Molokini and Turtle Arches Snorkeling Trip from Ma'alaea Harbor
Description
Snorkel at world-famous Molokini, a small crescent shaped extinct volcanic crater with crystal clear water that is home to more than 250 fish species. Then enjoy Turtle Arches, a beautiful reef known for its underwater lava arches and frequented by gentle green sea turtles. All of your snorkeling gear and flotation devices are provided, plus plenty of encouragement and support if you’re new to snorkeling. Wide swim steps and a water slide make it easy and fun to get right in and explore both amazing locations.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Molokini is a crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater which forms a small, uninhabited islet located in ʻAlalākeiki Channel between the islands of Maui and Kahoʻolawe, within Maui County in Hawaiʻi.
Maalaea harbor is home to the Pacific Whale Foundation and the Maui Aquarium.
Cruise with the experts at PacWhale Eco-Adventures on Maui's top-rated ocean ecotours, based on 40 years of marine research and sustainable ecotourism experience. PacWhale has cruises for every style of adventure, including whale and dolphin watch ecotours, snorkel trips, sunset cocktail and sunset dinner cruises, holiday cruises, stargazing ecotours, and more.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- For each paying adult, 1 child ages 4 and under goes free. All children must be on the order/voucher as they account for a seat.
- To protect the reef environment and in support of the statewide ban on sunscreens, we will no longer allow the use of any non-reef safe sunscreen on board any snorkel eco tours. 4oz Reef safe sunscreen will be available on board for $13
- You will need to bring your own towels and credit cards for any onboard purchases as the vessels are cashless except for gratuities
- For safety reasons, the use of full-face masks is not permitted on our snorkel ecotours. We do provide high quality snorkel gear on board for all guest
Reviews(814)
We are experienced snorkelers. We've snorkeled in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys, where a variety of fish and coral abound. Molikini Crater was hyped to be AMAZING! I would describe the experience to be almost a joke. We saw a very small number of black triggerfish... like a few dozen. That's it. The bottom was covered with mundane, unremarkable coral where we saw one tiny yellow fish. I would describe the ecosystem as a near ocean desert. The captain and crew tried to pretend it was amazing and to novice snorkelers, I suppose it was a new experience. Experienced snorkelers would find it laughable. For the money we paid, Norwegian Cruise Lines should be embarrassed.
Very friendly, decent boat, well organized, good gear, decent food. We had a pleasant experience all around.
We enjoyed the 5-hour snorkel trip with the PCF. While snorkeling we saw some great fish at the crater. The crew was very helpful and cheerful.
We've taken a lot of eyes! The place and the Check in super easy and quick to find, the souvenir shop is huge, with lots of choices! The activity itself is really magical! We have seen so many different and colorful fish at Molokini Crater! And the turtles then, really a crazy experience!!!!!! The supervisors were great, attentive and caring. Breakfast, drinks and lunch at the top, possibility to serve at will so great too. We had our snorkeling equipment but they provide it if you don’t have it + possibility to rent a Neoprene T-shirt if you are afraid of being cold ($10 for the whole morning). Small + the photographer on board the boat makes great photos! About 80€ for 300/400 photos of the seabed, fauna / flora and of course you hahaa they were taken with a professional camera, the result is spectacular I recommend! If you still hesitate, do not hesitate! It was just magical:)
It was an amazing experience! Would absolutely recommend! We snorkeled for two hours and saw so many fun creatures including a manta ray and turtles!
This is a very well-ran experience that is perfect for beginners and children. The crew is plentiful, knowledgable, patient, and efficient. All have advanced degrees related to Oceanic pursuits. Safety is top-notch. Meet at The Maui Ocean Center and bring towels and Reef-safe sunscreen. Plenty of room on the two-level boat for your bag. Sails smooth. Restroom's available. Light breakfast, good lunch (including one alcohol drink,2nd $8) soft drinks and water, and photos provided. Photos above and under water. Around $75. We saw turtles and some fish. Maybe not as plentiful as we expected, but fun. Didn’t make it to the Turtle Arches or maybe I didn’t hear them. Snorkled a lava finger and Molokini Crater. Windy on the way back!
Very knowledgeable crew who helped our kids for their first time snorkeling. They took guests on a crater tour, served food well, helped at every step of the way. Could not have been a better first snorkeling experience for our kids (13 and 11). And the location was gorgeous with tons of fish to see. Food on board was good - burgers and chicken and hot dogs and cookies.
My experience with any tour thru the pacific whale foundation is well worth the expense. They are always very well done the crew is very professional and knowledgeable. Not only is it fun but very educational.
It is a good trip but the price is high. On 5 hour tour we stopped in Molokini only one hour and half. The good is poor. No barbecue on board but food ready from the harbour
Thank you for coming out with with us and providing your feedback. I am guessing the swell was the reason for only the one extended stop at Molokini for snorkeling, which would have made the shoreline unsafe. This trip does usually have a BBQ lunch onboard, so not sure why you would have had lunch at the harbor. We always want our guest to have a great time with us, so feel free to reach out to m directly if that wasn't the case. I can be reached at johngaskins@pacwhale.com
Great experience! I’m not the best swimmer at age 70 but they had all kinds of options . Floatation belts, life jackets and a few paddle boards were available. Also the staff in the water as life guards. We were given instructions before going in the water. Saw such beautiful fish and underwater seascape!! The staff was so knowledgeable and friendly. We had a nice barbecue lunch after snorkeling as well. I would highly recommend this experience for all ages.
