Hawaii Ocean Rafting Whale Watch and Snorkel — Attraction in Maui

I found Hawaii Ocean Rafting while doing research on the many options for a whale watching tour on Maui. The honesty and heartfelt message in the video on the home page from the owners, Peter & Toni, sold me on who they are as owners and who they are as humans. My research stopped after watching that video. Much of Maui is hurting so badly from the fires and this small company lost so much. Yet, they are still here, borrowing boats, using temporary meeting places, doing what they love, and teaching visitors about some of the very special creatures that visit the waters around Maui. Thank you for being you. Thank you for that video.

Email communication about our upcoming trip and logistics was spot on and timely. The location to meet our group for the tour was convenient and only a two-minute walk to the boat ramp. Absolutely everything about our on-water experience with Hawaii Ocean Rafting was outstanding! The boat was clean and ready to rock when we walked up. And then we ran into Capt. Jack and first mate Jess. The two of them were nothing short of exceptional! Jack's wittiness, even early in the morning, was contagious. His stories were hilarious. It took him a whole 30 seconds to locate the first whale we would go visit. Jess' knowledge of the whales and their habits was incredible. Her willingness to answer any and all questions was wonderful. Their ability to match our adventurous nature with the more reserved nature of the others on our boat was great. Their passion for the job is something that has been lost in this day and age and was such a welcome surprise. We saw whales do just about everything whales do and we learned. Wow, did we learn. Hawaii Ocean Rafting is an amazing operation! A trip with them is not to be missed. And, if you are lucky enough to get Jack & Jess, you will remember this experience for a lifetime!!! For those of you keeping track, wink, wink, the nod for this review goes to Jess. Sorry bro, we were told we could...

We had a fun afternoon out on the water with Hawaii Ocean Rafting. 🐋

Our friends booked a reservation for us a few weeks in advance. We met up 30 minutes prior at the temporary meeting location shared with Maui Diving in Lahaina.

After checking in we were guided down to the boat ramp where we boarded the boat for our tour. We boarded in groups based on our number. You will receive a number upon checking in so it is advised to get there early if you want to be number one and board first to choose your desired seats.

The boat had unique seats - it felt like we were sitting on a toy horse (see photos). We weren’t really sure what to expect as this was a first for each of us in our group of four, but we found that we quite enjoyed it.

We sat in the very front, which I highly recommend, but be prepared to get wet, possibly even more than just a little splashed. We were soaked after the captain turned into the wind while observing some whale activity and 3 big splashes landed on us.

✨Pro Tip -protect your camera and valuables if you don’t want them to get wet and potentially damaged

There are no guarantees on any whale watching adventures as to what type of activity you will see, but we felt very blessed to witness a double breaching of a mama and baby 🥰 which apparently is quite rare to witness and we also saw a couple of different mama whales pushing their very young babies through the water.

They also put a microphone in the water so that you can hear the whales singing their beautiful song (see video). I always appreciate when the tours offer this.

Overall we had a lovely time and quite enjoyed ourselves.

More Info

Parking- There is plenty of free street parking nearby, however it can fill up. It’s best to allow yourself ample time to park, check-in and relax a bit in the shaded sitting area.

There are port-a potties and a wash station available in front of the check-in building as well as a beach bathroom which is well kept near...

Friday, we had an amazing snorkel boat tour to the island of Lana’i with the 3 person crew of Captain Jack, Val, and Danielle. So many firsts on this late October 5 hour tour! First were the whales! One breached( jumped in the air), the other dove giving us the iconic tail wave. Crew said these were the 1st of the season.. what a start! We then headed to a sweetheart Rock-1st of 2 snorkel stops. And swam amongst a massive coral garden with incredible visibility! The fish life was incredible and abundant-like Maui’s spots used to be. Needle fish swam at the top of us and below were all the famous Hawaiian tropical fish from the snorkel cards-absoluty great! 2nd stop was Shark Fin Cove-Captain Jack said conditions were great and we could get to this terrific location that day. This had some fun terrain to navigate and more great coral and super visibility. Captain pointed out a female octopus and gave us incredible knowledge about how they live and survive. The rest of the trip was on board as we sailed up and down the Lana’i coastline. Another 1st was the rock avalanche along its craggy cathedral heights rock sheers. Looked like huge waves of rock smoke!! Captain stopped many times for schools of both Spotted dolphins and Spinner Dolphins-huge playful pods with many young pups. Val’s extensive marine research gave us fascinating insight to how they live, travel and play. This tour was by far the most informative and fun, reflecting the crew’s passion for marine and Hawaiian life. Highly recommend this tour operator, Hawaii Ocean Rafting-a husband and wife team that run many tours throughout the year including whale watching during season. Boats are well equipped with snorkel gear and floating devices. Food was simple and good. Crew was helpful and...