Maui Snorkeling Guide
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Maui is a beautiful Hawaiian island. Many folks say it’s their favorite. Snorkeling options vary from shore access to boat trips. Much of the shore snorkeling is clustered on the west side, from Lahaina to the north side. The other main area is around Wailea-Makena near the central part of the island. Both these areas face east, protecting them from prevailing winds. Maui’s close proximity to other islands allows for snorkeling boat trips offered by various tour companies. The most popular boat trip is Molokini Crater. Another trip offered is Lanai island to the west of Maui.
Check out our downloadable PDF snorkeling map set for Maui that include extra detailed information about each location. Easy to use for quick offline reference.
The overall snorkeling on Maui is good...
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...In my opinion through, after having snorkeled the three main Hawaiian islands extensively, I would personally rank the island of Hawaii first, Oahu second, then Maui third in order of best snorkeling islands. Maui does rank first on some things. Turtles! Of all the places I have snorkeled (not just the Hawaiian islands) I have never seen as many turtles as I have seen on Maui. It seemed like every time I went snorkeling, I saw multiple friendly turtles. Maui and the surrounding islands Kaho’olawe, Lanai, Moloka’i used to be one big island above water. Going back around 1.2 million years ago sea levels were lower. Maui Nui as it is now called, was its own island greater than 50% larger than the island of Hawaii today.
Unlike other snorkeling guides, here at Snorkeling Quest we personally snorkel and video each location we list in our guides. We do the hard work so you don’t have to. Our goal is to save you time on your vacation and bring you directly to the snorkeling spot. Please enjoy this snorkeling guide and check out our downloadable pdf maps of Maui for even more detailed information.
Maui Snorkeling Map
(Click the box on the map header to open in Google Maps app)
Click to jump to each location:
Ahihi-Kinau Marine Preserve
Average snorkeling in a marine protected area. Extensive reef, but not the healthiest reef off a pebble beach. The area is located in a semi-protected bay. Pay a small fee to park and signs will direct you to the beach snorkeling area. The reef is right offshore and covers the whole bay. The healthiest areas seemed to be right off the beach entrance.
Black Rocks
Rock formation on the side of a large beach. It doesn’t seem like much at first, but turn the corner and swim north as far as you feel comfortable. The rock cliff extends below the water line 20 to 30 feet with a flat sand bottom with great visibility. This area is a great place for freediving.
As a bonus, you can climb up the rock from the water for a 20ft cliff jump. This is a popular beach with many resorts, there should be plenty of cliff jumpers, however not too many folks snorkel around the corner.
Parking is challenging. If you are not staying withing walking distance, there are a couple of public beach access parking lots. These are intentionally limited areas. At the time of this writing, the easiest place to park is the Whalers Village shopping center and walk over. Free parking as long as you patron the shopping center. Make sure to get your parking ticket validated.
Coral Gardens
For the more adventurous snorkeler. Extensive coral reef just off shore that can be reached by boat or shore access. To access from shore, first find the West Lahaina Pali trailhead parking about 4.2 miles east of Olowalu. Access the shoreline directly across from here. Parking here is dangerous, as the steady traffic on the highway makes it difficult to cross. You should park at a turn-out just west of here on the ocean side. Walk down the shoreline to the east, and locate a very small sandy area just before a small point. This is the best entry point. Time the waves to enter, swim east to the point and out follow that out. Visibility improves as you go out. Extensive reef in 5 to 20 feet. Snorkel tour boats are common out here. They most likely leave from Maalaea harbor. When accessing from shore, be safe out here. This is more for the intermediate/advanced snorkeler. Be alert for wave and current conditions.
Hana Bay
Nice little reef right in Hana Bay. Snorkel to the east of the pier towards a small, protected area in the nook of the harbor. Visibility improves near the corner. Nice little reef in 5 to 10 feet of water. Enter right at the boat launch to shorten your swim. Under the old pier conditions are not great. Poor visibility and people fishing make it not a good snorkeling area.
Honokeana Bay
Cute little cove. Shallow cove protected from waves offers easy snorkeling for beginners. However, it is a rock entry. A decent amount of coral covers the bottom. Some fish and turtles can be seen, but not a great amount of fish. This should be a good snorkel location when most other locations on this side of the island have strong waves. To enter, you need to find a public beach access lane that is not well marked. Parking is challenging. You may need to park on the street and walk in.
Honolua Bay
Large, protected bay surrounded by cliffs on either side with scenic overlooks. The best areas to snorkel are the edges of the bay, north and south. Coral lines either side with good structure, however it doesn’t start for a while. Stick to the edges and swim out till you see it. The bay slowly gets deeper with limited coral walls farther out.
There is a moderately sized stream running into the bay, causing visibility issues and halocline near the surface. It rains all the time on this side of the island, but it’s safe to assume after a heavy rainfall more sediment is washed into the bay. The visibility improves as you swim out farther.
This is a very popular area that fills up by mid-morning, try to get here early. There is a short hike through a beautiful rain forest to get to the bay. There is limited sand at the bay and mostly consists of basketball sized rocks. Snorkel tour boats can be seen inside the bay, that is another way to visit.
Parking is limited. There is a turnout on the main road west of the hiking trail, but you need to walk down a portion of the road. The primary parking is north of here. It is a dirt parking lot that fills up quickly on a busy day.
Kapalua Bay
Beautiful public beach with good snorkeling. The middle of the bay is sandy, snorkel the north and south edges of the bay for good coral and good fish diversity that improves farther out near the opening of the bay. A sunken reef on the south end protects most of the bay from larger waves. The opening of the bay on the north side deepens with coral and notable rock structures.
There is a public parking lot nearby with facilities. The lot is small and might be full most of the day. You may need to park on the street and walk in.
Lanai Island
Take a snorkel boat tour to Lanai island off Maui. There are various snorkeling locations the tours visit based on conditions. Most tours leave from Lahaina area. Some common locations include:
Lighthouse: Small protected bay below towering cliffs.
Sweetheart: Drop off snorkeling next to rock formations.
Manele: Snorkel in the semi-protected bay near the harbor of Manele
Lopa: Excellent shallow reef with extensive coral. Some of the best reef in the area. Another nearby reef called Two Palms offers similar snorkeling.
Makena Landing / 5 Caves
Popular shore dive and snorkeling location. The main attraction is several caves along the shoreline in less than 20ft of water. Including the famous “bubble cave”. The caves are under the cliffs below the houses. The entrances of the caves may be hard to see from the surface. You need to dive down and look in the shadows along the shoreline cliffs. There is also a coral peninsula coming out from the 5 Graves cove. This shallow peninsula extends a fair distance from shore and has a couple arches you can swim through.
There are two main entry points on either side of the primary snorkeling. The Makena Landing Park has facilities, but the small parking lot is commonly full. The 5 Graves area is a shoreline access trail with street parking. It has a rock beach entrance that can be challenging to navigate in afternoon swells.
Mala Historic Warf
Snorkel an old sunken wharf. Pillar and platforms scatter the bottom offering many hiding places for various creatures. Turtles and white tip reef sharks area a common sight.
There is a beach right next to the old wharf offering easy entry. Some of the wharf is still standing, while below the surface the ruins extend a fair distance out. Follow to the end of the rubble. Free diving skills are a bonus. Many swim throughs under the pillars and platforms. The surface visibility can be poor. Diving down greatly improves this visibility. Shore divers and some snorkel tours boats can be seen here.
Limited parking as it is an active boat landing area. A short walk away is large shopping center with plenty of parking.
Molokini Crater
The most popular snorkel boat tour on Maui. Take a boat tour to a sunken half-moon crater. Technically not a volcano itself, but a vent for the larger Haleakala volcano nearby. The tour boats usually do two stops out here. Inside the crater and along the back wall, depending on ocean conditions. Inside the crater is mostly rocks with scattered coral and limited fish diversity. Numerous tour boats crowd the crater, preventing greater exploration. Outside the crater are sheer cliffs extending below the surface as far as you can see. A spectacular drop-off that will delight free divers.
The tour usually ends with a stop at turtle town near Kihae. Numerous tour companies offer this trip. If they leave from Kihei boat landing it is a shorter boat ride to the crater.
Oneuli Beach
Decent coral off a semi-secluded black sand beach. The best snorkeling area is on the left side towards the small point. Please be careful next to this small point. The current here tends to push out as it exits the small bay. Depths are 5 to 20 feet, and a good amount of coral covers the bottom. The black sand beach is great and offers more seclusion than beaches in the Wailea area north of here. Drive down a short dirt road entrance to access. Passenger cars should be able to make it when dry.
Slaughterhouse Beach
Good snorkeling off a nice beach, offering an alternative to busy nearby Honolua Bay. Follow along the rocks on the right (east) side of the beach out to the point. From here, you can continue into Honolua Bay. Submerged rocks and cliffs over a slowy descending sand bottom that maxes out at 20 to 30 feet. Good visibility and great fish diversity. There seemed to be larger fish here than other spots. Not a lot of coral here, mostly rocks. Ample parking and a long staircase down to the bay.
Turtle Town Kihei
One of the usual stops on the Molokini Crater boat tour, but you can also reach it from shore. This location is a “turtle cleaning” area. They float around close to shore and allow fish to eat stuff off them. To reach from shore, park at the public Po’olenalena Beach and walk south to the end of the beach. Enter at the rocks and swim south around the point. There should be some snorkel tours boats out here. The turtles should be close to shore in 10 to 20 ft of water.
Waliea Beach
Decent reef off Wailea Beach. Enter at the south end of the beach and swim out south to the point. You’ll need to swim out a fair distance before you start seeing reef. The reef sits in about 10 feet and slopes down to about 30 feet. Snorkel tour boats can be commonly seen out here. Afternoon winds typically increase wave action. It is best to snorkel in the morning. Park at the public lot just north of the Four Seasons Resort.
Hey, check this out:
For even more detailed information on these snorkeling sites, download our Maui snorkeling maps. Full color maps in .pdf version. Extra notes, tips and tricks to maximize your experience. Download for offline use and take with you to the snorkel spot.
