Snorkeling or Sunset Boat Trips from Kaanapali Beach

[Carlsbadguy]

Staying at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club and was wondering about companies that do boat trips from Kaanapali Beach? Do any boats leave from Lahaina harbor yet or do you need to drive down to Maalaea Harbor for most boat trips.
Have been many times before but it has been about 5 years.

 

[ljmiii]

We sailed with (and can definitely recommend) Sail Trilogy. That said, the permits that allow operators to sail from Kaanapali Beach may not be renewed in 2025.

https://www.khon2.com/local-news/court-ruling-could-halt-boat-operations-at-ka%CA%BBanapali-beach-in-2025/

 

[JIMinNC]

As of now, Trilogy, Teralani, and Sail Maui are the three main operators from Kaanapali, I believe. They all do whale watches, snorkel trips, and sunsets. There may be one or two more smaller operators.

No commercial operations in Lahaina Harbor, as there is no infrastructure there anymore, and it may be years, at best, before any is rebuilt. Maalaea is the only other significant commercial harbor in West Maui. Mala boat ramp behind Cannery Mall does host a couple of Zodiac companies.

 

[NTP66]

Speaking only for Trilogy, as I will only ever use them, you can still catch their west Maui snorkeling trips from the beach in front of Whaler's Village, or depending on the tide, the other side of Black Rock. The captain's dinner cruise, Lana'i, etc. do leave out of Ma'alaea.

 

[melissy123]

For whale watching trips out of Kaanapali, do any of the operators use the smaller zodiac boats?

 

[Lakeshore]

How are these whale watching trips concerning sea sickness?

 

[NTP66]

Trilogy uses large catamarans, which are a really good option if you want to avoid sea sickness, IMO.

 

[daviator]

For whale watching trips out of Kaanapali, do any of the operators use the smaller zodiac boats?

Yes, there is at least one operator which does whale watching tours on zodiac boats. They leave from the Mala boat ramp sort of behind the Cannery Mall in Lahaina.

I do not believe there are any Zodiac tours which leave from Ka'anapali though.

 

[iowaguy09]

We’ve done both snorkeling and whale watching multiple times with Ultimate Whalewatch and Snorkel: https://www.ultimatewhalewatch.com/?utm_source=google-map&utm_campaign=gmb&utm_medium=organic
All our trips were pre-fire. They have moved from downtown harbor to Mala boat ramp. Would not hesitate to recommend them.

 

[JIMinNC]

We’ve done both snorkeling and whale watching multiple times with Ultimate Whalewatch and Snorkel: https://www.ultimatewhalewatch.com/?utm_source=google-map&utm_campaign=gmb&utm_medium=organic
All our trips were pre-fire. They have moved from downtown harbor to Mala boat ramp. Would not hesitate to recommend them.

I believe Ultimate is now also doing tours off Kaanapali Beach in addition to Mala.