Month long visit to Maui June 23rd - July 23rd

[Bri-Diver]

Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions in the forums I am soaking it all up.

Will be spending a month in Maui (I know, but someone has to do it) with the family. My wife and I are certified divers and are researching all the dive options and operators out there (a little daunting) and my 2 girls are doing a discover dive to see how they like it. We will be staying in Kihei during our visit but plan on exploring the whole island.

Any advice on land or sea, we are open to all suggestions. My wife is a pro photographer (land) and loves taking pictures underwater, especially turtles. I like swim throughs and wildlife underwater. We would like to do both boat and shore dives.

 

[Token]

Maui Dive Shop goes out to the Lanai Cathedrals [on Tuesdays, I think]. It's a pretty long boat ride, but a great dive at the end...lots of photo ops. MDS can be a bit of a cattle boat however...try to find out how many divers are on the trip you want. Upwards of 20 paying customers is getting tight.

Shaka Doug can take you out shore diving...ask him about the turtle cave on the twilight dive.

 

[scubahawk27]

You guys can try scooter diving. PM me if you have any interest. It's a blast.


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[Keith.M]

Wow! What a great deal.

I suggest you take a snorkel trip to Molokini right off the bat. All of you are on snorkel and you lead the way. Spotting stuff from up top and going down to look at it closely. Let your kids get into it. Have a great day together there, BBQ lunch on the way back.

Then go check out the diving. Get the kids in a discover scuba. You have a month, don't rush it too much and it could be the greatest trip in all your lives.

 

[DiveMaven]

A couple of good options in addition to Shaka Doug for shore diving: Maui Dreams, and Sam from Maui Dive Shop. Sam is amazing for discover dives, very patient and safety conscious. She could also roll the discover dives into an OW certfication. You'd be able to dive the same site with your wife and have the option of staying with them or going off on your own. For boat dives, my personal favorites are Ed Robinson's, Makena Coast Charters, and Dive & Sea.

 

[AquamanKauai]

One of the great things about diving in Maui is that there are so many great options for diving. Locations are numerous and varied. Even better is the fact that there are so many professional and talented divemasters there. I have heard nothing but the most positive feedback about Shaka Doug over there - though I have not yet had the chance to dive with him personally. The shore diving is fantastic and generally easy (unless you opt for some of the advanced/mountain goat shore dives that are also avail. Makena Landing, Black Rock and especially Mala Wharf are outstanding.

You'll find that numerous shops are given big thumbs up over there. Your location (condo/hotel) may play a role in deciding. Kihei makes for a real quick run to Molokini crater which is a signature location over there. I prefer the back wall drifts personally but the inside crater can be fantastic with the right guide.

If you are closer to Lahaina you may want to look into the trip to Molokai which may set you up for an encounter with some of the hammerhead sharks that frequent it's dive locations. I think Extended Horizons does a quality job with that trip.

I personally have been diving professionally in Hawaii for 14 years and dove throughout the islands. I recently returned from a trip to Maui and was blown away by the professionalism and overall charter put on by Mike Severns. We dove with Pauline who is one of the most respected divemasters in the islands. She is enthusiastic and knowledgeable - and simple loves sharing her love for the ocean with others. If you can arrange to dive with her it's as close to a slam dunk as you can get for having a wonderful time.

Good luck with your decisions - I'm sure you will have a wonderful time over there. Feel free to send me a personal message if you have any specific questions. You can also PM ShakaDoug here on th board and I am sure he will help you out.

Check out the Maui Ocean Center while there as well. It's a beautiful aquarium with awesome exhibits.

Aloha
A

 

[TigerDiver8]

I just got back, I would contact Lahaina Divers off Front street and Dickenson (I think). They do trips out to Molikini Crater, Back Wall, they also do a hammerhead dive through those months. I haven't been able to do it yet but heard nothing but wonderful things. Good Luck and safe diving. oh and if you are around lahaina on a sat or sun make sure to go to the little market under the banyan tree. great local made stuff, including a company (two brothers) C3 photography, you should check out their photos. they are truly amazing www.[B]c3submerged[/B].com/ These guys are the photographers for the Humpback research project i work on every year there.

 

[Bri-Diver]

Wow, great information everyone. Thank you for your time and attention. It sounds like we chose the right place to go......