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Big snorkel surprise today

klpca

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We're wrapping up a nice week in Maui today, and certainly ended the week on a high note. While snorkeling at Airport Beach today we saw turtles, eels, about 50 different types of fish (I counted, lol) but the best part was that about mid snorkel, we found ourselves about 30 feet from a huge pod of spinner dolphins. I heard them before I saw them. There were lots of small ones (babies, I assume) that seemed to swim with two larger ones. It was just an amazing experience, and one that I never thought I'd have in my life. Even without seeing dolphins, I'd snorkel every day if I could. I'm a bit tired of Hawaii because we've been probably 20+ times, but the snorkeling keeps drawing me back. Can't wait to return :D
 

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That's amazing. Certainly an unexpected and unique experience.

What are your other favorite spots to snorkel on Maui?
 

klpca

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That's amazing. Certainly an unexpected and unique experience.

What are your other favorite spots to snorkel on Maui?
Honolua for sure (although we cheat and usually take a boat), then Ulua second. Honestly Airport Beach (Kahekili Park now) was great this time. Napili was a total bust today. I'm sure that there are other places that we haven't been to, but these are our regular spots. I am a wuss and like easy beach entries which eliminates other spots.
 
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klpca

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Btw, we've been to Honolua on Teralani twice now and they have a photographer on board to take underwater pictures of the customers and the wildlife. We've have some great memories form these trips. Highly recommend. We actually saw a barracuda this time, so it's been a remarkable week of snorkeling.
 

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Wonderful experience. We encountered a pod in Kona Bay while jetskiing, the juveniles were very playful, jumping and spinning across our bow wake.


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Btw, we've been to Honolua on Teralani twice now and they have a photographer on board to take underwater pictures of the customers and the wildlife. We've have some great memories form these trips. Highly recommend. We actually saw a barracuda this time, so it's been a remarkable week of snorkeling.
Looking to buy Terralani Premier Adult Snorkel through Costco. Sounds like you had a good trip with them?
 

klpca

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Looking to buy Terralani Premier Adult Snorkel through Costco. Sounds like you had a good trip with them?
Just off the plane. We've been very happy with them. They are walking distance from the Marriott too. And I love having the photographer on board.
 

JIMinNC

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Honolua for sure (although we cheat and usually take a boat), then Ulua second. Honestly Airport Beach (Kahekili Park now) was great this time. Napili was a total bust today. I'm sure that there are other places that we haven't been to, but these are our regular spots. I am a wuss and like easy beach entries which eliminates other spots.

Have you been to Honolua in the winter? Would it be rougher then? Do the boats still go?

Where is Ulua?
 

klpca

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Have you been to Honolua in the winter? Would it be rougher then? Do the boats still go?

Where is Ulua?
I've been to Honolua in November - pretty surgy but ok visibility, May - great, September - great. In the dead of winter I'm not sure how it would be. Surfers go there for the break in the winter so it would seem that it may be churned up, but I have no first hand experience.

Ulua is in south Maui between the Marriott hotel and the Andaz. See the map on this page: http://mauiguidebook.com/beaches/ulua-beach/ Ulua is where we saw a huge manta ray (not this trip though - we didn't go south because of traffic, which sadly gets worse every year). Ulua is a great option if you are staying in south Maui. If we are staying in west Maui, we just go to Honolua or Airport (Kahekili) beach.
 

JIMinNC

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I've been to Honolua in November - pretty surgy but ok visibility, May - great, September - great. In the dead of winter I'm not sure how it would be. Surfers go there for the break in the winter so it would seem that it may be churned up, but I have no first hand experience.

Ulua is in south Maui between the Marriott hotel and the Andaz. See the map on this page: http://mauiguidebook.com/beaches/ulua-beach/ Ulua is where we saw a huge manta ray (not this trip though - we didn't go south because of traffic, which sadly gets worse every year). Ulua is a great option if you are staying in south Maui. If we are staying in west Maui, we just go to Honolua or Airport (Kahekili) beach.

That's kind of what I figured. January-March is when we tend to go to Hawaii, so it's harder to find good snorkel spots in winter. We went to Olowalu with Trilogy earlier this year, but it was so-so. After being spoiled by the snorkeling in Bora Bora and Moorea a few months ago, Hawaii snorkeling - particularly in winter - may never seem the same.
 

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That's kind of what I figured. January-March is when we tend to go to Hawaii, so it's harder to find good snorkel spots in winter. We went to Olowalu with Trilogy earlier this year, but it was so-so. After being spoiled by the snorkeling in Bora Bora and Moorea a few months ago, Hawaii snorkeling - particularly in winter - may never seem the same.

We go at the end of February- beginning of March. We find Honolua bay great for snorkeling early in the morning. We have always seen turtles while there. We also do a Captain Steve’s snorkel and whale watch over to Lanai with good experiences. The last several years we have ran into pods of spinners when we were whale watching. It would’ve been amazing to have been in the water snorkeling with them. There’s a bay over near Lanai that they hang around and are protected.


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