Maui snorkeling is a favorite Maui vacation activity because everyone can snorkel.
Your most important decision is how to snorkel - do you want to take yourself to one of the Maui snorkeling beaches or spend some money for a Maui snorkeling tour on a boat?
This page will help you make that decision.
Consider what else you get to do (such as watching whales or sailing), cost differences between the different Maui snorkeling tours, how easy it is to find your own snorkeling beaches, and how much of crowd is around you on the boat or beach.
Maui Snorkeling Beaches
Beach snorkeling in Maui doesn't cost much. We bring our masks and snorkels from home, and skip swim fins and wet suits. There are many Maui dive shops where you can rent or purchase snorkel gear.
Although there are lots of Maui beaches, not all of them have the right conditions for snorkeling.
In comparison to beach snorkeling, Maui snorkeling tours combine snorkeling with the fun of sailing or motoring on the ocean as well as viewing ocean creatures. But snorkeling tours cost money. Check the following when selecting your snorkeling trip:
• Type of boat - large motorized boats or smaller sailing catamarans
• Where you depart - usually Lahaina Harbor, Kaanapali beach, or Maalaea Harbor
• Snorkel destination - most common destinations are Honolua Bay or Lanai island from Lahaina and Kaanapali; and Molokini island from Maalaea.
• Cost - general rule: as the boat gets larger and carries more passengers, the price gets lower. Sometimes kids are free.
• Onboard meals - some boats offer burgers and hot dogs, while other boats offer more upscale fare
• Other activites - such as watching whales, dolphins, and sea turtles.
Several types of smaller boats, such as catamarans and power rafts, also offer snorkeling trips out of Lahaina Harbor, Kaanapali beach, and Maalaea Harbor. Catamaran sailboats motor right onto Kaanapali beach. Read about our early morning Dolphin Snorkel Sail on the Gemini catamaran.
Molokini Snorkeling Tours
Molokini snorkeling tours offer clear water visibility at Molokini Crater, an island created from the top of a volcano off the southwestern coast of Maui.
This Maui snorkeling video on the Geminia sailing catamaran to Honolua Bay in north Maui includes all parts of the tour in only eight minutes - motoring out from Kaanapali, watching sea turtles, underwater snorkeling shots of all types of fish and reef creatures, eating lunch, underwater shots of a mother and baby humpback whale, and the return sail back to Kaanapali Beach.
Click on the PLAY button in the images below to view the video.
Maui Ocean Center
If you would like to view a variety of reef fish and sharks without even getting in the water, visit the Maui Ocean Center near Ma'alaea
Watching a scuba diver while we were standing in the clear see-through tunnel of the Open Ocean exhibit made us feel like we were snorkeling or scuba diving - but without the need for any gear.
Maui Snorkeling Pages Quick Reference
This is a Quick Reference to the Maui Snorkeling parges that are described in more detail above - this Quick Reference is at the bottom of each Maui Snorkeling page.