Pacific Whale Foundation Molokini Crater & Turtle Arches Snorkel Tour, Maui

[Hogladyrider]

We booked this tour thru the cruise line as we had excursion credits to use.  We love the water and snorkeling though it had been years since we had snorkeled (pre Covid).

 

We visited in February 2024.  We really enjoyed this excursion, it was worth the money for sure.  We boarded the bus at the port and it was about a 30 minute ride to  the pier where we boarded the boat that would be our trip for the day.

 

We brought our own masks and snorkels though the ship included them as well as fins.  We used the ships fins.  The boat holds quite a few passengers and I'd say we were full.

 

We wore rash guard shirts to avoid sunburn.  Wet suit tops were available for $10.  Hindsite is 20/20, in February the water was chilly, so I would recommend a wet suit top for sure.  Once you get chilled it is tough to get warmed up.

 

Our first stop of the day, Captain's choice, was turtle cove.  OMG this was like swimming in an aquarium.  We jumped in off the site of the boat ILO going down the stairs.  Footnote: I am 71 female and he is 69 male so we are not kids by any means.

 

One must be careful when jumping in from the boar and hold onto your mask and anything else you have in your hands.  One gal jumped off with her I phone in hand and guess what, the phone went down to the bottom.  One of the crew jumped in and went to the bottom to retrieve her phone for her.  I will leave it at that.

 

We absolutely loved this first snorkel stop!  We were not the only boat there but it was not crowded everyone was evenly spaced out.

 

Once back on board we were off  to Molokini Crater.  This is quite a boat ride out there and we were visiting during whale season so we were often stopping along the way to watch the whale activity.  This was an added bonus to this excursion for sure.  We saw so many whales and babies both going and coming from the Crater.

 

We arrived at the Crater and once moored off the side we went.  Honestly, we both only stayed in the water about 20 minutes as we were cold.  This stop was nice but we liked the 1st stop better.  The Crater is unique and I would probably return but during much warmer water temps for sure.  Many folks got out early because of the current and the water temp.

 

Lunch was served and one beverage was included.  The food was plentiful and we were all hungry after our morning activities.  

 

It was a leisure ride back to the dock stopping several times for whale sightings.

 

I would book this excursion again, thru the ship for sure, as the travel time to and from the excursion location is about 30 minutes.  It was a fun exciting day and it could only have been improved with warmer water temperatures.  Pacific Whale  Foundation is a great outfit to do an excursion with.

[SonuvaBeach]

On 4/8/2024 at 2:00 PM, Hogladyrider said:

We booked this tour thru the cruise line as we had excursion credits to use.  We love the water and snorkeling though it had been years since we had snorkeled (pre Covid).

 

We visited in February 2024.  We really enjoyed this excursion, it was worth the money for sure.  We boarded the bus at the port and it was about a 30 minute ride to  the pier where we boarded the boat that would be our trip for the day.

 

We brought our own masks and snorkels though the ship included them as well as fins.  We used the ships fins.  The boat holds quite a few passengers and I'd say we were full.

 

We wore rash guard shirts to avoid sunburn.  Wet suit tops were available for $10.  Hindsite is 20/20, in February the water was chilly, so I would recommend a wet suit top for sure.  Once you get chilled it is tough to get warmed up.

 

Our first stop of the day, Captain's choice, was turtle cove.  OMG this was like swimming in an aquarium.  We jumped in off the site of the boat ILO going down the stairs.  Footnote: I am 71 female and he is 69 male so we are not kids by any means.

 

One must be careful when jumping in from the boar and hold onto your mask and anything else you have in your hands.  One gal jumped off with her I phone in hand and guess what, the phone went down to the bottom.  One of the crew jumped in and went to the bottom to retrieve her phone for her.  I will leave it at that.

 

We absolutely loved this first snorkel stop!  We were not the only boat there but it was not crowded everyone was evenly spaced out.

 

Once back on board we were off  to Molokini Crater.  This is quite a boat ride out there and we were visiting during whale season so we were often stopping along the way to watch the whale activity.  This was an added bonus to this excursion for sure.  We saw so many whales and babies both going and coming from the Crater.

 

We arrived at the Crater and once moored off the side we went.  Honestly, we both only stayed in the water about 20 minutes as we were cold.  This stop was nice but we liked the 1st stop better.  The Crater is unique and I would probably return but during much warmer water temps for sure.  Many folks got out early because of the current and the water temp.

 

Lunch was served and one beverage was included.  The food was plentiful and we were all hungry after our morning activities.  

 

It was a leisure ride back to the dock stopping several times for whale sightings.

 

I would book this excursion again, thru the ship for sure, as the travel time to and from the excursion location is about 30 minutes.  It was a fun exciting day and it could only have been improved with warmer water temperatures.  Pacific Whale  Foundation is a great outfit to do an excursion with.

I agree! We did a whale watch with them ...it was fantastic!

Our youtube video!