Where to go snorkelling in Maui

by Mihai Pinzariu on September 25, 2019

If you’re in Maui, you can bet you’ll be in the water. With some of the most diverse marine life available in Hawaii, here you’ll find world-class beaches with pristine waters and lots of beautiful surrounding nature to enjoy on land. You can see why it’s been voted best island in the world multiple times!

Maui also boasts the longest stretch of swimmable coastline in Hawaii, making it a prime spot for a snorkeling holiday. The snorkeling sites in Maui will either be in the west or south of the island – here are the best spots.

Fish in Maui:

  • Butterfly Fish, Box Fish, Damselfish, Eels, Goatfish, Humuhumunukunukuapua’a, Moorish Idols, Needlefish, Octopus, Parrotfish, Peacock Bass, Porcupine Fish, Scorpion Fish, Squirrelfish, Surgeonfish, Wrasse, and tonnes more.

Corals in Maui:

  • Antler Coral, Blue Rice Coral, Branching Rice Coral, Cauliflower Corals, Finger Corals, Lace Corals, Lobe Coral, Mound Corals, Pork Chops, Rice Coral, Thick Finger Corals, Urchins, Zoanthids, Sea Stars, and lots more.

Maui snorkelling map

Best places to snorkel in Maui

Ahihi Kinau Natural Area Reserve

Where: 10km south of Wailea
Details: If you’re after healthy vibrant coral life immersed in nature, this is your spot. One of Maui’s youngest and most delicate eco-reef zones, this conservation district features jagged lava rocks and lots of colourful coral life to explore. The calm, peaceful waters make this snorkel spot great for newbies and kids, and you’ll be able to spot lots of the usual sea life as well as turtles! The waters here start knee deep and gradually gets deeper but you don’t have to go very far to see the fish and coral life.

Information:

  • The most popular spot to snorkel is the small protective cove near the road, where you can enter from the sand patch on the right hand side. It’s the easiest entry but there are lots of different snorkel spots along the coast – just beware of stepping on the coral!
  • There are no stores or facilities at this beach.

Black Rock

Where: Ka’anapali Beach
Details: This award winning beach stretches for over 4.5 kilometres of pristine white sands, crystal clear waters, and a perfect surf. It’s a must visit in Maui for more than just snorkeling, but if you want to do that then Black Rock at the northern end of the beach is your spot. As expected, this spot is pretty popular but offers great visibility and lots of sea life to explore. The water starts at around 2.5 metres and gets as deep as 7.5 metres, and you’ll be swimming with lots of fish including Moorish idols, porcupine fish, and needlefish.

Information:

  • Ka’anapali beach is an extremely popular tourist destination with lots of restaurants, shops, and hotels lining its shores. You’re all set for food, shopping, rest, and snorkeling rentals!
  • Facilities:
  • Showers on-site but to use the bathroom you have to go into one of the hotels.

Honolua Bay

Where: 20 mins north of Lahaina Town
Details: The diversity and density of sea life in Honolua Bay is the best in Maui, making the snorkeling here second-to-none. A beautiful beach and Marine Life Conservation District area, fishing here is banned so the waters are crawling with an incredible number and variety of different fish. You’ll find humuhumunukunukuapua’a, peacock bass, eels, and turtles if you’re lucky. Most of the corals and sea life are concentrated on the right side of the bay, so try to enter that way for the best views.

Information:

  • You’ll have to walk through a beautiful little forest trail for about 100 metres to reach the shore. You’ll find the trail amongst the trees near the boat ramp,
  • The bay is nicely sheltered from the wind by high cliffs on either side, keeping the water calm and great for snorkeling but visibility is best between 7am and 11am.
  • There are no facilities, lifeguards, or stores near this snorkel site.

Kapalua Bay

Where: Northwest Maui
Details: One of the most picturesque beaches in Maui, Kapalua Bay is a C-shaped cove lined by palm trees, white sands, and pristine blue waters perfect for snorkeling. The calm waters make it perfect for novice snorkelers and kids, and there are two reefs to explore on either side of the bay. You’ll find lots of sea life to discover and some beautiful rock and coral formations on the left hand side. With depths of about 3 metres you’ll be swimming with huge schools of fish including scorpionfish and maybe octopus.

Information:

  • The further out you swim from the bay, the more fish and coral you’ll discover, but be careful not to go beyond the rocks as the current can be quite strong,
  • This beach is quite popular but still doesn’t seem overcrowded.

Facilities:

  • Toilets and showers on-site,
  • Parking available.

Maluaka Beach/Turtle Town

Where: 5km south of Wailea
Details: This is the best spot in Hawaii to swim with green sea turtles. The name ‘Turtle Town’ refers to a stretch of coastline, but Maluaka Beach is the hotspot. Less visited than other snorkel spots, you’ll get to enjoy white sands, calm blue waters, and an abundance of sea turtles and other marine life. To enter the snorkel site, walk to the rocks on the southern end of the beach. This is where the reef begins, and if you continue swimming south you’ll be surrounded by green sea turtles, squirrelfish, trumpet fish, eels, octopus, and more.

Information:

  • Most visitors accidentally drive past this beach – you’ll find it at the end of Makena Road, just off the main street. There’s a small car park, and the entrance to the beach is about 100 metres south of that.

Facilities:

  • Bathrooms and showers on-site,
  • Food stand available at nearby Westin Maui Prince Hotel.

Molokini Crater

Where: 4km off the coast of Maui
Details: You can’t snorkel in Hawaii without visiting Molokini. A one-of-a-kind snorkelling experience you can’t have anywhere else in the world, you’re basically snorkeling inside a volcano crater. Molokini is a crescent-shaped volcano island with some of Hawaii’s clearest waters and a huge abundance of marine life to discover. Visibility is excellent, and the waters within the crater are protected from ocean swells making it a safe spot for novices and kids. There are 250+ tropical fish species here – people have even spotted humpbacks, whale sharks, mantas, and Hawaiian monk seals.

Information:

  • You have to go with a boat tour to get to Molokini. Because the island itself is a protected bird sanctuary, you can only snorkel from your boat – but there’s lots of ocean around for everybody!
 

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The Ninja Shark full face snorkel masks comes equipped with advanced Anti-Fog technology, automatic drainage, no CO2 Buildup with improved uni-directional valves, and a revolutionary breathe flow system so you can breathe through both your nose and mouth.





“If you thought we’re just here to sell you products, think again. You’re part of the Ninja Shark family, and your feedback matters! We’re constantly working to improve our products and deliver the full face snorkel mask that exists only in our dreams!”

What customers are saying about us…

“Awesome set.

Loved the complete set. I even used the waterproof phone pouch to take photos and videos underwater. It made my Fiji experience so much better than using the free snorkel set that hurt your face after 2hours and leaving a sun/mask mark. The ninja leaves no marks and gives great vision under water in comparison. It did take some getting used to but it definitely paid off! Only frustration is that the tightening straps are quite basic; they should be much simpler to loosen and tighten both in and out of water.” – Jock

Try our line of snorkelling and swimming gear
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Based on 1482 reviews
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B
Electra - Full Face Snorkel Mask
Bolang C. (Perth, AU)
Great design

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Clear as day

Clear to see and easy to breathe,
Whole family loves the NinjaShark Snorkel mask.

R
Lifetime Warranty
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Amazing

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M
Package: Dry Snorkel (Set + Fins + Bag)
Mermaid M. (Townsville, AU)
Mermaid

While travelling in Timor leste l met a fellow snorkeller. We snorkelled for 10 days together the food was shit but the water was stunning. The friend was using Ninja Shark fins and mask mine were steaming up, letting in water and heavy. On arriving back in Australia l ordered straight away.
I was a little bit anxious on receiving my order as the mask was quite different to my old one and the fins were short and adjustable ( l wanted them to be my size ! ) well to my luck the weather was beautiful ( yes mid winter in Mackay ) and perfect for boating so off we scooted to Cockermouth ( don't laugh it's a real place ) jumping in and WOW I'm now a mermaid 🧜‍♀️ the mask and fins felt like part of me. I actually cried as not only was the equipment allowing me to explore as l wanted but the reef was STUNNING. So lm indepted to Ninja Shark for making me the mermaid l always aspired to be 🧜‍♀️

Took it to Tahiti

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Judge.me YouTube video placeholder
Life changing

I do love my full face snorkel.. the freedom of nose breathing under the water.. the meditative and relaxative effect of this snorkeling is unexpected and great. Fits so well.. comfy to wear for long time.. highly recommend

j
Diving Dry Snorkel Set with GoPro mount
jomm11 (Brisbane, AU)
Super quality & fit

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Even better than expected!

I saw the kids full face snorkel masks online, and thought they looked pretty cool. I ordered two for Christmas, for my 3 and 6 year olds. Wow, did they have a great time with them!

I wasn't sure how the 3 year old would go with it, but he was comfortable in it almost immediately, and spent hours swimming around and seeing a whole new world of underwater scenery.

They were easy to fit, zero issues with them staying on. No leaks or fog.

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Highly recommend this product :)

N
Electra - Full Face Snorkel Mask
Nick J. (Brisbane, AU)
mask swimming

The mask did exactly what was stated. I was very happy and will get another mask for my daughter.

S
Electra - Full Face Snorkel Mask
Sheara R. (Perth, AU)
Great way to swim

I have NEVER been able to snorkel but love swimming. These full face snorkels are an absolute game changer in my life. Now I try to swim around 5 kms a week in the local pool. The Ninja mask makes it easy to do laps. I’ve been using the Ninja Shark for a quite few years and find the new Electra the best full face mask ever. No leaks, no fog and really easy to use and great quality. I’ve noticed my regular chats with other swimmers at the pool have encouraged many of them to purchase one of their own. I’ve given my older models to my grandkids and they love them too.

Fabulous

I got one for the 3 year old and one for the 5 year old, I thought maybe the 3 year old would get the hang of it eventually but they both loved it and mastered it pretty quickly. We’ve only used in the swimming pool, excited to go snorkeling in the ocean soon. Great product.

S
Lifetime Warranty
Sarah B. (Surfers Paradise, AU)
Love it!

Amazing product ! Have the electra package, kids love it. So easy to use. Highly recommend

J
Diving Dry Snorkel Set with GoPro mount
Jennifer M. (Brisbane, AU)
Love it

Bought these for myself and my husband after getting the full face masks for the kids, and they were so good we’re getting them for the rest of the extended family for Xmas. The fact u can dive down and not get water down ur snorkel is a brilliant bonus! Makes our family holidays much easier and better without snorkel dramas!

This made our holiday

The product itself was amazing, but the service we received allowed us to get our 2 sets of masks for our cruise. We took them with us and used them multiple times for snorkelling on our cruise to Nouméa and New Caledonia. It was amazing snorkelling and being able to breathe easily, and the fins were the most comfortable I've ever used. I've got size 13 feet, and not only were they completely adjustable, but they were THE most comfortable fins ever invented. A massive shoutout to Colleen Zamora from your support staff who helped me out and made it possible to take our gear on holidays! Thanks Colleen!
The photo is us snorkelling off Amadee Island looking for turtles!

My kids love them

I’ve got three of these masks for my younger kids, however the oldest wants one too as the young ones rave about how good the are.

Summer Family Fun

Our Ninja masks have made snorkelling as a whole family very easy and enjoyable. The kids (and parents) find them super easy to use and have allowed us as a family of five to snorkel for longer than we ever could using traditional snorkel gear. I would highly recommend these masks.

G
Lifetime Warranty
Geri D. (Sydney, AU)
Lifetime warranty

Glad I have but haven’t needed to use .. yet

Great Mask

Love this mask. Kids find it so much easier snorkelling with the Ninja Shark. The snorkel mask is super clear and doesn’t fog up. The adjustable straps are great and easy to loosen and tighten. Very happy that we made the decision to get these for the kids.

A must for snorkelers!

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awsome

we used our new masks over the weekend. they were amazing, my daughter barely had her head out of the water all day.

L
Lifetime Warranty
Lina J. (Gold Coast, AU)
life warranty

This is great! More stores should do it!

O
Lifetime Warranty
Olivia (Perth, AU)
Fantastic snorkel!

Our 5 year old has never snorkelled. Put it on and was snorkelling no problem straight away! Easy for him to put on and off by himself. We bought the full package with flippers (also amazing and he can put them on by himself) and the two wet bags. The foldable snorkel is so handy for storing while we are travelling. And the lifetime warranty gives us great comfort that we can use it for future trips! We are so impressed with this product I’m going to get mum and dad one too!

Kids snorkel

It is a lot easier for the younger children to have fun and snorkel without worrying about their nose breathing. My 6 year old swims confidently and happily.