There are different ways to best experience scuba diving in Lahaina, Hawaii. To help choose a company, your preferred time of year to visit Maui and style of diving will provide a range of options. 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.
Shore Diving and Boat Diving
There are two ways to scuba dive in Lahaina: shore diving and boat diving. Your choice may come down to time-commitment and cost. 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. Shore diving operations meet you at the beach closer to 9am where you will be entering the ocean.
Many boat companies leave from the Lahaina harbor near the Banyan Tree, just off Front Street. These dive trips often go across the channel to a popular Lanai spot called The Cathedrals.
But Maui has the best shore diving places in America. For example, Lahaina dive sites have turtles, sharks, frogfish, Manta Rays, and fields of coral reef. Even more, Lahaina provides nearly year-round clear visibility and calm surf. Regardless, no matter the temperature or method of entry, all Maui scuba divers want to have fun, be safe, and meet new underwater animals. Day or night, this why people have chosen Lahaina for scuba diving since the 1960s.
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. For your comfort, Banyan Tree Divers provides each guest with a complimentary rash guard, shorty wetsuit, or long wetsuit. 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.
Maui Dive Shop Reviews
Banyan Tree Divers focuses on Maui shore diving with 5-star services. We want to be your Maui dive shop in Lahaina for scuba diving tours and courses. Every day we walk into the ocean from the beach and descend upon an expansive West Maui coral reef. When you go scuba diving in Lahaina, it is possible to see Spinner Dolphins, listen to Humpback Whales, and watch Hawaiian Green Turtles eat algae off the reef, all in one dive. It does not happen every Maui shore dive, but we go diving every day, and it happens.
Intro to scuba divers get to try dive sites that comfortably reach depths of 25 to 40 feet, while certified divers can see White Spotted Stingray and schooling fish down to 90 feet. After you enjoy 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 there is a turtle cleaning station. 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 See Humpback Whales
Maui is home to a massive group of Humpback Whales. Nearly every day for five months, from December to April, all scuba divers in Lahaina get to listen to male Humpback Whales singing to the females. 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 as 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.