Diving in Maui with newly certified 13 and 14 year olds

[auburntigergal]

Hi everyone,
New to ScubaBoard. Found it as I have been hunting dive sites for our trip to Maui at the end of June.
My husband and I have both been certified for >10 years and have over 50 dives each and are comfortable in about any open water situation (we are not certified for Nitrox or caves, etc).
Our children, girl aged 13 and boy aged 14 are just finishing their certification through NAUI with our local instructor (who I refer to as the Dive Drill Sargent as he is very very cautious and extremely safety aware and I was thrilled to have my kids get certified with him - they will be well prepared!!
Suggestions on where to dive in Maui and who to use? We are staying near North Ka'anapali Beach.
I have heard that the shore dives are really nice and thought that would be nice to get the kids feet wet, then maybe go do Lanai or Molokini.
The kids are pretty brave and adventurous kids, but I want them to enjoy this and not get stressed!
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[fisheater]

Call Eric @ Extended Horizon. He can set you up for a combo of shore and boat dives that will thrill your family.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[diversteve]

There's a lot of good options in that area.

First of all places to get tanks/wgts. are Maui Dive Shop in either Lahaina or Kahana Gateway Mall(s) or Lahaina Divers in downtown Lahaina. Lahaina Divers has a list of shore dives with depths on their website. Maui Beach Diving

A really easy entry, shallow dive is Old Airport/Kahekili Beach. You probably can't swim far enough out to break 40'. The 2nd reef a long way out is 70' but the first reef at 40' is better. The coral starts about 10 yards offshore. At that point it's about 20' deep. It can be a little choppy there in the afternoon sometimes.

Black Rock (Sheraton) is a another shallow dive. I don't think it's much over 30' anywhere. Almost always Turtles, occasionally rays or small sharks. There will be a lot of snorkelers overhead so that's a little annoying. Or it can be fun to point stuff out to them that the better ones can reach - some of it is 15' or so deep.

Kapalua Bay/Beach is another one. It's also really shallow - about 40' or so. It's also one of the best beaches on Maui so popular. Kapalua Dive Co. does guided dives there. Just a short drive north.

Sites probably not to do with kids: Mala Pier - the legal entry requires navigating over/around coral heads in very shallow water. Lahaina doesn't list it - I suspect partly for that reason and partly because they sell it as a night dive. Honolua Bay is a really long carry from the parking to the water. They say 200 yds, it seems farther. If you see surfers out in the water, don't bother, it won't be diveable. Not the easiest entry either. There's an very slight chance of seeing a Tiger Shark at Olawalu Beach, they're having lunch (turtles) nearby.

If you drive down to the Kihei/Wailea area one day, Wailea Beach is good. Easy beach entry and the best stuff is off the point to the south. Some in 20-30' of water. Makena Landing is an easy entry site that can also be done shallower. Almost always see turtles there. But it's also popular with kayakers. I've heard good things about Polo Beach but never been there. There's very limited public parking at many of the Kihei/Wailea sites so go early. More info: http://shorediving.com/Earth/Hawaii/Maui/index.htmhttp://shorediving.com/Earth/Hawaii/Maui/index.htm

If you shore dive off the beach a flag is required. The shops rent them.

Maybe contact Shaka Doug at Shaka Divers. He does escorted shore diving in the Kihei area. Maui Dreams Dive Co. in Kihei guides there also.


Inside the crater at Molokini would be good also. The fish are overwhelming since the snorkelers feed them and unless you do the advanced dives off the points, there's not a lot of depth there. We headed back towards Maui and found two white tips in less than 50' resting in the sand flats. They're more afraid of you so they'll move away when you get within 15-20' or so. Lahaina runs out there every other day with one of their big boats. Or you can drive to Kihei and use one of those operators. (Mike Severns, B&B Scuba, Ed Robinsons etc.) It's a 45min drive and they leave between 5:30-6:30AM to beat the tradewinds coming back though. Maui Dive shop also books it but they're slightly higher priced and feed everyone to their boat in Ma'alea so it can be crowded.

Lahaina Divers does a series of afternoon dives along West Maui - generically they call it "Turtle Reef" but it refers to any of about 10 sites along West Maui. If they have any Discover Divers or O/W certs that's when they do them.

 

[auburntigergal]

Thank you! I will check into these options. I had found Lahaina Divers website and a guy named Sammy Scuba who seemed really nice and only carries 4 people at a time from the shore.
This was a lot of info and I appreciate your time in responding!

 

[diversteve]

Never heard of Sammy Scuba - not that that means much. Another shore dive only shop in that area is Tiny Bubbles Scuba. Tim gets good reviews here.

 

[bperc]

Old Airport Beach is an easy entry with lots to see in a relatively shallow area. I have dove and snorkeled there many times. I have gone out with Lahaina Divers many times and always had great dives. If you want to have guided shore dives then give Tiny Bubbles a call. I did the 3 dive package with them and really enjoyed it. The scooters are awesome!

 

[fisheater]

Keep in mind that most of the really cool critters in Hawaii are not only endemic (existing only in Hawaii) but also rather cryptic (hard to spot). An experienced DM is invaluable in critter spotting and educating about the unique ecosystem. As the underwater scenery is much less in-your-face than, say, the Caribbean, more knowledge leads to more appreciation.

 

[ManuLani]

As previously mentioned.... old airport beach (where I originally earned my OW), next door, black rock are all great/ low stress dive sites with easy shore access.
Since you are pretty much all right there on the lahaina side, lahaina divers is an excellent operator with tons of great dive site options. Carthaginian is a very nice wreck and for a night dive mala pier is nice.

 

[DiveMaven]

For beginning divers, Lahaina Divers is really an excellent operation to go with. They really specialize in the less experienced diver and their big 46' Newton dive boats are an extremely comfortable ride and dive platform.

If you were in the S. Maui area or don't mind driving, I highly recommend Dive & Sea as they only take a maximum of 6 on their boat (which can hold 12) and really cater to the needs and experience levels of their divers. They also leave a little later in the morning than most who use the Kihei boat ramp and they provide a high level of pampering the minute you set foot on the boat. Amazing level of personalized service.

I'll echo the recommendation of using a guide, even for shore dives. Divers not familiar with the uniqueness of Hawaii's topography and marine life miss almost all of it when they don't have a good guide to show them. The guide doesn't have to be a professional one, just someone experienced with Hawaiian diving.

 

[dytis-sm]

Have had great experiences with Lahaina Divers and Kapalua Dive Co. I did mostly advanced dives with Lahaina Divers and beach dives with Kapalua Dive Co which offers the most fun diving experience with scooters. Diving with a scooter was probably one of my most memorable dives in Maui. I am not sure if there is an age limit for this type of dive but that is one experience you shouldn't miss. I do not want to duplicate the other great tips you already got...everything mentioned already is pretty much spot on.