Shore Dives at Kaanapali

[scuba_willy]

I will be visiting Maui in a couple of weeks and staying in Kaanapali. I am planning a few shore dives as well as 1 or two boat trips. Previously I have shore dived the Kihei area and know Black Rock. However what other sites would be recommended in kaanapali / Lahaina area ? Is the Hyatt reef (canoe beach I think) reasonable ? Also is there any secret to where to enter (eg follow a sand channel...). I have also read/heard about Mala Warf (the old fishing pier ?). Also do these sites get similar sea conditions, or if viz is poor due to surge at one, will another site likely be better as it is more sheltered/deeper...

Sorry lots of questions, just trying to know some options. Thanks.

 

[DiveMaven]

Mala is one of my favorite dives in West Maui, you should definitely give that a try, just be warned the entry can be tricky. There's also a site that's literally straight out from the Marriott's swimming pool. Can't say it's better than Black Rock, but I think the walk in from Marriott's free parking area is easier than walking by the Sheraton.

You could also do Airport Beach which is a bit north of Kaanapali, but a nice site.

 

[H2ODoc]

I think Mala Wharf is a necessary dive. It's really unique and about 4 minutes from most hotels in Kaanapali. We also enjoyed airport beach as DiveMaven said. We did a one-way dive from Airport up to our hotel just North of there (North? Heck. I don't know. To the right.).

Napili Bay also looked interesting, but we only snorkeled it. It is a really nice place for kids to snorkel and just to hang out. Plenty of sea life within 8 feet of shore.

Enjoy!

 

[Charlie99]

Another easy dive with a nice reef is Old Airport. It is north of the main Kaanapali resort a mile or two. Right across the street from the north Sugar Cane Train depot, same turnoff as the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort.

Showers, restroom. A shallow reef that parallels the beach and some outer reefs in the 35-45' range.

I dove it this morning and the vis near shore was about 20' due to surf stirring up sand, but at 35' depths the viz was about 100'. Current was about 1/4 knot southgoing, which is pretty typical.

Maui Dive Shops have a free brochure with basic info on many shore dive sites.

 

[Tunaman68]

We have dove several times in front of the Hyatt. You'll see the 5 star scuba staging area on the beach in front of the Hyatt's Spa. Basically swim straight out until you hit the reef (maybe 50 yards). Watch out for the boats going out to the jet skis and parasailing. There are lots of coral formations and a turtle cleaning station. We really enjoyed this dive and will be doing it again in June! We're also going to figure out the entry and diveb the Mala Wharf and maybe brave the jungle trek with tanks to dive Honolua bay up north.

Have Fun!!

 

[DiveMaven]

Since the OP is visiting in a couple of weeks and it's the height of whale season, he won't have to worry about jet skis and parasailing....both are banned during whale season.

 

[muddiver]

There is a really simple and pretty good dive off the beach behind the Ka'anapalli Beach Club (the old Embassy Suites, big pink building). There are three buoys just off shore that mark a sand channel through the reef. It starts out at about 15' and goes to about 35' at the outside edge of the reef. Lots of turtles on the north side of the channel.

Just drive up to the Maui Dive shop in Kahana Gateway shopping center and rent some tanks and weight, drive back to the area around the Ka'anapalli Beach Club and go dive.

 

[scuba_willy]

Thats great- thanks for the tips. Seems there is a good number of dive sites. What is the difficulty with entry at Mala Warf ??

By the way - does anybody know if you can rent pony bottles in the Lahaina / Kaanapali area. Thanks.

 

[Tunaman68]

Since the OP is visiting in a couple of weeks and it's the height of whale season, he won't have to worry about jet skis and parasailing....both are banned during whale season.

Ah! I did not know that, only been there during spring/summer!