Maui Recommendations

[divingscorpio]

I'm going to be staying in Ka'anipali with friends and I want to dive 3 days. I'm the only diver in the group so I don't want to inconvenience the others. Any rec's on good dive operators in the area without the need to travel too far? Also, if they would take a non-diver on the boat if a friend or two would like to snorkel.

dive on ~
Cathy

 

[grahamfairbank]

I know I won't be the one to recommend this, but, go shore diving with shaka doug - you would meet him in wailea, which would be a great place to drop the non divers off

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[justleesa]

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[Charlie59]

Check with Lahiana divers. They are ok and should allow snorklers. Not as good as the Kihei groups but closer by a long shot. The shark dive can be great.

 

[tbliss]

The ones in your area:

• Lahaina Divers
• Sail Trilogy
• Maui Diving Scuba Center
• Scuba Dive Maui
• Bossfrog
• Scuba Mike
• Aloha Maui

I would research them all and see which tour is best for you.

 

[baystr]

Check with Lahiana divers. They are ok and should allow snorklers. Not as good as the Kihei groups but closer by a long shot. The shark dive can be great.

what he said..............

 

[diversteve]

Extended Horizons is also in the Lahaina area. Smaller boat, smaller group sizes. They mostly dive Lanai or locally.

If you want a combo snorkel/dive trip, either Trilogy or Pride of Maui. PofM is mostly a snorkel boat so their choice of mooring at Molokini reflects that. I suspect Trilogy's does also. PofM goes out of Waalaea harbor also - it's most of the way to Kihei. Probably at least a 1/2 hr. drive south from Ka'anapali. I wouldn't do the Pride as a dive trip, the other dive operators are better for that.

A good dive off Molokini is Sharkfin Condos at 135'ish. Or the Back Wall where there's no snorkeling. Molokini is also a long ride from Lahaina so Lahaina Divers big boats are better - the tradewinds pick up most afternoons and make the crossing back rougher.

We passed the Trilogy under full sail one afternoon coming back - that looked like a lot of fun.

Shaka Doug/Kihei is 45mins. drive from Ka'anapali - with no traffic.

Out of Lahaina the signature dive is the Cathedrals off Lanai. First Cathedral is just small pile of lava rock at the surface - so probably not much for snorkelers to see there. We dove Sharkfin Rock also nearby - one of the better 80-90' dives. It wouldn't be a place I'd go to snorkel.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I personally think First Cathedral and Shark Fin are among top five best snorkeling sites of all the Lanai dive sites, because the rocks extend above the surface.

A snorkeler at First Cathedral could possibly see fish not normally seen in the main Islands of Hawaii.

Extended Horizons has taken snorkelers on Lanai dive trips, but it is probably the same price as a diver with all their own gear.

That said, there is no way to guarantee a good snorkel location when diving Lanai; conditions may dictate deeper dive sites. Also, anybody who does a Lanai charter, even on the bigger Lanai boats, should be prepared for a boat ride that makes some queasy; even on the bigger Lanai boats.

Extended Horizons also guides shore dives, some of which you could walk to from where you are staying. Booking three tours with EH might get you a discount.

 

[oddible]

I'm vacationing in Maui now and just heard that Lahaina Divers caps your bottom time at 40 min regardless of the air in your tank. That they don't do a group air check, they just signal 40 min and surface. Made me steer clear of them - though I don't know if it is true - I seem to recall reading something like that on this board though. Booked my Lanai trip with Extended Horizons which has plenty of recommendations on this site. Hadn't heard that they had a smaller boat though - will let you know how it goes.

 

[merxlin]

I'm vacationing in Maui now and just heard that Lahaina Divers caps your bottom time at 40 min regardless of the air in your tank. That they don't do a group air check, they just signal 40 min and surface. Made me steer clear of them - though I don't know if it is true - I seem to recall reading something like that on this board though. Booked my Lanai trip with Extended Horizons which has plenty of recommendations on this site. Hadn't heard that they had a smaller boat though - will let you know how it goes.

I've been on the Lahaina Divers boats 5-6 times, never had a time limit.