Whale Watching in Maui
 

We're heading to Maui last week of March and would like to do a whale watching tour? All the fodor threads on this topic are at least 4 yrs old so I was wondering if anybody has any more recent experiences? Is Pacific Whale Foundation still the best one or does anyone have any other recommendations? Are we a little too late in the season to see any whales? Any other tips? Thanks.

Haven't done Pacific Whale Foundation (pacificwhale.org) tour in a few years, but did our first in 1994 and last in 2003. First class operation that conducts serious research. Humpbacks are in the waters until mid-May.

Also try the Trip Advisor's Maui forum

There should still be some whales at the end of March. We just did a couple of PWF tours a couple of weeks ago. The 3 hour one on the Ocean Explorer was amazing!! We ran into a huge pod of spinner dolphins, saw some bottlenose dolphins, saw so many whales (lots of breaches)and to top it off, we had a whale singing right under the boat. We could hear it even without the hydrophone in the water. If you're up for a little more adventure, try Captain Steves or Maui Adventure Cruises. Dianne

We have already been whale watching in Maui twenty-four times this year: fourteen times in early January and ten times in mid-February. Three of the trips in early January were with the PWF and only because they had a special offer of less than $15 for their sunrise whale watch.

If you enjoy being on large boats and spending one-quarter of your whale watch boarding the boat and travelling to the whales then PWF is for you.

If you enjoy getting up close and personal and spending as much time as possible with the whales, then please use one of the smaller companies. Our favorites are Ultimate Whale Watch, Great White, Safari Whale Watch, and Maui Ocean Adventures. All of these companies as well as Captain Steve's use zodiacs and limit the number of passengers. I have taken over 100 whale watches on these types of boats and have never seen anyone get seasick. However, the nickname for the PWF's catamaran is the "Vomit Comet" and I have witnessed many people experiencing some discomfort during whale watches.

If you are really concerned about whale research, then donate money to the Center for Whale Studies; they have been doing research in the Maui area for over 35 years.

We just returned from Maui last week. We did a morning whale watch tour on the Teralani, a catamaran, that we boarded right off the beach at Kaanapali. It was a 2 hour tour for only about $50.+tax per person. The ride was smooth, even though it was a bit windy. The crew was excellent and the experience fun! We would have done it again if we had more time. We saw lots of whales jumping and showing off from shore, but on the tour we got up close to them and got some pictures. The only thing I was dissapointed in was that our boat didn't have the hydrophone to hear the whales. We saw the big PWF boat pass by and it was quite packed with people. Ours was only about 30 people, which made it easier to get up close to the railing to see. You'll see lots of whales in March! Have fun!