West Maui Shore Diving

[paradicio]

So my wife and I will be coming to Maui this summer (arriving on the 30th of August, and leaving on the 3rd of September). We've chartered the Turtle Reef and Lanai dives with Lahaina Divers, and we honestly can't wait!

Beyond that, however, we were wondering where the good shore diving spots are in the West Maui area (we're staying at the Sheraton)? Are any of the good shore diving spots good for night dives (we'd love to do a night dive while we're there)?

Some background on our diving experience: We're new divers (we've taken OW, PPB, and AOW), with only 21 dives under our belts, but we've done shore diving here in CA.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[GONEHAWKN]

one of the spots that i enjoyed while in Maui(just got back a few days ago) was Kapalua beach. just past Kaanapali. we bought a 10 tank card and weights from Maui Dive shop and had a blast. we did one 3 tank boat dive while we were there with Ed Robinson's crew and were literally treated like royalty!! we dove the back wall of Molikini(was cool just to say i have done it) another spot called 85 foot something or other(i am sure someone will correct me on this) and, forgive my spelling, Wailea point(this was a really nice dive in that we were able to see LOTS of critters. have fun.

Bill

 

[diversteve]

Black Rock out in front of your hotel is a pretty good dive. If you do it at night it won't be very crowded. I also like Airport Beach but it's pretty shallow, maybe 40' or so pretty far out. PM our local guide, Kidspot here, he lives in Lahaina and can likely suggest options within your skill range. Wailea Beach is also an easy entry with some interesting things to look at but it's down in Wailea, past Kihei. Probably a good hour each way from the Sheraton.

Most of your options:
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/Hawaii/Maui/index.htm

 

[KrisB]

Bill,

I think that was the "85' Pinnacle" site -- a very nice dive. I'm not too keen on Wailea Point -- it's more of a snorkel-boat or shore-based site, IMO. It often has really bad viz, too.

I've had some customer service, safety and illegal activity issues with Ed Robinson's... I can provide more details in a PM, and it's fair to say I'll never dive with them again, nor suggest anybody I care about dive with them.

I would strongly recommend doing Black Rock for a night dive, especially with your proximity to it. I'll even come up and guide it if we can use your room number to get me free parking!

Airport Beach is great -- but you have to go beyond the first reef (over the sand) to get to the good stuff. There's some great patch reef out there, and what appears to be a very healthy ecosystem.

We've got some great dives on the South side that are sometimes doable when the west side is surfed-out. Shoot me a PM about your daily availability and we'll see about getting together for a dive somewhere, if you want!

 

[DiveMaven]

one of the spots that i enjoyed while in Maui(just got back a few days ago) was Kapalua beach. just past Kaanapali. we bought a 10 tank card and weights from Maui Dive shop and had a blast. we did one 3 tank boat dive while we were there with Ed Robinson's crew and were literally treated like royalty!! we dove the back wall of Molikini(was cool just to say i have done it) another spot called 85 foot something or other(i am sure someone will correct me on this) and, forgive my spelling, Wailea point(this was a really nice dive in that we were able to see LOTS of critters. have fun. Bill

We've done those same sites with Ed Robinson's and obviously had the same experience as you!! Excellent experience on the boats and the dive sites were great and loaded with critters. I remember on our last trip to Maui (in Dec) both 85 and Wailea Point were 2 of the best dives of our trip. At 85 we dropped in on 5 Spotted Eagle Rays, saw a shark, a small red Frog Fish, and a bunch of Leaf Scorpionfish. At Wailea Point (next dive) we dropped in on a Manta Ray! We also saw many Hawaiian Green Lionfish, a huge green Frog Fish, 2 Flame Angelfish, and a bunch of Leaf Scorpionfish again. We were ready to do both dives again!!

I know Kris has had bad experiences with Ed Robinson's, but in all of our charters (and there have been many) we've never come close to experiencing what he has, and the service and safety consciousness of the operation has always been stellar.

 

[kidspot]

Hope you all have a great trip over here - drop me a PM just before you come and maybe we can work out some diving together. You can also check out http://www.alohashoredivers.com/sites/ for some info on the local west Maui sites.

Aloha, Tim

 

[GONEHAWKN]

well, i know i will be back as i bought a timeshare, hmmm, i mean a vacation ownership while i was there.

Bill

 

[DiveMaven]

LOL, we own a timeshare too. When we were thinking about buying it we looked at eachother and said "what the worst that can happen? We'll have to come back to Maui every year!" Tough choice, eh?? We look forward to our annual Maui vacation and have yet to get tired of it.

 

[GONEHAWKN]

we were thinking the same thing!!

 

[adjuster-jd]

For newer divers I would not suggest Ed Robinson's 3 tank trip. That is a pretty aggressive profile - really loads you up on the N2 tissue loading..
Airport beach was nice today and a nice easy dive - like KrisB says, there neat stuff is out on the patch reefs.. Black Rock will be great for you since you are right there.
Enjoy...