Skip to primary navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

Lahaina Scuba Diving

A turtle swimming under water with an introductory scuba diver in Lahaina, Maui

Shore vs. Boat Diving in Lahaina, Maui

You can best experience scuba diving in Lahaina, Hawaii by focusing on the season and your certification level. The time of year you visit Maui links to ocean temperature. If scuba diving in warm water ranks high on your important items list, an online search for Maui scuba diving shows that you can expect dive site temperatures in Lahaina of 76 degrees Fahrenheit in February and 82 degrees Fahrenheit in August.

Your certification level may open new options or close certain doors. For example, you might need an Advanced certification to visit deeper wrecks near Lahaina. But most dive sites along the coastline have shallow coral reef systems ranging from 5 to 50 feet.

There are two ways to scuba dive in Lahaina, Hawaii. You can go shore diving or boat diving. Your choice may come down to time commitment and cost. The fact is that Maui has the best shore dives in North America. For example, shore diving sites like Mala Wharf in Lahaina feature turtles, sharks, frogfish, stingrays, and colorful corals!

Lahaina provides nearly year-round clear visibility and calm dive site conditions. Boat companies offer tours to Lanai, Molokini Crater, and maybe Molokai. You usually meet your dive guides at 7 am and finish at 2 pm. Many boat companies leave from the Lahaina harbor near the Banyan Tree, just off Front Street. These dive trips cross the channel to Lanai to visit a popular dive site called Cathedrals.

Scuba diving in Lahaina you can expect sunshine, clear visibility, and Hawaiian Turtles. Maui divers year-round get ocean temperatures of 74 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the year, Lahaina averages 79 degrees. But there is a limit to how hot the ocean in Lahaina should get each year. The ocean temperature should never rise past 84 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer months, as these conditions become too hot for the health of Maui’s coral reef ecosystem.

Banyan Tree Divers Maui includes a rental short or long wetsuit to keep you comfortable. During the warm summer months of June to September, many scuba divers wear just a swimsuit and sun shirt.

Our Maui Dive Service

We want to be your Maui dive service for the best scuba diving lessons, tours, and PADI courses. Every day you can walk into the ocean from the beach in Lahaina and descend upon an expansive coral reef. When you scuba dive in Ka’anapali at Airport Beach you can sometimes see Spinner Dolphins! Not to mention the opportunity to hear Humpback Whales from December to April!

Beginner divers visit dive sites in Lahaina at depths of 5 to 40 feet, while Advanced divers can reach 90 to 100 feet in Kaanapali. We recommend a Scubajet scooter dive to reach the deeper depths! After your first Maui dive, we offer a second dive at a new site. Your expert instructor usually chooses the world-famous Mala Wharf in Lahaina for a second dive site. At Mala Wharf you can find two turtle cleaning stations and a family of White Tip Reef sharks.

Top Spot to Hear Humpback Whales

Maui is home to a massive 10,000-plus group of Humpback Whales from  December to April. Nearly every day for these five months, scuba divers in Lahaina get to listen in as male Humpback Whales sing to females. The whales come closest to Maui’s coast during January and February. Even then, we rarely see the whales during a scuba dive, but you experience them loudly! The sound amplifies so much that you can listen to their songs while snorkeling or using SNUBA. But no matter if you snorkel or scuba dive, the underwater experience feels uniquely life-changing.

You get to rent dive gear, meet your scuba instructor, and walk into the water to explore the vast shoreline! All scuba diving in Lahaina is shore diving because almost all the deeper water is like a blue desert. When you look at the sea from West Maui, the middle basin connecting to Lanai and Molokai is virtually empty compared to the shoreline. In contrast, the Molokini Crater is an off-shore seamount reachable only by boat for snorkeling or diving.

Book Your Scuba Tour

Every family visiting Lahaina wants to do things that can’t be done at home. Go diving! Not sure what scuba tour to book with Banyan Tree Divers Maui? For beginner scuba diving lessons you have a few different options. You could start a course to earn your PADI Open Water certification or an intro dive.

When you are uncomfortable swimming in the ocean, your best option is to take advantage of private scuba diving. Your private experience can help you dive safely! Some people even find snorkeling more complicated compared to the ease and comfort of scuba diving.

Banyan Tree Divers Maui offers scuba diving in Lahaina and Kaanapali. We consistently rank as a top Maui activity because we have years of scuba diving experience and excellent rental equipment!