Lanai, Maui
SNORKEL TOURS
DOLPHIN
WATCHING
Locally owned and operated since 1982, we’ve been sharing Maui’s snorkeling tours experiences with guests for more than 30 years! Our Lanai snorkeling tours are small groups at uncrowded snorkel spots on Maui and Lanai where we see tropical fish, turtles and dolphin watch! Come share the a snorkel adventure of a lifetime with us!
$175Total-NO Hidden Fees
$107 Kids 4-12
DOLPHIN ADVENTURE
& LANAI SNORKEL
4 Hour Tour: 9am-1pm
Explore Lanai's South Coast
Includes Snacks
2 Snorkel Stops
Snorkel Gear Provided
24HR Cancellation Policy
No Children Under 4 Years Old
$200Total-NO Hidden Fees
$155 Kids 4-12
DELUXE DOLPHIN ADVENTURE
& LANAI SNORKEL
6 Hour Tour: 8am-2pm
Explore Lanai's South Coast
To More Remote Locations
With Exclusive Sight Seeing
Includes Lunch
3 Snorkel Stops
Snorkel Gear Provided
24HR Cancellation Policy
No Children Under 4 Years Old
Dolphins are seen 9/10 trips. Marine life sighting vary.
Whale watching is included in the snorkel tours during migration season (Dec-April).
Small Group
Snorkel Tours
Snorkel Maui & Lanai on a small group snorkel tour! Every seat is a front row seat!
Dolphins
& Sea Turtles
Maui dolphin watching, snorkel with turtles, tropical fish and see sea cliff, rays, octopus & more!
Snacks & Drinks!
Food
Beginner
Friendly
Beginner friendly Maui snorkel instruction, snorkel gear, flotation devices and marine naturalist guides!
Maui Snorkeling
Tour Details
We provide reef safe sunscreen, mask, snorkel, fins, and flotation devices for your Maui, lanai snorkel trip!
Bring a towel, swimsuit, hat sunglasses and camera! We provide all your Lanai snorkeling gear and flotation devices! BYOB adult beverages!
Our marine naturalist guide will be onboard and in the water for your private charter giving you a guided whale watching tour of Maui and Lanai's underwater world.
This Maui snorkeling trip does not allow for guests with back injuries, neck injuries, or pregnant ladies. Must be 4yrs+ and able to swim.
Our Maui Snorkeling Tours and Dolphin Watch depart from Mala Boat Ramp, 1229 Front Street Lahaina, Hawaii 96761 in Maui! Meet us there half hour before your snorkel tour!
Beginner-Friendly Snorkel Tours
Book a beginner-friendly snorkel tour with us!
Maui Lanai Snorkeling Tips
Get the right snorkel gear.
Snorkel Buddies
When in doubt, don't go out
changing. If you are questioning the weather or conditions, talk to a lifeguard before getting into the water. Check out our weather page for info on local Maui weather!
Snorkel with the locals
Join us for a snorkel tour and we will guide you on an ocean adventure you will never forget!
Learn How to Snorkel 101
Best places to snorkel on Maui
West Maui offers beginner friendly snorkeling, turtle sightings and unique reefs! Traveling to Lanai from West Maui we often see dolphins and other unique marine life like whale sharks and rays! Some of Maui’s best snorkel locations are along the West Coast including Oluwalu, Mala Wharf and Honolua Bay. Here we snorkel with turtles and enjoy the calm waters protected by the leeward slopes of the West Maui mountains.
SNORKEL TOUR MAP
Marine Life on Lanai
Because Lanai’s reef is thriving, we see a variety of marine life! There are multiple types of coral reef we snorkel including cumulative, pinnacle and aggregate reef structures. Every reef is home to different sea creatures including Hawaiian green sea turtles, octopus, manta rays, dolphins, sharks, whale sharks and even seals. Many of the tropical fish that make their home on Lanai can’t be found anywhere else in the world!
Lanai was once a pineapple plantation and known as the Pineapple island
Best places to
snorkel in Lanai
Lanai is our top destination for snorkeling tours. Known for it’s living reefs and breathtaking sea-cliffs, this island is home to many tropical fish species that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. There are more than a dozen remote snorkeling spots along the Lanai coast! Club Lanai, Manele Bay, Sweetheart Rock, and Shark Fin are a few of our favorite snorkel stops. Because Lanai has very little near shore development, the reef is much healthier and sustains more marine life. Some of these snorkel spots are along the sea cliff and showcase unique rock formations, swim throughs and even ancient burial grounds.
Maui LanaiDolphin Watching
Crossing the channel between Maui and Lanai we often see some of our favorite marine mammals, dolphins. Although Maui is home to 13 species of dolphins, we most commonly see spinner dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and spotted dolphins. Maui is a protected sanctuary for humpback whales but also has protections in place for turtles and dolphins! Although dolphins are protected and we are not permitted to offer snorkeling with dolphins, the wild dolphins are very playful and curious and often swim along side our rafting vessels! Some dolphins travel in pods of hundreds of animals, making for an amazing viewing experience as they jump, spin, surf the wake and gracefully move through the water along side our boats!
Best places to
snorkel in Lanai
Dolphin watching on lanai
Snorkeling with Turtles
The Hawaiian green sea turtle is a popular resident on our Maui beaches and waters. A symbol of good luck and wisdom, the HONU, (Hawaiian word for green sea turtle), is Hawai i’s only indigenous turtle and an aumkua, or family god, in Hawaiian mythology. One of our favorite ocean activities is snorkeling with turtles on Maui. Maui is home to 3 species of native sea turtles including the Leatherback, Hawksbill and the most common Green Sea Turtle. Because al l sea turtles are either endangered or protected, we encourage respectful encounters which include never touching a sea turtle (this is actually against the law!) and giving turtles their space so they can interact naturally in their marine environment.
Best Spots to Snorkel with Turtles in Maui
There are our top snorkeling spots we see Green sea turtles. Some of these snorkel locations you can swim to from shore, others are best reached from a boat during a turtle snorkel tour on Maui or Lanai!
Lanai
A more remote location to snorkel with turtles would be the island of Lanai, about half hour boat ride from Lahaina, Maui. Leaving Maui by boat, we travel about 8 miles to the coast of Lanai, where there are more than a dozen remote snorkel spot to choose from. One favorite is Club Lanai, named for the reefs location set right outside the beach where Club Lanai was once a popular day club for tourist. Now the club is vacant but the reef is very much alive with marine life! Here we see our favorite green sea turtles, many tropical fish and often spot shy reef sharks cruising through the sandy reef channels.
Mala Wharf, Lahaina
Another popular Maui snorkel spot to see turtles is Mala Boat Ramp in Lahaina Maui. This snorkel spot may not look like much from the surface, but the underwater view is spectacular. Mala Boat Ramp was once used to load pineapples from the cannery onto boats, but with the end of pineapple farming, the ramp collapsed and was left to create an artificial reef. This spot can be reached by shore or by boat, and you’ll be stoked to see dozens of tropical fish, octopus, Hawaiian green sea turtles swimming, and even shy reef sharks sleeping near the reef structure.
Olowalu
Oluwalu reef located in Lahaina, Maui, is a popular snorkel destination and you can often spot green sea turtles swimming through the beautiful coral or hanging out in cleaning stations allowing fish to clean the algae from their shells. Oluwalu is also a great snorkel spot for snorkeling to turtles, it is shallow and is very protected from the wind, creating a calm place to explore the ocean. Some of Oluwalu can be snorkeled from shore, but to reach the outer reef it’s best to chartering a boat. This spot isn’t just home to Hawaiian green sea turtles, you can also see manta rays and tropical fish!
Best Weather for Snorkeling
When and where weather is best for snorkeling in Maui!
Is it ok to snorkel in the rain?
Because Maui is a tropical island, light rains are very typical but when Maui receives significant rainfall, the water run-off creates low visibility and murky water that you do not want to snorkel in. The weather throughout the island of Maui can be very different, sometimes there is rain in one area and often the other side of the island is experiencing no rain at all. It’s also important to know that many snorkel tours, including Ultimate’s Lanai snorkeling tours, leave Maui and snorkel the Lanai coast. Not only does decreased visibility make it difficult to see marine life, murky water has bacteria we don’t want to be swimming in, Not just for the experience, but also for safety, we do not recommend snorkeling when when the water looks brown or murky after heavy rainfall.
What about snorkeling in waves and wind?
Waves are caused by many factors including incoming swells from distant tropical storms, wind chop and other vessels. Snorkeling in mild waves is doable, but the main concern is it causing seasickness for snorkelers. If waves are more than mild, not only does it make entering from the shore, or driving from a boat difficult, it also can affect the water clarity as it is stirring up sand and soot. Most wave swells come in directions, North, South, East, West. Because Maui and Lanai are islands there is typically a location at all times that has calm waters. Our boat captains find the calmest water for snorkeling! Wind can be a tricky element as it not only affects your snorkel tour, but also the means to get to your snorkel location. If you are on a boat charter, heavy winds can make the boat ride bumpy and wet, blowing the ocean spray onto the deck of the vessel.
What is the best weather for snorkeling?
Being a tropical island, Maui has shifts in weather that can affect snorkeling. Some weather variables that can affect snorkeling conditions include rain, wind, current and cloud cover! One of the benefits of snorkel tours from Lahaina Harbor, is that the west side of Maui is located on the lee-ward side of the West Maui Mountains, blocking most weather from even reaching Lahaina, Maui. This makes Lahaina Maui snorkeling one of the calmest and driest locations on the island! Our captains use special weather reports, experience and our live weather camera so determine the best weather and locations for snorkeling!