Snorkel Lanai- opinions on tours...

So, still trying to decide which snorkel tour to do. We%26#39;re thinking more about a Lanai snorkel trip. Found a few online - Maui Adventure Cruises, Boss Frog and Pacific Whale Foundation. Any suggestions?

On, and I just decided to figure out today that its 57 days til I%26#39;m in Maui!! whoo ho!!! :-) can%26#39;t wait for that week and a half off.

Snorkel Lanai- opinions on tours...

Trilogy is the standard by which most tours are compared.

Of course, you could just take a ferry over to Lanai (Excursions) and snorkel at Manele Bay on your own....

Snorkel Lanai- opinions on tours...

Maui snorkeling trips are offered by a variety of companies, from a variety of boat types (such as large motorized boats, smaller sailing catamarans, small rmotorized rafts), originating from a variety of locations (primarily Lahanina harbor, or the Kaanapali beach, or Maalaea) at a variety of prices (a general rule: as the boat gets larger and can carry more passengers, the price gets lower - sometimes kids are free).

It seems that if someone didn%26#39;t like a trip, it%26#39;s primarily because they didn%26#39;t pick a boat that matched their expectations. For example, we have taken several Pacific Whale snorkeling trips (large motorized boats, inexpensive, abbreviated lunch) and had a good time on each because we accepted the price/size tradeoff.

We have also gone on a varierty of catamarans, such as the Kapalua Kai and Gemini. You will hear a lot about Trilogy. They offer a good tour, and will have a lot of advocates because of the volume of people that have taken their tour. Because they have several catamarans and so are more likely to have openings when you try to make a reservation, travel agents also like them because it shortens the amount of time to make a reservation. But there are a lot of companies that have a single catamaran that offer very good tours - they are just harder to find.

Our only %26#39;bad%26#39; snorkeling trip was one with the Pacific Whale Foundation, and it wasn%26#39;t their fault. The trade winds were so high that we couldn%26#39;t go to Molokini as scheduled, and so just hugged to Maui coast to stay out of the winds.

I have a whole group of pages on our different Maui snorkeling trips at lahaina-family-vacation.com/snorkeling-in-ma…

Have a good trip!

Lahaina Dad

All the ones you mention do not land on Lana%26#39;i. The only two that do are Trilogy and Paragon. I recommend you go with either of those so you can spend some time on my favorite island, and enjoy the great snorkeling on Hulopo%26#39;e Beach.

Maui Adventure cruises does go to Lanai. We took them 5 years ago. We spent a few extra hours on Lanai waiting to go snorkeling because the boat broke down back in Lahaina and they had to get another company to take us snorkeling. Our snorkel time got cut short and they fed the fish food scraps. Although that wasn%26#39;t MAC that did the feeding. It was alright for the price but would not do it again. And if you have any back or neck problems the rafts are not a good idea. Lanai does have some of the most beautifully clear water.

Hi Bowler Grl,

i book with Trilogy for my trip next month as our friends used them last year and loved em.The old adage in Maui is you get what you pay for and Triology is by far the best of the Bunch.....

If you dont want to book on a sail-Black rock is the best snolking on maui.

mex25

Aloha DreaminofMaui -

I didn%26#39;t realize any other boats landed on Lana%26#39;i (I know a lot go to the island and you can snorkel from the boat, and I have done that in the past). Does MAC go to the Manele Bay small boat harbor, and have you snorkel at Hulopo%26#39;e Beach? On past similar posts on this forum, others have just mentioned Paragon and Trilogy, and previously Trilogy was the only one that landed on the island).

If you want a cattle call go on a Pacific Whale Foundation boat, but I don%26#39;t think they go to Lanai. Also, another op said the best snorkeling on Maui is at Black Rock? NOT. It is mediocre at best!! On the west side, try Honolua Bay, Kapalua Bay, Napili Bay,or airport beach. On the south side try Ulua Beach, Malauaka or LaPerous Bay. These are far superior off shore snorkeling beaches than Black Rock.

drvalgemae

Yes we did the landing. And we did land at the boat harbor and had to hike over the hill to the bay. We didn%26#39;t go snorkeling in the bay that day because it was pretty rough. And we kicked ourselves for not going into town. We didn%26#39;t want to take the chance of missing the boat. Silly us with the delay we had. But we had fun watching the kids surfing and skim boarding. It was one of those days that cements in the saying ';Ah youth, too bad it%26#39;s wasted on the young.'; lol When we were picked up we went over to what I believe was Kaunolu Bay. We were never told what it was but from later research I%26#39;m pretty sure thats where we were. It was a bit choppy but in the deep water it wasn%26#39;t too bad. The ';feeding frenzy'; pic on my profile is from there. That was after the captain through out the scraps of muffins from their morning trip. I don%26#39;t know if they still do the landing trip. You%26#39;d have to check with them. What they told us is that they picked us up and dropped us at Lanai then went back for another non-landing group then took them back and then came back for us and our snorkeling. I guess they never made it back from Lahaina. The snorkel only group didn%26#39;t get to go. They had another raft company come to get us and take us snorkeling. I couldn%26#39;t tell you their name.

Hey there I totally agree with Msfuzz... about the snorkeling :) I am not so sure about the idea the trilogy is the best.. they are the biggest though :) I am not sure whose boat it is but the Four Winds II is a great boat.. big though :)

DreaminofMaui, thanks for the info. I seem to learn something on this forum everyday. It sure sounds like you had a far from ideal experience with your trip snorkel trip. Kaunolu is a very interesting place. It was one of King K III summer homes. There are still ruins up on the hill overlooking the small bay there. It was and still is a very good fishing place. Locals still fish there. There is also a warrior%26#39;s leap there that the king%26#39;s men proved their bravery by jumping something like 70 feet off a cliff into the ocean.