Published on Jan, 2025
Our family of four took a 3-hour tour starting at 8 a.m. We have taken boat tours on Kauai and in Mexico, as well as many ocean and river cruises, and this was our most fun time ever on a boat. Skipper Spencer and his mate Gabe were really friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, and the boat is a beauty -- it could sit 10-12 comfortably, but they limit the tours to 6, and we wound up having it to ourselves. The craft has four 1600-hp engines and can cruise at 55+ mph. They took us first to a lovely shoreside reef a few miles north of Maaleaea for snorkeling -- we saw multiple sea turtles and dozens of species of reef fish. Gabe pointed out rare corals and dived for unique sea urchins, which he passed around. There was no one else there until we were leaving. Then there was whale-watching: we saw dozens of humpbacks spouting and breaching, several of them surfacing so close to the boat that we could practically touch them. (Hawaiian law forbids sailing within 100 feet of whales, but there's not much you can do if they choose to breach alongside of you!) There was a mother lifting its baby out of the water, and a bunch of males showing off for a coy female. VERY highly recommended!