Shore vs. Boat Diving in Lahaina
There are different ways to best experience scuba diving in Lahaina, Hawaii. Your preferred time of year to visit Maui and style of diving will provide a range of options to help choose a company. Online reviews for Maui scuba diving show that you will most likely make dives in colder water during February but discover warmer conditions during August.
There are two ways to scuba dive in Lahaina. You can go shore diving or boat diving, and your choice may come down to time-commitment and cost. Maui has the best shore diving in America. For example, dive sites in Lahaina feature turtles, sharks, frogfish, stingrays, and colorful coral reef fields. Even more, Lahaina provides nearly year-round clear visibility and calm surf. Shore diving operations meet you at the beach closer to 9 am, where you will be entering the ocean.
Boat companies offer tours to Lanai, Molokini Crater, and maybe Molokai. You usually meet at the dive shop at 7 am and finish up the day at 2 pm. Many boat companies leave from the Lahaina harbor near the Banyan Tree, just off Front Street. These dive trips go across the channel to a popular Lanai dive site called The Cathedrals.
Lahaina scuba diving means sunshine, clear visibility, and Hawaiian Turtles. Scuba Maui divers can expect year-round ocean temperatures of 74 to 83 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the year, the heat in Lahaina is 80 degrees. Banyan Tree Divers provides each guest with a complimentary rash guard, shorty wetsuit, or long wetsuit for your comfort. Although during the warm summer months of June to September, many divers choose to wear a swimsuit. But there is a limit to how hot the ocean in Lahaina should get each year. During the summer, the ocean temperature must never rise past 84 degrees Fahrenheit because these conditions become too hot for the entire Maui coral reef system.
Our Lahaina Dive Shop in Maui, Hawaii
We want to be your dive shop in Lahaina for the best Maui scuba diving lessons, tours, and courses. Every day we walk into the ocean from the beach and descend upon an expansive coral reef. When you go scuba diving in Lahaina, it is even possible to see Spinner Dolphins! Not to mention the opportunity to listen to Humpback Whales from December to April! It does not happen every shore dive in Maui, but we go diving every day here, and it happens!
From the shore, beginner divers visit dive sites at depths of 20 to 40 feet, while Advanced divers can reach 90 feet. After your first island dive, we offer a second adventure located at a new dive site. The second dive site is often Mala Wharf in Lahaina, where you will find two turtle cleaning stations. It’s a gift to see this famous dive site at night, while a luau happens next door. For an additional fee, you may purchase quality photos and videos of your dives.
Top Spot to Hear Humpback Whales
Maui is home to a massive group of Humpback Whales. Nearly every day for five months, all scuba divers in Lahaina get to listen to male Humpback Whales singing to the females from December to April. The whales come closest to Maui’s coast during January and February. Even then, we rarely get to see the whales scuba diving, but we loudly hear them. The sound amplifies enough that you can also listen to their songs while snorkeling or using SNUBA. But no matter if you snorkel or scuba dive, the underwater experience is uniquely life-changing.
Lahaina scuba diving means we get to meet at the beach, prepare to dive, walk into the water, and explore the shoreline. We like to say that all diving on Maui is shore diving because almost all of the deeper water is like a blue desert. When you look at the sea from West Maui, the middle basin connecting Lanai and Molokai is virtually empty compared to all shore locations. Likewise, these two islands have their barrier systems. In contrast, Molokini Crater is a seamount that only boats can reach to snorkel or dive.
Grab a Tank and Get Underwater
Not sure what tour to book with Banyan Tree Divers Maui? For beginner scuba diving lessons, you have a few different options. You could start a course right away to earn your PADI Open Water certification. Or you could go for a dive and make an Introductory Dive. If you are not a comfortable swimmer, then the best tour is a Private Dive. Your private experience is a great way to learn to dive and find out why snorkeling is more complicated than scuba diving on Maui.
Banyan Tree Divers is a full-service scuba diving operation in Lahaina, including Kaanapali and Kapalua. TripAdvisor consistently ranks our company in the top 5 of all Maui activities because we have years of scuba diving experience, excellent equipment, and the best instructor team. We know that every family visiting Lahaina wants to do things that they can’t do at home. So, let’s go diving!