Maui

Kayak and Snorkel West Maui at Olowalu (3.5 hrs)

Badge of ExcellenceMaui, USA

4 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Paddle out from the Maui beaches for a guided small-group kayak and snorkeling adventure. Travel the calm, clear waters along the beautiful Olowalu coastline and enjoy spectacular views of the majestic West Maui Mountains. Then hop into the water and snorkel with endangered green sea turtles and colorful tropical fish. Basic swimming skills are required. All snorkeling gear plus refreshments and snacks are included.

Get up close with Hawaiian wildlife on a kayak and snorkel tour
Snacks, light refreshments, and snorkel gear are included
Whale sightings from December to April; turtle sightings are year-round
A small group means more attention from your guide

What's Included

Professional guide
Light refreshments
Snacks
Use of Snorkeling equipment

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Transportation to/from attractions

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Hawaii 30
HI-30, Lahaina, HI 96761, USA
7:30 am - Olowalu Beach - Hwy 30 - Mile Marker 14 Check-in at Gold Jeep Grand Cherokee with red, white and blue kayak trailer Life Vests, Water, Snacks, Snorkel Gear included Non-Toxic/Reef Safe Sunscreen Required BASIC SWIMMING SKILLS REQUIRED Maximum weight 250 lbs. per person

Start time

07:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Children must be accompanied by an adult
A maximum of 20 people per booking
Not wheelchair accessible

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

ELLY_T

Amazing time kayaking to see whales! Lance is the best tour guide! He made the experience fantastic! We saw whales and swam with sea turtles. He was very patient. Would definitely do this tour again!!

Reviews

4.5

154 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 154 reviews

A great memorable experience

TRACY_W, Nov 2023

Our guide Wesley was awesome. He was very informative and we learned a lot about the local wildlife, Hawaii history, and local foods. We went kayaking saw a monk seal, turtles.

Felt Like a Fever Dream

Stephen_J, Jun 2023

TL;DR: This tour was NOT worth its apparent five star rating - concerning service and an unjustified price for what you get. Lance (one of our guides) was great, but on the other hand Wes (the other guide) was a major reason why this tour was not a good time/worth our money, purely due to his lack of professionalism and concern for anyone except himself. It was quite the uncomfortable experience, especially for what the tour claims to provide, but I've explained in depth why below. Arrived on time after contacting the guides for some clarification of the exact meetup location. Still, the tour launched an hour past the expected start time - which would have been understandable had it not been due to the guides verbally berating each other and overall chaotic operation. Even a member of the separate group on the tour quietly asked us, “Do you guys know wth is going on?” while we waited for the guides to stop arguing during setup and failing to delegate prep tasks between each other. One of our guides, Wes, kept giving confusing instructions - or would forget he gave the instructions altogether - and at one point the owner, Roger, rudely questioned my friend as to why she wasn’t set up in her solo kayak when just a few minutes earlier he told her not to get involved in setting up. It was tense and uncomfortable all around but felt worse knowing they were liable for our safety over the next few hours. Of the two guides, Lance was interested in our safety and experience while Wes seemed obsessed with finding “the best snorkel spot” and constantly ditching the group in his motorboat, then getting annoyed when we couldn’t catch up right away LOL. Wes mumbled a lot so he was hard to hear for most of it and honestly he seemed to be in an altered state the entire time as well... We took no issues with the murky conditions of the day (nature’s gonna nature), but my party’s tour came to a head when three of the five of us got sea sick. Thankfully, Lance tended to us swiftly and offered to lead us back to shore since the ratio of guides to guests was appropriate, but Wes said something along the lines of, “I don’t know if you guys read the terms in the contract, but we can’t separate from the main tour group for any reason,” amidst our projectile vomiting session. We sincerely appreciated the concern from Lance and understand that these tours have guidelines in place for the benefit of the whole group, but the opposing leadership and conflicting guidance throughout the experience illustrates our main point of this tour not being worth its apparent five star rating. Unfortunately, at this price especially, I feel robbed. In hindsight, we should have just rented kayaks and life vests for half the cost and done without any of the drama (probably still would have gotten sea sick, but at least would have avoided the unnecessary tension and inefficiencies). Once the tour group was reunited at the end, Wes attempted to guilt trip us into tipping and leaving a five star review. Tipping is customary where we're from too so we had intentions of doing so, but this move made us feel even more uncomfortable. Also a big thumbs down: the only snacks offered were a granola bar and one mango to share between everyone in our group. This was my friends’ first time visiting Maui but my second time - we know this is a spectacular island and we had certain expectations of course so unfortunately we cannot recommend this tour. You're better off with literally any other company to provide a specialized experience and showcase exactly what the island has to offer.

not worth the money at all

Paige_M, Apr 2023

I really don't like leaving bad reviews, but this experience felt like such a rip off from the beginning. - Our guide arrived 45 minutes late (and this doesn't appear to be the first time this has happened based on previous reviews), and while at the time we were not bothered by this, it was the first in a long slew of negative parts of this tour. - This being our first time in Hawaii, we had no idea we were arriving after the end of whale season - the "whale watching" part of the tour was still included in the title and, while the guide obviously has no control over migration patterns, we were not made aware that this was guaranteed to not be part of the trip until he got there. It would have been nice to have a heads up so we would have the opportunity to cancel if that was a particularly important aspect for us. - Once we got out onto the water, he continued to talk poorly about his employees (which left a bad taste in our mouth) who did not set up the gear properly, but it should be the guide's responsibility to ensure the gear is properly set up prior to the tour. - He also forgot to bring the snacks that we were told we would have, but he definitely didn't forget to pack himself a sandwich and eat it in front of us. He also was smoking a cigarette while on the kayak behind me, which...gross. - We had to paddle back to shore after about 2 hours because of the winds, which made paddling incredibly difficult going against the wind, and he was so far ahead of us he would have had no idea if we had flipped (which we almost did) or be able to check if we were okay. - Since the kayaking part had to end an hour and a half early, I felt he should have offered to let us snorkel right off the shore like other beachgoers were doing for the remainder of the time we paid for, but instead he packed up and that was it. - We overheard another tour that had started about when ours did but ended an hour later say that the guide took photos of them and sent them to the group (he never offered to take our photo, even above water) and that tour was $10 less per person. Overall, you're better off renting your own gear and taking yourself out than paying for this.

Response from Host, May 2023

Sorry you did not have a good time, please contact us for a full refund

Not worth it

Cindi_S, Mar 2023

We had done a kayak/snorkel excursion on a previous trip, and it was fantastic, so we were really looking forward to this. First our guide was late, so we started 30 minutes late. There was no option for a single kayak — you had to go in pairs. As we paddled out, our guide said we were “guaranteed” to see whales and turtles, and listed a bunch of other things we might see (none of which we did see). It was somewhat late in the season, so I didn’t expect a lot of whales, but we did see a mother and baby off to the side a couple hundred yards away. We stopped and watched for a couple minutes, but rather than paddle closer, the guide led us farther out to sea. He kept yelling “whale at 1:00”, “whale at 11:00”! But he was literally the only person to see them, so our group was left wondering if they were actually there or if he just wanted us to believe they were. When we stopped at the “amazing” reef to snorkel, the water was quite deep, so we were pretty far above the coral and fish. Didn’t see anything you can’t see at 100 other places in Maui just by rolling in off the beach for free. My son caught a brief glimpse of a turtle; no one else saw one. When I mentioned to the guide that we hadn’t seen any, his reply was “yeah, but how’s the visibility? Could you see the bottom”? Well, yeah, but if there’s nothing to look at, who cares about the visibility? All in all, too much money for almost no payoff. Better whale watching and better snorkeling options available from many other sources (or just get a good guide book and find out where to snorkel on your own).

Response from Host, May 2023

Sorry we did not meet expectations...

BEST DAY EVER!

ELLY_T, Mar 2023

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you for a great review!

Great adventure for the family

Jamie_K, Mar 2023

We had a great time. Saw (and listened to!) some whales and snorkeled with the turtles, as advertised. Red and Wes were excellent guides—knowledgeable, friendly, and informative. Our six year old got a bit anxious and frustrated near the end, but Red and Wes were very accommodating and helpful. We would definitely do this again!

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you for a great review!

Kayaking heaven

Marc_B, Mar 2023

The staff were excellent, the view was spectacular, the kayaking was fun and the experience was breath taking

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Thank you for a stellar review, hope to see you again soon!!

Top Notch!

Kathleen_W, Feb 2023

I can’t count the number of whales we saw. The guides were amazing and informative. When it came to snorkeling and Tuttle watching, we went to the feeding area and the turtles were beautiful and in abundance. This tour was top notch!!! I would definitely use again!

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thank you for a great review!

Great way to enjoy a day!!

Bruce_L, Feb 2023

What a great way to get up close and personal with the Momma whales and their calves! Maui Adventure had everything ready for us (including a beautiful and calm day) so all we had to do was get in the boat and paddle. Our staff was helpful and informative and made everyone feel comfortable, even getting in and out of the kayaks to snorkel. Got to get up close to a couple of whales and saw many breach and tail slap from a distance. Turtle Bay was perfect snorkeling! Only advice is to get to the launch early as parking can be difficult on a busy day! I’d rate this as 10 out of 10

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thank you for a great review!

Saw Whales and Sea Turtles

Erica_A, Feb 2023

My group saw whales while paddling and sea turtles while snorkeling. Getting back in the kayak from the way was a challenge, but we all managed to do it.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thank you for a great review!

Who takes you matters

David_T, Jan 2023

The best part of this trip is Wes..he makes you feel like a friend..as he guides you through this adventure!!

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thank you for a great review!

Do Not Recommend

Meagan_K, Sep 2022

I would not recommend this excursion. We backed out last minute due to medical issues and not feeling comfortable completing tour. Tried to request refund but got denied by owner and was made to be the problem. Not to mention one of the tour guides seemed drunk and bickered with other tour guide. Very unprofessional and made us feel uncomfortable.

Response from Host, Nov 2022

All Viator CANCELLATIONS must be made 24 hours in advance…this is their corporate policy not ours!!!

Definitely a must-go

Haoyang_L, Jun 2022

An unforgettable experience. Kayaking to the deep ocean and seeing beautiful coral reefs and species like fish and sea turtle through snorkeling. The guide are very professional. Giving Instructions and help customers with any issues. My phone dropped while getting back to kayak. The guide helped me dive to pick it up. I really appreciate that.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Mahalos for your great review...hope you can join us for another tour!!

I highly recommend!

Kay_S, May 2022

We had a picture perfect day and saw a dozen turtles! Super fun! I highly recommend! Lance was great!

Response from Host, May 2022

Thank you for such a great review!

So much fun!

LILLI_G, Apr 2022

Our guide was super friendly and a wealth of information! We enjoyed snorkeling even though the waters were a bit murky. Over all the experience was well worth it.!

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Mahalos for your great review...hope you can join us for another tour!!

Awesome experience

Anne_L, Mar 2022

Best experience we ever had! Can’t believe the whales came over to us so closely it was amazing. Red and Wes were great both very knowledgeable and informative.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Mahalos for your great review...hope you can join us for another tour!!

Humpback breached right in front of us!

Raymond_C, Feb 2022

So cool seeing humpbacks and their calves, one of them breached right in front of us. We then snorkeled with sea turtles. All around awesome day but be prepared to paddle a lot and be exposed to a lot of sun. Our guide Wes was also terrific.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Mahalos for your great review...we are happy that you had such a great experience!!

Highly recommend

Raquel_B, Feb 2022

Great experience. Very cool to see the whales out on the silent water. It was magical to paddle way out and just listen and watch. Unfortunately the whales were shy that day and stayed really really far away, but still cool

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Mahalos for your great review...we are happy that you had such a great experience!!

1/4 AWESOME

Ann_S, Jan 2022

We were so close to the whales it was AWESOME! I didn’t expect to get that close and to hear them so well. It really was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend.

Response from Host, Jan 2022

Happy you could join us Ann!!

Worth booking!

Mariah_T, Jan 2022

I booked the tour very last minute just for myself and I’m so glad I did. Kayaking to go see the whales is much better than booking a tour on a boat to see the whales. I got some great photos and videos of the mountains and some of the whales that got close to my kayak. One thing I would say is that there started to be a little bit of arguing between the two guides once we got to the turtle reef to go snorkeling. There is really no need to get uptight over anything because in reality the people on the tour have no idea what something should look like or how it should be properly done, so once they would start bickering with each other then you could tell there was something not being done right. Also, I would suggest that both guides give an example of jumping out of the kayak and how to get back into the kayak. This was a little bit of an issue for when we were getting back into the kayak and one of the guides was getting a little irritated on how people were getting back into their boats but the thing is no one really showed us how to get into them. So just explaining and giving an example would be really helpful. Overall, I would definitely go again with this tour group! Worth the price. FYI…parking was a major problem so I would recommend getting there early. Someone really needs to be guiding people into spots because it became a huge ordeal and I was almost late getting situated with parking.

Response from Host, Jan 2022

Glad you had a good time, thanx for letting us know that there is some room for improvement!