We leave for Maui on Saturday and have never been there during whale watching season. Would love any recommendations/suggestions on boat trips or great places on land to watch them. We are staying at Sheraton on Kaanapali.
Thank you

Kendall: My husband and I are headed to the Sheraton Maui next week for our third trip. We have found that it really doesn't matter which boat trip you choose - it all depends on where the whales want to be while you're on the water. Due to very tight restrictions on interfering with the whales, none of the boats are allowed to "chase" the whales. All of them just head out and hope the whales swim by, more or less. Best advice is to head to the Lahaina docks and pick out a boat that appeals to you. The boats are all fairly nice, with narrations by the crew, some serve refreshments, etc. Early morning trips can be better in terms of having calmer seas and fewer people. We see the whales just as well from the beach most of the time, but the boat rides are fun.

Another choice is the Maala'ea Harbor. There are lots of boats out of there. We took a Molokini trip on Four Winds and really enjoyed the boat and crew. Captain has lived on Maui a long time and chided us about being there before the Whales arrived. He described how great it is to see them. Another boat that looked attrative and well kept was the Maui Magic.

Since I did a lot of research before we went on our trip to Maui in Nov I was familier with the boat names and companies when I got there. Boy was I glad I did not choose some of the boats. They looked poorly maintained.

Just an FYI: the Trilogy has a sailboat leaving from the beach near the Sheraton. You might want to check that out. You can find them along hte walk towards Whalers Village or just beyond towards the Westin or Marriott. I know it's along htere as we walked past it everyday. I just can't remember its exact location.
Good luck.

Corection: The Trilogy has a catamaran not a sailboat. My bad.

Here's a website that features many of the Whale Watching companies:

http://www.infomaui.com/todo/ocean/whale.html