Sea turtles are protected in Hawaii, so you can find them everywhere! I’ve seen a sea turtles every time I’ve gone diving, and even a few times when I’ve gone snorkeling in Maui. We did a beginner friendly dive trip with Maui Dive Shop from Airport Beach with sea scooters. The sea scooters help propel you in the water. We did a beach entry into the water and only went to about 35 feet, where there were plenty of cute turtles, colorful fish and vibrant coral to see here.
Note: The sea scooters are a bit clunky, if I redid this trip, I would prefer to be hands-free because it feels safer and less invasive to the sea life.
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There are several dive operators in Maui, my favorite so far is Maui Dive Shop. You can choose from one of their pre-set trips or do a custom beach dive.
The guided dive should cost somewhere between $150 – $250 per person, depending on the number of tanks or of you are doing a private tour.
Below are some other options for dive and snorkel activities.
There are around 680 species of fish that roam the ocean in the Hawaiian Islands. Of those, 450 stay close to the reef and shores so it makes it a truly amazing place to dive and snorkel.
Green sea turtles are called Honu in Hawaiian and are an endangered species. In Hawaii they are quickly rebounding at 5% a year for the past few decades due to protection measures they’ve put in place. They are the largest sea turtles, growing up to 4 feet and weighing up to 420 pounds. They live for up to 80 years!
It’s pretty magical to swim alongside these hard-shelled, alien-like creatures. They aren’t too shy, I’ve had quite a few swim right below me within inches.
There are so many types of fish to see as you roam the reefs in Hawaii. It’s tranquil being below the surface immersed in underwater life.
If you’d rather snorkel on your own time to see these sea turtles, some great places to go on Maui are Honolulu Bay, Wailea, and Kihei.
You can also easily book a tour to snorkel or dive.
2 Responses
Airport beach is in North Kaanapali and officially named Kahekeli Beach.
The EPA is has charged the county of Maui with allowing wastewater ,,,,(containing sewage) to enter the ocean here. The Maui County Has a wastewater treatment plant across the street. The County took the charges to the supreme Court and the court upheld the EPA’s charges again the County.
Well that’s unfortunate! Thanks for calling this to my attention. I hope this gets resolved.