Scuba Diving FAQ

One dive requires you to wait a minimum surface time of 12 hours before ascending to altitude (above 1000 feet). When you make two or more dives in a day, you must wait a minimum surface time of 18 hours.

No one needs a scuba certification to try diving. If you want to see Maui underwater, our dive service offers an introductory discover scuba dive. The cost includes all of your rental equipment and one shore dive in Lahaina!

If you want to learn to scuba dive in Maui, we also offer the PADI Open Water Diver course. You can complete this certification in as little as 2 days.

Our dive service in Lahaina operates a 48-hour cancellation policy, so you can receive a full refund when you cancel before this timeframe. However, cancellations of less than 48 hours are not eligible for any refunds.

The decision to reschedule scuba diving lessons, tours, and courses due to poor weather conditions remains at the discretion of Banyan Tree Divers Maui.

If you are at least ten years old and stand to be in good medical condition, you will most likely NOT require a doctor’s clearance to scuba dive. All non-certified divers and those enrolling in PADI certification courses will be required to fill out a medical statement. If you must answer “Yes” to any medical questions, then a clearance from your doctor will be necessary before you begin scuba diving on Maui.

Preview the medical questionnaire.

Yes, all of your rental scuba diving gear is included in the cost and set up for you. Every guest gets to use quality equipment like comfortable dive boots, open-heel fins, and quality Tusa masks!

Yes, advanced planning can help to secure your preferred date and time, especially if you plan to complete a PADI course. But our dive service offers the flexibility to set up last-minute bookings! Call us at (808) 446-6099, even if you want to go scuba diving today!

Yes, our company sets up scuba dives along the coastline of Lahaina and Ka’anapali. Maui scuba divers do not have to get up before sunrise and spend more than half a day boat diving to see the island’s best dive sites. In fact, most of the dive sites utilized by boat companies are accessible from a Maui beach. If you want to experience the best scuba diving in Lahaina let us connect you with an expert instructor to show you the our favorite spots!

Yes, absolutely! We can help to set you up with an expert instructor to complete your PADI Open Water Referral Dives! All you need to do is provide us with your referral paperwork and PADI eLearning results. Your referral paperwork must show you completed 5 confined training sessions with your previous instructor.

Make your reservation online or call us at (808) 446-6099. We are open 7 days a week from 8 am to 6 pm, Hawaii Standard Time. Book now to secure your Maui scuba tour or PADI course!

Yes, Banyan Tree Divers  facilitates private tours with boat companies in Lahaina: Dive Maui and Makai Adventures. We set you up with an expert instructor to ensure a high-end private boat diving and snorkeling experience. You may visit diving locations such as Molokini Crater and Lana’i Cathedrals, as well as spots in Lahaina near Kapalua and Olowalu. Contact us for more information about private boat diving.

You can complete most PADI scuba certification courses in two to three days. Although, PADI Scuba Diver and PADI Adventure Diver can be one-day courses. PADI Open Water Diver, for example, requires a minimum of two days.

Certified divers can take the next step by earning a PADI Adventure Diver or PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification. These courses focus on training dives to develop your scuba diving skills, allowing you to explore specific aspects of diving. The Adventure Diver course combines any three training dives from the entire PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course and may get completed in one day. PADI Advanced Open Water Diver comprises five dives over two days. Both the Deep and Navigation dives are compulsory for the Advanced course leaving the three remaining dives as your electives. You can choose from Peak Performance Buoyancy, Scooter Dive, Underwater Naturalist, and Underwater Photography. The Advanced Diver course is a prerequisite for the PADI Rescue Diver course. You may even apply your training dives toward PADI Specialty Diver ratings! Please check out our course pages for more information about training beyond the Advanced Open Water level or directly contact us for further information and scheduling details.

Lahaina luckily has excellent dive conditions all year. Yes, it’s always possible to dive here! An extraordinary time to dive is when thousands of Humpback Whales migrate home to Maui.  You can witness this unforgettable spectacle scuba diving from December to March. The whales safely spend the winter months here, mating, giving birth, and socializing, while you  geek out listening to their songs throughout your dive!

Scuba diving in large groups can lead to hazardous interactions with Maui’s ocean environment. Our dive service keeps group sizes small to provide the best experience and to safely protect the fantastic coral reefs along Lahaina’s coastline. Non-certified groups have a maximum of 4 divers per instructor. We also offer private diving.

No, there are no hidden costs, and all of your rental gear always gets included in the cost. If you reserve a course, you can see on the reservation form there can be additional fees to elect PADI eLearning. If you are not sure of the total cost, please double-check with us before making your reservation.

Yes, absolutely! If you are PADI certified and forgot to bring your certification card, then it’s easy to look up your PADI profile online. We recommend you download the PADI app on your phone, so your proof of certification is always with you!

If you got certified by a scuba organization other than PADI, please provide us with your logbook. If you do not have a logbook or certification card, don’t worry, you may still dive by starting with a Scuba Review Dive.

Yes! Guests of any certification level may dive together because Maui scuba diving sites allow for shallow dives to a maximum depth of 40 feet most of the time.