swimmingpooldivein
Registered
Dive Report: Maui, Hawaii, USA
(Once again, thank you to the community for amazing advice on liveaboards and dive sites!)
I spent 10 days in July in Maui diving. I'll review the dive sites first, then the dive operators. (Note: I arrived in Maui at the same time as Tropical Storm Darby which caused "historic swells" and permanently changed the landscape of several dive sites. All my dives occurred the days after this storm.)
Dive review: Scalloped hammerhead sharks at Molo'kai
Operator: Lahaina Divers
Hammerheads were the primary reason I came to Maui, and I actually booked this dive twice, one week apart, to give myself the highest probability of seeing them (so 4 dives in total). Dive 1: 2 hammerheads; dive 2: 5; dive 3: 25; dive 4: 1. Very happy. It's also a great dive, as you start off on a nice reef, and then do a drift dive in the abyss. Your eyes start to go bonkers as you're intensely scanning for hammerheads… or maybe that's just more sand… or a rock lol.
Dive review: Molokini Inner Crater
Operator: Maui Dream Dives
It's a nice dive, I'm glad I did it. But, IMO, I think I'm spoiled by the Great Barrier Reef (I live in Sydney). It's just more barren than the Internet leads you to believe.
Dive review: Molokini Backwall
Operator: Lahaina Divers
Much better than Inner Crater! Lovely drift dive, esp when you get to the shark cleaning station.
Dive review: Cartheginian
Operator: Lahaina Divers
I recommend doing this dive. Not for the shipwreck - there's not much there - but book it with Lahaina Divers because they ensure the Atlantis' submarine visits the shipwreck while the divers are there!!! Now that's something new.
Dive review: Mala Pier night dive
Operator: Dive Maui
One of the best night dives I've ever done. There are heaps of critters everywhere, and I thankfully saw some animals for the first time ever (ex: slipper lobster, sponge crab, and gorgeous anemone crabs). Additionally, swimming back with the beautiful starry night is incredible. (I did the daytime dive too, but the night dive is wayyy better.)
Dive: Lanai Cathedrals
Operator: Lahaina Divers
Triple boat dive. Very unfortunately, one of the guides said that 1/3rd of the coral has disappeared because of the tropical storm the days prior. I guess because of that, it was not as great as I had expected. Some interesting rare fish (psychedelic wrasse, Hawaiian cleaner wrasse, potters angelfish) and lots of different eels. Hopefully the coral grows back in some time!
OK, so let's do a quick review of the dive operators!!
Lahaina Divers, Dive Maui, and Maui Dream Dives: all great! I felt safe (most important factor), wonderful and friendly guides, great at finding stuff, gear was fine (full gear hire), and boats were in proper condition. I do get colder than most, so I needed my thermal top with a hood, on top of the thickest wetsuit they had available for me. Note that if you're accommodations are in Kihei and you're doing a Molokini dive, pick an operator that departs near Kihei - it'll be a much quicker boat ride. Besudes that, really nothing to complain about.
Happy diving!!!
(Once again, thank you to the community for amazing advice on liveaboards and dive sites!)
I spent 10 days in July in Maui diving. I'll review the dive sites first, then the dive operators. (Note: I arrived in Maui at the same time as Tropical Storm Darby which caused "historic swells" and permanently changed the landscape of several dive sites. All my dives occurred the days after this storm.)
Dive review: Scalloped hammerhead sharks at Molo'kai
Operator: Lahaina Divers
Hammerheads were the primary reason I came to Maui, and I actually booked this dive twice, one week apart, to give myself the highest probability of seeing them (so 4 dives in total). Dive 1: 2 hammerheads; dive 2: 5; dive 3: 25; dive 4: 1. Very happy. It's also a great dive, as you start off on a nice reef, and then do a drift dive in the abyss. Your eyes start to go bonkers as you're intensely scanning for hammerheads… or maybe that's just more sand… or a rock lol.
Dive review: Molokini Inner Crater
Operator: Maui Dream Dives
It's a nice dive, I'm glad I did it. But, IMO, I think I'm spoiled by the Great Barrier Reef (I live in Sydney). It's just more barren than the Internet leads you to believe.
Dive review: Molokini Backwall
Operator: Lahaina Divers
Much better than Inner Crater! Lovely drift dive, esp when you get to the shark cleaning station.
Dive review: Cartheginian
Operator: Lahaina Divers
I recommend doing this dive. Not for the shipwreck - there's not much there - but book it with Lahaina Divers because they ensure the Atlantis' submarine visits the shipwreck while the divers are there!!! Now that's something new.
Dive review: Mala Pier night dive
Operator: Dive Maui
One of the best night dives I've ever done. There are heaps of critters everywhere, and I thankfully saw some animals for the first time ever (ex: slipper lobster, sponge crab, and gorgeous anemone crabs). Additionally, swimming back with the beautiful starry night is incredible. (I did the daytime dive too, but the night dive is wayyy better.)
Dive: Lanai Cathedrals
Operator: Lahaina Divers
Triple boat dive. Very unfortunately, one of the guides said that 1/3rd of the coral has disappeared because of the tropical storm the days prior. I guess because of that, it was not as great as I had expected. Some interesting rare fish (psychedelic wrasse, Hawaiian cleaner wrasse, potters angelfish) and lots of different eels. Hopefully the coral grows back in some time!
OK, so let's do a quick review of the dive operators!!
Lahaina Divers, Dive Maui, and Maui Dream Dives: all great! I felt safe (most important factor), wonderful and friendly guides, great at finding stuff, gear was fine (full gear hire), and boats were in proper condition. I do get colder than most, so I needed my thermal top with a hood, on top of the thickest wetsuit they had available for me. Note that if you're accommodations are in Kihei and you're doing a Molokini dive, pick an operator that departs near Kihei - it'll be a much quicker boat ride. Besudes that, really nothing to complain about.
Happy diving!!!
