Maui diving
Maui scuba diving ranks among the best in the world. There are dive suites suitable for different levels of expertise. The marine life is rich and includes dolphins, sharks, many species of fish and whale sharks can be seen from late December to April.
Always dive according to your level of training. Never enter the water without checking with the local dive center for safety, additional information, level required for each dive site and without being accompanied by a professional. All the information provided is purely informative for our readers and shouldn't be used as is to plan your immersion.
Maui has some incredible wall diving and snorkelling too. A really popular site is the Molokini Crater suitable for both diving and snorkelling.
The Molokini Crater is a marine preserve and has lots of reef fish, garden eels and occasional sharks. You may see large mantas whose size can reach 10 feet (3 metres) in width. The visibility is great, can be anything from 100-200 feet (30-60 metres) and the dives are varied.
The depths go from 20 to over 130 feet (6-37 metres) thus making it possible for different kinds of dives. The shallow dives are done on the inside while the deeper dives will be on the outside of the crater. The crater is not only great for diving, it also provides a home for Hawaii's sea birds.
There are many great dive sites on Molokini. Reef's End is an underwater finger that extends the edge of the reef, thus its name. This site has steps that go from 10 feet to about 350 feet underwater. For beginners and snorkellers the inside of the outer reef is recommended. Cauliflower coral characterizes this site and there are also sharks and eels. You may even spot manta rays.
Middle reef as the name suggests is in the center of Molokini crater. There is plenty of colourful hard coral and it is home to a multitude of fish and eels. Occasionally you will encounter turtles.
feet (60-120 metres) and the dive is recommended for advanced divers only. The marine life you will encounter includes sharks, spinner dolphins, mantas and lots of other tropical fish. These are jut some of the dive sites. Your dive center will plan a dive program that suits your needs best.
Lanai's Cathedrals is a dive usually done as a private charter. This is a spectacular dive and it gets its name from the fact that you actually feel as if you're swimming through a cathedral. This is a duo pinnacle and one of the biggest and most diverse dive site in Maui.
The first cathedral can be accesses through an opening found at approximately 50 feet (15 metres). The scenery is absolutely breathtaking with light coming through the holes in the rock walls. The effect of the light hitting the water will give you the impression that you are looking through clear blue glass.
The second cathedral has caverns with ceilings that do look like cathedrals and go all the way up to the surface. The marine life is abundant and commonly seen are white tip reef sharks, turtles, lots of nudibranches just to name a few. There are also frequent sightings of spinner dolphins on this site.
Tank and landing craft are two wrecks from the World War II close to the Makena coast. Both are amtrac amphibious tractors. They are in 60 feet of water on a sandy bottom and attract a lot of marine life. There is still some weaponry and ammunition
St Anthony's wreck was deliberately sunk as an artificial reef in 1997. It is 65 feet !!! in length, sits in 60 feet (18 metres) of water and it's possible to swim through the cargo section. Lots of marine life inhabit this wreck. Close to the wreck is a tire and concrete block reef on which you can see plenty of butterfly fish and trumpet fish.
These are just but a few of the dive sites Maui has to offer. The dive schools on the island will be able to work out a tour that corresponds to your particular needs. Dive courses are offered at different levels of certification.
Humpback whales can be seen here during the whale watching season that runs from December to May. They come to the the west and south of the island, in the shallow waters, to start their winter voyage.
