Maui snorkel
 

Hi,<BR>Well, our daughter can go with us, so it will be Maui this trip. She wants to do a snorkel boat trip.<BR>Any companies that are recommended?<BR>Any areas that are recommended<BR>Thanks for any help<BR>Frank

I think many are excellent, but here's my hints:<BR>1. Do an AM, too windy in the PM<BR>2. I like cats that sail, nice to be sunning out on the "trampoline" on the return.<BR>3. Molokini, of course, but do a boat that has a second stop at "turtle town" This is always the highlight for us.<BR>

We just got back from Maui and had a great time with the Pacific Whale Foundation boat. It is a big motorized (not sailing) catamaran (stable). The crew are all trained naturalists and they have a special program for kids on board. We had two stops, one at Turtle Town and one at Molokini. In addition to turtles and tons of fish, we also saw flying fish, a humpback with her baby and dolphins. Our kids had a great time!

Just for laughs: Did you know that turtle town isn't any one location? It's actually where ever that particulr boat company sees turtles. There are several locations on Maui that have an abundance of turtles so each company refers to it as turtle town. This cracks me up.

Advice:<BR><BR>Take your strongest sunscreen and reapply every time you get out of the water, and every half hour. We did this with SPF 15 last year and we (and everyone else on the boat) still got terrible sunburns. Really put a damper on the next day's activities!<BR><BR>Take a waterproof camera too! It's so fun to see the pictures later.<BR><BR>Have a great trip!<BR><BR>Shelly

I don't know your daughter's age or level of snorkeling expertise but I might have a few useful tips.<BR>If possible bring your own gear or rent it before your boat trip. Having the mask and strap properly fitted and leak proof can save some anxiety at the snorkel site. <BR>A few minutes in the hotel pool will help her adjust to breathing through the snorkel and she'll be more relaxed in the open ocean.<BR>There are lots of easy-entry beach snorkeling locations in South Maui.Some people are spooked by the deeper spots at Molokini,starting off shallow can be helpful and it's free.

We did the Paragon Molokini snorkel and had a great time. They take fewer passengers than some of the other cats and actually sail to/from Molokini rather than just motor.