Scuba, shark cages, beaches and star gazing - which islands best?

[AlohaCathy]

We’re on the POA on NCL in early July and would like to organise scuba diving, shark cage and star gazing trips plus some chill out beach days. Any suggestions for the best islands to do these on please or people to go with or avoid. I've done a bit of research myself but would like to narrow it down and would really love some advice thank you.

 

Plus any suggestions of other activities that a 17 year old boy might like to do (he likes the idea of all of the above plus anything fun like zip lines etc)

 

Thanks so much in advance!

[Astro Flyer]

For scuba my recommendation would be either Kona on the Big Island or Molokini islet off the South Maui coast.  

 

For stargazing Maui’s 10,000’ Haleakala would be my recommendation but it’s about 15° cooler than at sea level.  With the POA staying overnight in Kahului you could also go to sunrise at the top of Haleakala & when the conditions are good see many stars before sunrise.  Although warm clothes would be necessary for the colder temperatures & if going independently you would need to get a permit for the popular sunrise.  It’s like images I’ve seen of sunrise from space...a dark sky begins with a golden glow on the horizon expanding to a beautiful sunrise.  Sky conditions can be variable & affect the experience but when it’s good the sunrise is amazing.  In February Haleakala was closed for nearly a week due to snow & icy conditions and here’s the view from sea level.

 

 

[Astro Flyer]

Neglected to add that’s a telephoto picture of the summit area & lower elevations didn’t have any snow.

[AlohaCathy]

Ah what amazing advice and photo thank you x 

[Sailing12Away]

We're on the POA at the end of July. We looked into booking this for the first night in Maui to get a sunset and star gazing tour, but it's all sold out for our night 😞 https://www.mauistargazing.com/ There may be spots available for your sailing. We're renting a car and planning on driving up to haleakala on our own for the sunset, and will resign ourselves to the naked eye and possibly binoculars.

 

Still looking into other options for booking excursions, and we recently found this: https://www.tombarefoot.com/activities/cat/cruise-ship-compatible/39 Lots of options for cruise passengers, and we're looking into booking some for our journey.

[Silver Sweethearts]

40 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

We're on the POA at the end of July. We looked into booking this for the first night in Maui to get a sunset and star gazing tour, but it's all sold out for our night 😞 https://www.mauistargazing.com/ There may be spots available for your sailing. We're renting a car and planning on driving up to haleakala on our own for the sunset, and will resign ourselves to the naked eye and possibly binoculars.

 

Instead of driving up to chilly Haleakala and back, you might consider the Sunset and Celestial Cruise out of Ma'alaea by Pacific Whale Foundation.  At least google it and see which appeals most.

 

Oops!  In checking further we notice the cruise is Saturdays only.  Perhaps you can find something similar though if you like the idea...  

Edited April 7, 2019 by Silver Sweethearts

[Sailing12Away]

Yeah, just saw that. You got my hopes up lol.

[boontj2003]

My kids just did an open water shark dive in Oahu. They loved it. Its called one ocean diving. NO CAGE. So be ready. They swam with 19 sharks and was educated about sharks the whole time. I would highly recommend them. Do know, they won't go out unless there are at least 4 people. Great experience. Enjoy!

[Silver Sweethearts]

10 hours ago, boontj2003 said:

My kids just did an open water shark dive in Oahu. They loved it. Its called one ocean diving. NO CAGE. So be ready. They swam with 19 sharks and was educated about sharks the whole time. I would highly recommend them. Do know, they won't go out unless there are at least 4 people. Great experience. Enjoy!

 

Just an observation that a month ago a shark attacked and killed a swimmer off Ka'anapali Beach here on Maui, and that was without provocation.  It may sound neat to be close to the sharks, but it seems foolish to tempt fate.

[Silver Sweethearts]

4 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

 

Just an observation that a month ago a shark attacked and killed a swimmer off Ka'anapali Beach here on Maui, and that was without provocation.  It may sound neat to be close to the sharks, but it seems foolish to tempt fate.

 

Astro Flyer - I had a notification that you had responded/reacted to my post above, but darned if I can find it.  Please send it again.  Thanks! 

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

 

Astro Flyer - I had a notification that you had responded/reacted to my post above, but darned if I can find it.  Please send it again.  Thanks! 

 

I clicked on the “Like” icon because I agreed with your post about sharks.

[cb at sea]

It was 29 degrees the day in April we went to Haleakala....bring WARM clothes if you are there when it's dark!  Clouds are quite common at that elevation, too.

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, cb at sea said:

It was 29 degrees the day in April we went to Haleakala....bring WARM clothes if you are there when it's dark!  Clouds are quite common at that elevation, too.

 

And it’s generally windy which results in even colder windchill temperatures.  Another consideration for anyone with health issues is the air at 10,000’ is rarified with less oxygen.

[AlohaCathy]

I’m back now. We didn’t manage organised star gazing but did our own from the ship. Shark diving didn’t happen as we didn’t have time (and the post above about the shark attack worried me somewhat! We visited some incredible beaches I’ve added a trip review on here. I forgot to include the scuba diving! We did scuba diving, booked it last minute the day before when we were on Kauai. The boys were amazed they say eels, turtles, turtles being cleaned by other fish, tons and tons of colourful fish, trigger fish..: the list went on. It was the most amazing scuba experience. 

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, AlohaCathy said:

We did scuba diving, booked it last minute the day before when we were on Kauai. The boys were amazed they say eels, turtles, turtles being cleaned by other fish, tons and tons of colourful fish, trigger fish..: the list went on. It was the most amazing scuba experience. 

 

Glad they enjoyed scuba...I snorkeled for decades before becoming scuba certified & wished I had been certified decades earlier. ☺️