Sail Maui — Attraction in Hawaii

My wife and I booked the “West Maui Snorkel and Performance sail” with Sail Maui, and it was easily the highlight of our two week stay in Maui. If you are looking for a bona fide sailing experience, with crews that actually want to sail and love to share that enthusiasm with their clients, then look no further than Sail Maui! Where many other catamaran operators will pack their boats with people and put up a sail “for show” while they motor around for the better part of the day, captain Steven and crew hand Ben sought out the perfect balance of exciting performance sailing in blustery conditions with time away from the wind to relax on the deck under gentle sail, and to snorkel at a secluded mooring. Plus, all food and drinks are included!

The wildlife on this trip was incredible! Although being at the end of whale season in Maui meant no whales for us, we were treated to an amazing showing of dozens of spinner dolphins jumping and running right below our boat. Captain Steven managed to keep us with this pod for almost half an hour as they played all around and beneath our boat. At the snorkeling spot, the coral reef and quantity / diversity of fish surpassed the snorkeling at Molokini, which we had visited with another operator earlier in the week and frankly didn’t live up to the hype. At our snorkel spot with Sail Maui, we also saw numerous sea turtles!

Overall, I can’t say enough good things about booking with Sail Maui. Forget the larger catamarans and motor vessels, where you will be packed like sardines and harassed at every turn for tips when no personalized service has occurred. The crews at Sail Maui are genuinely interested in sharing their love for the sea and the Maui area, and do it in a personalized and friendly atmosphere.

For those concerned about the “performance sail” component, despite having the fastest sailing ships in Maui, the crew are very responsible and at no time do they place their clients in danger. This is, simply put, the closest that you can get to chartering and sailing your own catamaran in all of the Hawaiian islands.

We’ll definitely be back to sail...

First, I want to make one thing clear.... We went on a snorkel today and the boat and crew were fantastic. Why the bad review? We booked our snorkel months ago and showed up, left the harbor only to be told that we couldn't use our full face snorkel masks. This is a huge problem for my wife and myself.... She is extremely claustrophobic and cannot use normal closed faced masks. If they had told us prior to leaving the dock, we would have cancelled our trip.

Some background, some full face masks have issues with carbon dioxide building up, causing issues for the wearer while in the water.... Like being pulled from the water passed out bad. With that said, this affects mainly three cheap ones your but online for less than $50. We on the other hand use high end $120 models that do not have these issues.

Long story short, we were forced to use the snorkel masks on the boat and my wife was scared to death the whole time. She tried multiple times to get in the water, but due to the mask she had to come back on the boat after less than a minute in the water. She is an avid snorkeler and we go out daily when In Maui with our equipment... So this was basically a wasted ticket for her.

Myself, my mask refused to stay clear from fog even after using no fog multiple times and adjustments ever few minutes. I ended up sitting on the boat in disgust after just a few minutes in the fogged up water. I snorkel for hours every day in Maui.... Again, a wasted ticket.

Sail Maui website as of today says "bring your own equipment!" With no mention of not allowing full face masks. This "rule" seriously ruined our snorkel.

I feel like I've wasted $350.... And will...

Just amazing. We did the Sail and Snorkel with a picnic lunch on Lana'i. What a fantastic experience. First of all, the boat is immaculate, and the crew works hard to keep it that way. They are welcoming, and 100% focused on passenger safety. We had Patrick as our captain, and Britt, Merv, and Maggie as the crew. My husband is in a wheelchair, and they were incredibly helpful in getting us onboard and offered a little help when it was time to get into/out of the water for snorkeling. We try to stay as low-maintenance as possible, but I was so thankful that the crew offered any help we needed and seemed really happy to do so. Even with 40 people, the boat didn't feel crowded at all. Everyone had a chance to sit where they wanted and enjoy all the sights.

Our trip couldn't have been more perfect overall. We saw whales breaching next to the boat, spinner dolphins swimming, beautiful fish and corals while snorkeling, Patrick put the sails up for a while on the way back, and we had fantastic music, food, company, and crew. I can't recommend this trip more highly. THANK YOU, Sail Maui, for a trip to remember.

Please note, I would not consider this an "accessible" excursion, although we emailed the company in advance to double check before we booked. If you can get in and out of your chair and onto the ground by yourself without any help, this trip would be a breeze. But, if you have any doubts, email the Sail Maui folks and they'll give you any information you might need to make a determination about whether this trip is a...