As a certified PADI diver with 25 open water dives, scuba diving in Maui is very good. And it’s AMAZING if you are lucky enough to include a whale-watching surface interval!
If you’re thinking about scuba diving in Maui, we did Discover Scuba with our kids through Dive Maui and a Molokini Crater tour through Maui Diamond. We paid for both so this is not a sponsored post. If you’re interested in first-time diving or experienced diving at Molokini Crater, this post shares all about it.
[This particular experience diving in Maui was unique because of the humpback whale season. Highly recommend scuba diving in Maui between January and March for the extra whale sightseeing benefit.]
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Scuba Diving In Maui Compared To Other Places
For context on why I rank scuba diving in Maui as “very good” and not “excellent”, my open water dive certification was completed in Moorea, French Polynesia.
My first official dive was in Bora Bora. On that very first ocean dive, I saw black tip sharks, gray sharks, a Napoleon fish, sting rays, a school of barracuda, and at one point was surrounded by lemon sharks on the ocean floor while my divemaster fed them mahi mahi. Needless to say, scuba diving in Bora Bora has been impossible to top ever since.
Other tropical places I’ve gone diving and one thing that made the dive memorable:
- Playa Del Carmen – large white sting ray
- Cozumel – lots of darkness along the Las Palma Wall to depths of 105’
- Kauai – Discovery Channel-like tunnels called the Sheraton Caverns
- Cabo – octopus
- Grand Cayman – lionfish
- Moorea (returned to French Polynesia in hopes of an experience similar to my first) – lemon shark…but it didn’t circle or brush up against me this time around
After a long break while living in England and kids too young to scuba dive, we decided to refresh our skills and get back into it while on vacation in Maui. This time with our kids!
First time scuba diving in Maui // photo credit @_divewithdave_
Discovery Scuba with Dive Maui, Lahaina
Both of our kids wanted to try scuba diving and my husband and I needed a refresher course. We booked our lessons with Dive Maui a couple of months before our March 2024 vacation.
The Discover Scuba course required online PADI learning for the kids to complete before the lesson day. Then onsite at the Dive Maui location in Lahaina, our divemaster/instructor spent about an hour going over equipment, breathing, hand signals, safety protocols, and what to expect once we were in the water. Losing and retrieving your regulator and clearing your mask are all practiced before entering the ocean.
The divemaster, Joe, expanded on his instruction for my husband and me on topics the kids didn’t need for Discover Scuba. Joe was patient and thorough answering all of our questions. And that was it!
Learning to scuba dive with Dive Maui in Lahaina
Airport Beach Shore Dive
Once classroom instruction was complete, we followed Joe to Airport Beach in Kaanapali for a shore dive. Joe set us up with all our equipment and had the kids test their regulators for the first time.
Walking from the parking lot to Airport Beach shore is the hardest part! This was my first shore dive and I was SO impressed with the kids’ ability to manage all of their own equipment. As a result of the insanely heavy and hot walk, it encouraged the kids to want to get into the ocean immediately and relieve the weight pressure.
Airport Beach is a soft sandy beach so entering isn’t hard. Joe coached the kids by timing the waves to avoid getting tossed back up on the shore.
Once we were beyond the waves and near the dive flag, we began the descent. It took a few times for the kids to sort out ear pressure but soon enough we were on our knees on the sandy bottom floor performing scuba diving tests. The kids passed with flying colors!
Joe closely led the kids to different areas of the reef, descending to a max depth of 36 feet. The most memorable thing about this Maui dive beyond the excitement of it being our family’s first dive together, was hearing the whales sing underwater!
Other notable things we saw on the Airport Beach dive include Maui’s colorful coral, sea urchins (they are everywhere along Kaanapali Beach so be careful), yellow tang fish, angelfish, needlefish (the kids’ favorite), and butterfly fish.
While the underwater sights from the Airport Beach dive were underwhelming for an experienced diver, our kids’ first time trying scuba diving exceeded expectations.
Dive Maui was booked for the afternoon, otherwise our family would have signed up for a 2nd dive.
Molokini Crater Scuba Diving With Maui Diamond
Scuba diving Molokini Crater with Maui Diamond requires certification. The back side of Molokini Crater is known to be the BEST diving in Maui but requires 40+ logged dives to do it. We stuck to the front!
The whole experience with Maui Diamond was excellent. From meeting the boat crew, instruction, photos by Dave, underwater communication, hot freshwater shower while climbing back onto the boat (why doesn’t everyone do this!), snacks and beverages, whale watching surface interval, and taking care of the equipment – it really is the full-service deal.
The conditions were sunny skies and clear visibility. I was nervous about this dive since it’d been so long since my last open water dive in Moorea but I had no reason to be. Scuba diving in Maui was perfect.
1st Dive at Reef’s End, Molokini Crater
Since this dive took place in March, there was continuous whale activity everywhere on the way to the crater. You depart from Maalaea Harbor and it’s about a 45-minute boat ride to the crater.
While on the boat we were divided into teams of 6 divers to a Maui Diamond divemaster. We reviewed basic protocols, what to expect underwater, communication signals, and how our divemaster, Michelle, likes to navigate the crater.
As soon as we arrived at the Molokini Crater dive site, our team got in the water and started our exploration. Ear pressure was a bit of a nuisance during this dive but otherwise descended to a max of 60’. Visibility was incredibly clear – up to 150’. It was so clear a shark was entirely visible far far off in the distance.
Reef shark at Molokini Crater // photo credit @_divewithdave_
Highlights of what I saw diving at Molokini Crater
- 2 reef sharks: 1 in a cave that our divemaster found, and another swimming far away in the distance above us.
- Tuna
- Moray eel
- Giant blue lobster! This was my favorite!
- Giant red starfish
- Crown-of-thorns starfish
Crown of thorns starfish in Maui // photo credit @_divewithdave_
Other teams saw even more, including the one aquatic sea animal everyone hopes to dive with at Molokini Crater, the Hawaiian green sea turtle. We were all scuba diving in the same reef area in front of the crater but I didn’t personally spot this turtle on our Reef’s End dive.
Iconic Hawaiian green sea turtle // photo credit @_divewithdave_
Surface Interval Between Dive 1 & Dive 2
Scuba diving in Maui will forever be special because of the epic surface interval. The time between dives, or surface interval, is typically my least favorite part. It’s when sea sickness and nausea tend to kick in for me. But this surface interval was unlike any other dive experience!
Whales were breaching, some with their baby calves, some males courting females, and some just lobtailing (when whales repeatedly slap their tales on the water).
Mom & calf humpback whales giving us the BEST show!
Our Maui Diamond Captain was amazing at getting us close to where he predicted whales would breach. It was an epic front-row whale show – by far the best whale watching I’ve ever experienced.
It completely fired up all the scuba divers on the boat for the second dive.
2nd Dive at Nahuna Point near Turtle Town
The whale-watching surface interval completely fired up all the scuba divers on the boat for the second dive. I was hoping to hear the whales underwater, but my senses shifted pretty quickly to the abundance of eels on dive 2.
Highlights of what I saw diving at Nahuna Point
- Hawaiian lionfish
- Hawaiian scorpionfish
- Bluespine unicornfish
- Peacock grouper (roi)
- Zebra moray eel
- The tiniest shrimp I’ve barely ever seen because it was translucent and smaller than my pinky finger.
- Lots and lots of moray eels
- Lava tubes! These are like walls in the ocean that you can dive along to look for ocean life.
So many moray eels in Maui // photo credit @_divewithdave_
The dive at Nahuna Point went to a max depth of 40’ so there was a lot of similarity to Airport Beach, but Nahuna offered far more things to see.
The 2nd dive was fun but underwhelming compared to Molokini Crater. Molokini offered the best underwater experience in terms of exploration, oceanic life, and coolness factor.
Ultimate aquarium experience diving in Maui // photo credit @_divewithdave_
Maui is my third favorite diving destination of all time, behind Bora Bora and Moorea. If you factor in the whale watching surface interval, definitely at least second!
Final Thoughts On What Scuba Diving in Maui Is Like
Discovery Scuba with Dive Maui exceeded expectations. If diving in on your bucket list, I highly recommend trying it for your first time in Maui. Just be aware that the weather conditions can influence how your first diving experience can go.
If it’s rainy, windy, and stormy, consider rescheduling so that you eliminate factors that might make it hard to enjoy that first time. A strong current can make scuba diving hard – even for certified divers.
Although it was overcast the day we went with our kids, visibility was still excellent and it didn’t bother the kids. We wore wet suits to enjoy the dive as much as possible without feeling too cold too fast. Highly recommend even in warm and mostly sunny Kaanapali Beach!
For certified divers, go to Molokini Crater. It’s a really cool dive experience and Maui Diamond makes the whole day fun.
I was hesitant about this diving trip at the start of the day since it’s been so long since my last dive, but by the second dive I was so grateful and excited.
Scuba diving in Maui wins for the best all-around experience – cool crater location, oceanic life I’ve never previously seen, surface interval with whales, crew energy, and Dave’s photography!
If you’re thinking about scuba diving in Maui and have any more questions about my experience, let me know in the comments! You can see more photos of scuba diving in Maui on my Instagram highlights and other must things to do in my Kaanapali post.