One of the top things that people will tell you to do during a visit to Maui is to snorkel at Molokini Crater.
About Molokini
Originally used for target practice during World War ll, Molokini Crater is a volcanic caldera (one of only three in the world!) that lies a few miles off the shore of Maui. Scientists believe that is was formed about 150 thousand years ago and it’s currently Hawaii’s only island marine sanctuary. Being an isolated island marine preserve means that the waters around Molokini provide a unique and unforgettable snorkeling experience. Because Molokini is a volcanic rock it is absent of sediment, leaving the water amazingly clear and allowing a ton of sunlight to penetrate the surface – visibility is consistently well over 150 feet here! The enhanced availability of sunlight feeds the algae living in corals and offshore currents bring in food, leaving a healthy and lively reef to explore.
In order to get to Molokini, you need to hop on a boat, and there’s no shortage of snorkel and dive boats that are ready and willing to take you out there! While you have a ton of options to choose from, I recommend booking through Travel Shack for this Maui adventure.
About Travel Shack
Travel Shack is an online booking platform offering a variety of excursions and activities all over the Hawaiian Islands. Travel Shack offers a Molokini Crater & Turtle Arches Snorkel Cruise through the Pacific Whale Foundation that takes you to Molokini as well as another dive site that’s a popular spot to find Hawaiian green sea turtles. I particularly think that this tour is superior to others because of the heavy emphasis on education and conservation. As I said, the tour is through the Pacific Whale Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to whale and marine conservation research in Hawaii. On board during your snorkel trip there will be several staff members from the Pacific Whale Foundation briefing you on conservation tips and providing information on how to snorkel safely while enjoying Hawaiian marine life. In addition to the onboard education team, part of the profits from your booking with Travel Shack go directly towards supporting the work of the Pacific Whale Foundation.
This tour will set you back $113 USD per adult and includes the following:
- Snorkel gear if you need it (Including mask, snorkel, and fins. 3mm rash guards are available to rent on the boat for an additional $10 USD)
- Breakfast
- BBQ lunch + one alcoholic drink
The entire tour lasts approximately 5 hours, with departures at both 8 am and 9 am. This particular tour through Travel Shack will take you to Molokini to snorkel for an hour as well as another site, known as Turtle Arches, where you’ll snorkel for another hour and have a chance to spot some Hawaiian green sea turtles.
We arrived at the Pacific Whale Foundation store just before 9 am in order to check in for our snorkel tour. After the entire boat group had checked in, a member of the team walked us down to the boat where a photographer was waiting to snap a souvenir photograph and more team members were ready to outfit those who needed it with gear. (The souvenir photographs, while incredibly cheesy, did turn out pretty cute and were available for purchase after the tour for $20 USD).
The boats are super nice and unlike a traditional catamaran style boat, they have tons of shaded areas for those who want to stay out of the sun. There’s plenty of seats and because they cap the number of guests well below the boat’s capacity, there’s also a ton of space to store any of your own gear that you may want to leave on the boat while snorkeling.
On the way out to Molokini, the captain briefed us on the features of the ship and specifics about the upcoming dive site, before a member of the Pacific Whale Foundation came up to talk a little bit more about the marine life on Molokini and the organization’s ongoing conservation efforts in Hawaii. On the way out we even spotted some humpback whales which was absolutely incredible! Be sure to keep an eye out for them if you’re in Hawaii between November and April!
While I’ll admit, Molokini was VERY crowded, it was an incredible dive site. The visibility was unlike anything that I’ve ever seen before – it’s easy to see why people include this on their “must-do” list when visiting Maui! Even though they’re not too popular in Hawaii, we came across this squid while at Molokini, in addition to a few other critters like eels and parrot fish.
After spending about an hour at Molokini, we headed off to Turtle Arches, which is another dive site off of Maui, well-known for spotting Hawaiian sea turtles. We actually only saw one turtle here, which was a bit of a letdown but still cool nonetheless.
I found this entire tour to be very well organized and executed smoothly by the Pacific Whale Foundation staff. While there was a VERY large group of people (the boat seats approximately 110), I thought the tour was handled appropriately for the size and skill level of the divers and even though things were a bit crowded at times, things never really got out of hand. The team was friendly, knowledgeable about marine issues, and willing to help anybody who needed it. And at $113 with rental gear, two meals, and an alcoholic beverage, I definitely think that this tour was well worth the money – plus some of those hard earned dollars were put directly towards a conservation effort, which made it even more worth it!
Be sure to check out Travel Shack when planning your excursions on the Hawaiian Islands to experience the best that Hawaii has to offer and support local businesses and non-profits in the process!
Airplanes & Avocados was welcome as a guest of Travel Shack. All opinions are my own.
