recommendation for Maui SCUBA

[kyleterry]

We will be in Maui 7/3 - 7/11, staying in Wailea. Eight of us are divers, two very new divers. Any great recommendations for where we should go? Also, my 9 year old wants to try SNUBA.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Kyle

 

[TSandM]

We have made several trips to Maui, and have gone out with three different operators: B&B, Ed Robinson, and Mike Severns. We have had good experiences with all of them. I particularly enjoyed the last trip, with Mike Severns, although in all fairness, some of that was because of the unusual mix of divers on the boat (three people with degrees in marine biology!)

But there is also very good and simple shore diving on Maui, which is a far more inexpensive option, particularly if you bring your own gear. We have dived a half dozen or so sites, including Ulua Beach, Ahihi Cove, Old Airport, Honolua Bay, and my favorite, the Mala Boat Ramp. Check out www.shorediving.com for good desriptions and photographs of a number of shore diving sites. There is also a SB member, Shaka Doug, who leads shore diving trips, and I've heard very good things about him. kidspot on SB is the "SB local guide" for Maui, and he can give you more information and tips about diving sites as well (plus he's a fabulous guy to dive with).

Have a great trip! I did my 10th lifetime dive in Molokini -- Maui is a very friendly place for new divers.

 

[RICoder]

Give Lahaina Divers a call, they are skilled, friendly and professional. Their DM/diver ratio is excellent, their boats are never overcrowded, and all of their DMs are knowledgable about the local sealife population, including endemic species, names and background information (if that is your thing).

I'd recomend hitting the Maui Ocean Center (its an aquarium) as well, if only to tour it. They allow diving in their shark tank, but its a bit pricey.

Molokini Crater and Cathedrals are really great dives, I'd make sure you get to those.

Personal Experience with Lahaina Divers:
We had a DM who actually dived with Jaques Couteau (I can't spell), and he could have been a marine biologist based on the information he had on just about every subject relating to ocean life.
We spotted a 30 foot whale shark on our way to a dive, and the captain and crew got us all ready to snorkle with it quickly. We pursued the shark (without being pesky) for a while, but unfortunately it went deep on us before we could get in the water. Personally, I found their ability to adapt the plan readily and then switch gears back without limiting our dive time impressive.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

Give Lahaina Divers a call, they are skilled, friendly and professional. Their DM/diver ratio is excellent, their boats are never overcrowded, and all of their DMs are knowledgable about the local sealife population, including endemic species, names and background information (if that is your thing).

I'd recomend hitting the Maui Ocean Center (its an aquarium) as well, if only to tour it. They allow diving in their shark tank, but its a bit pricey.

Molokini Crater and Cathedrals are really great dives, I'd make sure you get to those.

Personal Experience with Lahaina Divers:
We had a DM who actually dived with Jaques Couteau (I can't spell), and he could have been a marine biologist based on the information he had on just about every subject relating to ocean life.
We spotted a 30 foot whale shark on our way to a dive, and the captain and crew got us all ready to snorkle with it quickly. We pursued the shark (without being pesky) for a while, but unfortunately it went deep on us before we could get in the water. Personally, I found their ability to adapt the plan readily and then switch gears back without limiting our dive time impressive.

Agree on all counts, but Wailea is far from Lahaina; plenty of reputable ops in Kihei. The DM's name you were referring to is Alan, he was my guide at the Lanai Cathedrals/Mempachi Caves. Excellent dives/guide!!

I don't have any experience with the Kihei ops; I'm sure everyone will pipe in shortly

 

[Charlie99]

staying in Wailea. Eight of us are divers, two very new divers.

B&B Scuba, http://www.bbscuba.com/ run a 12 passenger boat out of the Kihei boat ramp, which is just 5 minutes away from the Wailea hotels.

They typically have lots of instructors and DMs onboard, and work hard to give both experienced, and particularly new divers, a good time.

The usual trip format is the first dive out at Molokini, and then the 2nd one back along the Wailea / Makena coastline. They depart early (6AM IIRC) and are back early, leaving most of the day for topside activities.


Lahaina divers is on the wrong side of the island, and in any case aren't on my recommended list. For experienced divers, B&B is my #3 recommendation after Mike Severns and Ed Robinson, but for new divers, they are my #1 recommendation.
Pauline, the owner of Mike Severns, is the uncontested expert on marine life in Maui, and her DMs and Captains are also very knowledgeable. Definitely the boat for "fish nerds" like me. Ed Robinsons is another class act.

 

[elenion]

Shore diving with Shaka Doug in South Maui is great fun and I highly recommend him. He's wonderful with newbies. He's an SB member and you can PM him for more info.

 

[KrisB]

If you're looking for an actual dive shop, or Doug's not available, check out Maui Dreams Dive Co. They're one of the top couple PADI shops on the island (the only 5-Star IDC), have AMAZING customer service, and really make you feel at home in the water.

Also, if you just need to rent gear, Maui Dreams is THE place -- $20/day or $100/week... pretty hard to beat for the top quality gear they rent out! Cheap air fills, too... $4/tank, $3 with a 10-fill card.

If you haven't been diving in a while (or are relatively new), I'd strongly recommend doing a shore dive or two to acclimatize to Maui waters -- bring along someone used to the local area -- e.g. any of the instructors or divemasters at Maui Dreams, kidspot (Tim), or Shaka Doug. The shore dives from Maui are almost as good as any boat dive (aside from the Cathedrals or Molokini Backwall) but you do need to know where to go.

Truth is, a lot of the 2nd-tank dives done off the boats are in areas reachable from the shore.

As for boat dives, from what I hear you can't really go wrong with B&B or Mike Severn's. I have a couple issues with Ed Robinson's operation that I won't get into right now, but feel free to PM me if you want details.

Cheers,

 

[Brandon]

I'd (fourth?) the recommendation for B&B...

One point that's worth repeating is that B&B is generally the first boat out in the morning, and the first boat back in. If you dive with them, you'll generally be back in before 11am or so, and have tons of time left in the day for whatever. Many of the other boats leave / return 1-2 hours later.

The shore diving recommendation is great as well... lots of stuff in the Wailea / Kihei area. Depending on how much you want to dive, I'd suggest primarily shore diving and a couple boat trips out to Molokini / Lanai.

If the weather is rough and you don't want to screw with shore diving in surf, just boat dive... but if it's flat, no excuse not to hit up the great shore diving!

-B

 

[sspadafo]

I had a wonderful experience w/ Lahaina Divers also, although I have heard only GREAT things about B&B and Mike Severns as well. We dove w/ Lahaina b/c we were staying in Kapalua (north), but if you are in Wailea I agree that may not be the best choice.
By the way, if you & your group like to eat, I highly recommend Sarento's (in Kihei) which was my favorite restaurant. Spago (at the Four Seasons) came in a close second.

Have a great time!!!
Cheerz,
-Shaun

 

[DiveMaven]

I would really recommend that if you're going to dive Molokini, definitely get a boat out of Kihei. You won't go wrong with B&B, Mike Severns, or Ed Robinsons. However, I'd have to say if you're wanting to dive the Cathedrals of Lanai, I'd recommend catching a boat out of Lahaina. The crossing to Lanai is shortest from Lahaina, and it can be very rough at times.

Our preferred op for Lanai is Lahaina Divers because of their BIG boats. They run 46' Newton Dive boats and although they can put up to 22 divers on the boat (we've never had more than about 18 on a Lanai charter), the boats are well laid out and you'll never feel crowded. Those powerful Newton boats are great for both smooth and rough crossings to Lanai, and I've been extremely thankful for that more than a few times going back to Lahaina in rough conditions. The guys that run the boats are top notch and besides being lots of fun, they are very professional.

The other op in Lahaina for Lanai is Extended Horizons. Haven't heard anything bad about them and a lot of folks prefer them over Lahaina Divers. To me saving $20 along with what I think is a more comfortable boat are worth going with Lahaina Divers, but that's a purely personal opinion.