I saw in the Caribbean, Lahaina Divers just doesn't fit that mold IMO.

 

[Ruminari]

I 2nd Ed Robinson's. My wife and I dove with them a few years back and they did a very good job. Additionally, like DiveMaven said they are willing to work with the more experienced divers. On our boat we had experienced divers and not so experienced divers and they stuck each set with their own dive master. Not saying that I'm a veteran diver by any means, but some of the other fools that where there should not have even been diving. We witnessed one person loose their buoyancy and shoot from 65' to the surface, luckily they were in the other group. Additionally, since my wife and I were better divers than the rest they let us stay down longer and explore more while all the other divers headed to the surface.

 

[Scuba Mama]

Thank you very much for all the great suggestions. I plan on looking up the different dive shops and people all of you mentioned. I look forward to seeing (or hearing) the whales. That will be very cool.

 

[TSandM]

If you're interested in doing any shore diving, try contacting kidspot by PM. There's a lot of very good shore diving on Maui. My husband and I have gotten to the point that, a lot of trips (my in laws live on Maui, so we're there frequently) we don't even bother booking a boat day.

 

[adjuster-jd]

If you want to go to Lanai, I would highly recommend Extended Horizons who goes out of Lahaina. Their owner, Erik Stein is extremely familiar with Lanai and these folks are great with all levels of diving. They treated me like royalty and were super with my daughter who was doing her first boat dives.
There is great shore diving in several parts of Maui - both South Maui and West Maui areas. In South Maui, if you want to shore dive, check out Maui Dreams Dive Company. The are very knowledgeable about the area and can provide helpful tips. Shaka Doug is present on this board and can provide guided dives for you. Also, as has been mentioned, PM Kidspot and see if you can hook up with him for some dives. Tim is a great guy and usually glad to dive with visitors.

I have been out with Ed Robinsons several times and have always been treated well.

I'm not a big fan of Maui Dive shop, but they do have a decent schedule for a two-tank trip to the Carthaginian (late afternoon) then night dive after that. That boat leaves from Maalea harbor.

PM me if I can help further.