Recomendations for Snorkel Boats

[Kauai Kid]

Looking for a boat that has the stairway down to the water for snorkelers and someplace shady for my wife on the boat.

I snorkled years ago in someplace south of Cancun but never on the Islands. Rank beginner with one very weak shoulder but I can swim. (probably in circles :hysterical: )

Leaving this Saturday.

Mahalo,

Sterling

 

[djdavid79]

I'm assuming you're going to Kauai?

 

[ww1aerofan]

Trilogy- On Maui

Sterling,

If you are going to Maui...
My family has always loved the Trilogy boats.

Rarely do you see a discount, but they are the most friendly and
instructive boats we have been on.

 

[cissy]

Kona

I highly recommend Fair Wind Cruises on the big island. Very easy stair entry, shade, clean restroom and fun barbecue.

www.fair-wind.com

 

[slip]

We're going to Kona this October and we going snorkeling with Fairwinds.
Everything we have seen about them looks great.

 

[Kauai Kid]

I'm assuming you're going to Kauai?

Maui--Want a boat out of Ma'alea harbor since we'll be in Kihei.

Mahalo,

Sterling

 

[K2Quick]

This boat is larger, but not very crowded and your wife could get below for shade. They're recommended by the Maui Revealed book. We liked them well enough but they're always pushing sales of extras on you.

http://mauicharters.com/4winds_trip01.html

We liked the Trilogy tour we went on as well, but their boats are definitely smaller.

 

[DeniseM]

We have just about given up on the snorkel boats. We have tried many of them over the years, and they can be fun or a bust, but very seldom is the snorkeling any better than you can find when you shore snorkel for free.

Here are some things that can be a bust:

1) Poor snorkeling
2) Rough water/sea sickness - they won't take you back no matter what - this will be aggravated if your wife goes below.
3) Yucky food
4) Other people on the boat who can be rude or simply clueless - this is a big pet peeve for me. On our last two trips, we were the only experienced snorkelers, so the trip was completely geared toward the first time snorkelers, whose main goal seemed to be to get out of the water quickly and eat everything on board. Some of them never put their face in the water - they simple paddled along with the group on a noodle and got out of the water at the earliest opportunity.

 

[ww1aerofan]

Shore snorkel-Blackrock

If you do the shore snorkel route,
I love to go to Cliffs alongside the Blackrock Marriot.

Beautiful fish, coral, turtles, manta rays, and even a small
Shark or two to get your blood pressure racing!

You can also have fun watching the crazies jump off the cliffs.

Great food places an easy walk from the beach .

Who else has good "walk-up" places to snorkel in Maui?

 

[Barbeque]

We went a few years ago with Pacific Whale Foundation and we were very pleased.

 

[MuranoJo]

We have just about given up on the snorkel boats. We have tried many of them over the years, and they can be fun or a bust, but very seldom is the snorkeling any better than you can find when you shore snorkel for free.

Here are some things that can be a bust:

1) Poor snorkeling
2) Rough water/sea sickness - they won't take you back no matter what - this will be aggravated if your wife goes below.
3) Yucky food
4) Other people on the boat who can be rude or simply clueless - this is a big pet peeve for me. On our last two trips, we were the only experienced snorkelers, so the trip was completely geared toward the first time snorkelers, whose main goal seemed to be to get out of the water quickly and eat everything on board. Some of them never put their face in the water - they simple paddled along with the group on a noodle and got out of the water at the earliest opportunity.

We call them 'Cattleboats.'

 

[tompalm]

Another fun thing to do if you haven't been to Lanai, is take a boat to Lanai. They run about four or five round trips each day. You can catch a bus up to the Lodge for lunch, or play golf, see the little town in the middle of the island and spend the afternoon at the hotel on the south side of the island before catching the boat home.

 

[jlr10]

If you do the shore snorkel route,
I love to go to Cliffs alongside the Blackrock Marriot.

Who else has good "walk-up" places to snorkel in Maui?

We were just on Maui and I was in a wheelchair, because my arms were too weak to work the crutches. My husband pushed me on the Kaanapali walking trail. There is a nice shady spot at the end of the sidewalk near Blackrock (coming from the South.) Depending on your comfort level of leaving your wife, she could comfortably sit in the shade while you walked over to Black Rock and snorkeled. It is a nice spot to rest and would be a great place to read a book.

I agreee with Denise on the Maui snorkeling tours. They frequently do not find a good place to snorkel, and will go out even if the waters are way too turbulent for an enjoyable trip. The boat are usually crowded. A tour to Molokini is nice if you want to see the feet of other snorkelers. Most advertise "Turtle Town" which seems to be an ever moving target where they basically pick a spot and stop. When we used Pacific Whale Foundation they determined, due to the water advisory that they couldn't go to Molokini they just chose another spot offshore and did not offer a refund, since they couldn't control that they couldn't go to Molokini (It was also a three hour tour of asking for donations, and rationed food and drink. I would never recommend them based on our experience.)

But if you definately want the boat trip I recommend Pride of Maui. We did our first snorkel tour with them and they were okay. They had an easy entry water stairway on the back of the boat, and have a covered lower deck. They have a glass bottom viewing portion on their boat, so you wife could see some fish too, and maybe even some feet.

The best snorkel tour is on the Big Island, on Fairwinds. Great boat, great crew, and the water is always calm where they snorkel. I do this on every trip to the Big Island. Maybe on your next trip....

 

[jnjn]

I agree....Go off shore!!

We were in Maui and went on snorkeling boats, very dissappointing! Some of the best snorkeling on MAui is just south of you on the Makena area. Get a copy of Maui revealed and go. Much better and cheaper than a boat tour!!