Which Maui tours are worth your morning
Ocean
Every boat goes to the same crater. What you are really choosing is the harbor, the boat and how much else is packed into the morning.
Want the crater before the crowd: sunrise from Wailea. Want short and cheap: a 2-hour raft from Kīhei. Want comfort, food and kids happy: a big boat from Māʻalaea.
| Harbor | Ride to Molokini | What leaves from it |
|---|---|---|
| Maluaka Beach, Wailea | About 15 minutes | Fewest boats; beach boarding |
| Kīhei Small Boat Harbor | About 20 minutes | Fast rafts, 2 to 5 hour trips |
| Māʻalaea Harbor | About 45 minutes | Most boats, bigger and more comfortable |
Boat: Sunrise snorkel by catamaran
Leaves from: Maluaka Beach, Wailea
Length: Early sunrise trip, plus a mid-morning option
Food: Breakfast and hot drinks
Reaches the crater before most boats, then stops at Turtle Town. You may get wet boarding from the beach.
Boat: Power raft
Leaves from: Kīhei Small Boat Harbor
Length: 2-hour or 5-hour
Group: Up to 11 per raft
Food: Lunch on the 5-hour trip
About 20 minutes to the crater. The 5-hour trip adds Turtle Town and, weather permitting, the back wall.
Boat: Raft
Leaves from: Kīhei Small Boat Harbor
Length: 2-hour or 4-hour
Food: Meal and drinks on the 4-hour trip
The 2-hour express gives an hour or more in the water. The 4-hour splits about an hour each at Molokini and Turtle Town.
Boat: Sailing catamaran
Leaves from: Māʻalaea Harbor
Length: 4.5 hours
Food: Breakfast out, lunch back
Easy harbor boarding and a comfortable boat.
Boat: Double-decker boat
Leaves from: Māʻalaea Harbor
Group: Under 100 guests
Food: Breakfast, BBQ lunch, one alcoholic drink
Naturalist crew, Molokini plus Turtle Town. Proceeds support the nonprofit’s marine research.
Boat: Large boat with waterslide and glass-bottom room
Leaves from: Māʻalaea Harbor
Group: Capacity 149, often sails lighter
Waterslide and a glass-bottom viewing room for anyone who stays dry.
Molokini is for clear water and fish. Turtle Town, a separate stop off the coast near Mākena, is where you see sea turtles. Longer trips do both. Two-hour express trips usually do only the crater.
No. Molokini is a partly submerged volcanic crater offshore and is only reached by boat tour.
Māʻalaea Harbor (the most boats, about 45 minutes each way), Kīhei Small Boat Harbor (about 20 minutes), or Maluaka Beach in Wailea (about 15 minutes, fewest boats).
Usually not in the crater. Turtles are seen at Turtle Town near Mākena, which many tours visit as a second stop.
Morning. Water is calmest early, and afternoon trade winds can make it rough.