Molokini or Lanai ?

[jenazah]

I'll be in Maui next month with my family, but only have time for one boat dive. Should I do Molokini or Lanai Cathedral ? Bear in mind that I'll be going on a snorkeling trip to Molokini also. But it's probably different between diving and snorkeling.

Thanks.

 

[Charlie99]

You didn't mention where you will be staying, but that might affect your decision.

Lanai is closer to West Maui (Lahaina/Kaanapali/Kahana, etc.).

Molokini is closer to South Maui (Kihei/Wailea/Makena).

 

[rje634]

I'll be in Maui next month with my family, but only have time for one boat dive. Should I do Molokini or Lanai Cathedral ? Bear in mind that I'll be going on a snorkeling trip to Molokini also. But it's probably different between diving and snorkeling.

Thanks.

Just dove both a few months ago, The Cathedrals are very cool! If you can try to get the dive op to do both Cathedrals #1 and #2 the same trip. If you can't do both then do Cathedrals #1.
As far as Molokini goes if you are planning inside the crater skip it and do cathedrals, if your planning on doing the backwall of Molokini then its a toss up. When we did the back wall we saw dolphins and mantas. The backwall dive is typically a deep dive and some dive ops require advanced cert.
Also keep in mind that many of the dive ops only do these dives on certain days which may make the decision for you.
Have fun!!

 

[jenazah]

I'll be staying in Kihei. But that shouldn't matter. I don't mind driving to Lahaina. As a fellow Californian, you should've know that driving 1 hour is still considered a short trip for us.

You didn't mention where you will be staying, but that might affect your decision.

Lanai is closer to West Maui (Lahaina/Kaanapali/Kahana, etc.).

Molokini is closer to South Maui (Kihei/Wailea/Makena).

 

[ronrosa]

I'll be in Maui next month with my family, but only have time for one boat dive. Should I do Molokini or Lanai Cathedral ? Bear in mind that I'll be going on a snorkeling trip to Molokini also. But it's probably different between diving and snorkeling.

Thanks.

Would you rather see a lot of fish/animal life or a cool cave ?

Can you change your Molokini snorkel trip to a dive trip ? If so, you can dive both Molokini and Lanai Cathedrals. Some dive boats also take snorkelers to Molokini to let familys stay together.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I have dove both spots many times. I can honestly say that I've always enjoyed Molokini and I've been a bit dissapointed in Lanai and we dove the catherdrals each time. I suppose if you were doing mulitple dives you'd want to dive the cathedrals but if it's only one dive then it has to be the backwall of Molokini.

Our last trip we did 12 backwall dives and loved every one of them.

I go with B&B Scuba almost every time but there are a couple of other shops which come highly reccomened on this site. Don't just go with anyone, there are some huge differences between operators.

 

[RonDawg]

I'll be staying in Kihei. But that shouldn't matter. I don't mind driving to Lahaina. As a fellow Californian, you should've know that driving 1 hour is still considered a short trip for us.

I already answered this on another thread, but location of where you're staying is important not just for distance.

If you're in Kihei, go for B&B Scuba. Brad and Blesi and the rest of their crew are really great folks, and lead great dives. Because they leave out of Kihei boat ramp, it's only about 15-20 minutes to Molokini, vs. about an hour's boat ride if you leave from Lahaina Harbor. If you want to dive Lanai you may want to check if they go there or not.

If you were staying in Lahaina or especially Kaanapali, I would have recommended a Lahaina-based operator such as Lahaina Divers which I used. The reason for that is because B&B expect you to be at the Kihei boat ramp by 5:45 AM. For those in the northwest part of Maui, you will be getting up VERY early in the morning. I was up at 4 AM (but could have gotten away with an extra half hour of sleep) and leaving Lahaina at 5 AM I got to the boat ramp by 5:40 AM. A couple on my boat who were staying at one of the Kaanapali resorts had to wake up at a ungodly 3 AM :11: Lahaina Divers also goes to Lanai, but only on certain mornings (other mornings they go to Molokini).

I don't know what Lanai is like but for your limited experience (similar to mine) the inside of Molokini crater is a nice, easy dive. At a bit over 60 feet (depending on where you go) it's a bit past where agencies like PADI say a newbie should dive but because of a lack of currents or surface chop or surge (at least on the two days I went) my air lasted longer than it would have at the same depth here in SoCal or even at Oahu's Moanalua Bay (major surface chop above the Corsair and strong currents at Koko's). I hear Molokini back wall is a superb dive but may be a bit too advanced for someone with relatively few dives.

 

[landlubber]

Hello
I have dove both locations and must reccomend molikini over
lanai.Reefs end is one of the most spectacular dives i have ever
done.I have dove this site many times and each time i hit the edge
of the reef look down as it slopes into the abyss+look up at the absolute
wall of fish i feel as though i could float there forever.
I have done cathedrals with lahaina divers+hawaiin rafting adventures
lahaina divers is a border-line cattle boat although they do a exceptional
job of splitting groups into begginer+advanced divers the cave itself should only
hold 6 divers max.so after the begginers have already been in there+kicked up
all the silt from the floor+some overzealous morons cram themselves into the cave
it's usually a disaster waiting to happen!!! I usually just hang out outside checking
for critters cause you aren't going to see jack sh!t in there anyways!!!!
A kihei 6 pack diving operator I use and would HIGHLY reccomend is MAUI DIVE+SEA.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

If doing the back wall of Molokini is important, make sure you tell them that up front. If you get on a charter with even a single newer diver, they won't take you back there.

Happened to me twice ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Charlie99]

If doing the back wall of Molokini is important, make sure you tell them that up front. If you get on a charter with even a single newer diver, they won't take you back there.

Maui Dive Shop has a single tank backwall dive charter. The boat then comes back and picks up divers for a 2 tank dive.

Reef's End is a good dive to request if there are new divers onboard. The mooring (or live drop if the moorings are occupied) is inside the crater in about 50' of water, but if the current is in the right direction, once you have swum past the garden eels on over to outside of the Reef's End point, then you'll have a nice drift onto the back wall. Lots of life on the reef, and who knows what will go swimming by in the blue. Towards the end of the dive there are some awesome vertical walls in the cove just clockwise from the lighthouse.