MAUI WHALE WATCHING & SNORKEL CRUISE

Maui Whale Watching

A vacation in Maui is not complete without a Maui Whale Watch and Snorkel Tour. Receive twice the value by enjoying these two popular ocean adventures on the same cruise. Includes superb whale watching (Guaranteed Sightings), snorkeling, BBQ lunch, open bar, ocean gear, and impeccable service aboard the most spacious and stable vessel on Maui. The whale watch and snorkel cruise aboard the Pride of Maui is the perfect solution. Sleep in, and join us for an amazing afternoon of Humpback Whale Watching.

Our Maui whale watching adventure is an EXCEPTIONAL VACATION VALUE. You’ll enjoy a full 2 hour whale watch combined with snorkeling a beautiful coral reef.

Pride of Maui is the most stable and spacious boat on Maui with unsurpassed amenities including two restrooms, glass bottom, water slide, submerged boarding ladders, warm showers, large hardwood bar, and over 2500 feet of open deck space.

Your freshly prepared BBQ lunch includes big juicy burgers, hot dogs, marinated chicken breasts, as well as an open bar with ice cold beer, regional wines, and tropical mai tais. Homemade mac-nut white chocolate cookies are baked fresh daily for your enjoyment.

Maui Whale Season

Every year from December through March the North Pacific Humpback Whales migrate to the warm tropical waters of Hawaii. The  coastal waters of Maui by far, enjoys the largest concentration of these amazing animals. Whale Watching in Maui is some of the best in the world and as good as it gets. Whale Watching aboard our flagship “Pride of Maui” is even better. No other vessel compares to the space, stability and 360 degree panoramic viewing from her sprawling upper deck. The superior stability  and additional space aboard our larger power cat makes all the difference in the world, when choosing the right whale watching vessel. The Pride is spacious and stable, with unsurpassed amenities and comforts, including more deck space per passenger and perimeter seating for ease of movement throughout. This provides ample opportunity to view and photograph a variety of exciting whale behaviors.

Sightings of these playful behemoths, which grow as large as 50 feet and weigh about one ton per foot, are GUARANTEED on our Whale Watch Tour. Whales will be sighted, or your next whale watch tour aboard the Pride of Maui will be complimentary. Witness a mother whale frolic with her calf, or a full-grown adult breach exuberantly out of the water. During your whale watch cruise these amazing animals will often display themselves in full glory, giving you the ultimate whale watching on Maui experience.

Some common behavior displayed on a whale watching trip includes blowing and spy hopping. They’ll also slap their tails, believed to be an act of communication and to demonstrate their individual strength. Spy hopping is when the humpback whales come high out of the water to literally have a look around at the world above.

A mature North Pacific Humpback Whale averages about 40ft in length & weighs about 40 tons, although can grow up to 16 meters or 52ft long. Their heavy bodies can weigh up to 50 tons. The heart alone is about 400lbs or more. The size of these whales makes them hard to miss, especially when they swim in groups. Female whales are slightly larger, in order to defend themselves and their nursing calves from the more aggressive males.

The male humpback whales are driven to mate with the females and pro-create. It is common during the heat of the Maui whale watching season to find large competitive groups (pods) of male humpback whales jousting for the opportunity to mate with a single female. Watching them is an exciting experience, as they wrestle with each other for the position to mate.

The female humpback whales with new born calves are particularly vulnerable to the advances of the males during the Maui whale watching season. Sometimes during our whale watch we are mugged (an affectionate term), by the female and her calf as she uses our large yacht to hide under in an attempt to ditch the hopeful males. Other times curiosity causes them to come closer to us. Being mugged on a whale watch in Maui by humpback whales is the ultimate whale watching experience where photo opportunities create cherished memories. Join us for the best Maui whale watching for the memories of a lifetime! The North Pacific Humpback Whale is a baleen whale (toothless), declared as an endangered and protected species.

During the Maui whale watching tour, you might  see a young calf swimming beside its mother. The newborn calves are about 14 feet long. When you see them, you have definitely experienced some of the best whale watching.

They are not small, even when newborn. The mother stays with her offspring for about one year, feeding it with up to 100 gallons of milk every day. There are 2 maturity levels discussed by researchers.  Sexual maturity and physical.

Females are said to reach sexual maturity at about 5 years/males 7.  Physical maturity is after 10 years, according to some researchers.  Life span has been discussed and not agreed upon by most researchers.  No one knows how long humpbacks live, but bowhead whales (a cousin) have been proven to live well beyond 200 years!

To make your whale watch cruise in Maui even better, we’re going to take you on a snorkel adventure where you will enjoy snorkeling at one of Maui’s beautiful coral reefs. Whale Watching and snorkeling on the same cruise is the perfect pairing of the two most popular ocean adventures on Maui.

Top Ten Humpback Whale Facts

• The whales start migrating to Hawaii in December and leave in April. Past year sightings have been as early as October, staying in Hawaiian oceans as late as June. The peak time to watch whales in Maui is in February during mating season, with March coming in second. (2012- Whale sightings confirmed early December)
• Humpback Whales can range from 25ft to 45ft, as big as a school bus! They can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, equivalent to 6 elephants*
• Humpback Whales migrate 3,500 miles from Alaska to Hawaii every year. It takes them 4-8 weeks to complete this journey. Alaska is their feeding ground, and Hawaii is their breeding and birthing ground.
• The majority of Humpback Whales that migrate to Hawaii end up in the oceans around Maui.
• Humpbacks are still a huge mystery. There have been no recorded sightings of Humpback Whales mating or giving birth.
• Humpback Whales are not monogamous! They are believed to be promiscuous breeders, and the males do not play a parental role in the lives of their calves. Genetic testing shows that over the breeding life of an individual female, calves will have different fathers.
• Baby Humpback Whales are in utero for 11-12 months. When born, they can be between 12-14 feet in length, and weigh 1-1/2 tons. Surviving off their mothers 50% fat milk, the calves grow at least 1-inch and gain approximately 100 pounds per day.
• It is quite common to see the newborn Humpback Whale frolic and play on the surface of the ocean. They will raise their pectoral fin up and down on the ocean’s surface. This is called pectoral slapping, a learned action that will continue with them through adulthood.
• During the late season, as the whales are preparing to leave the Hawaiian waters, male bulls come to escort a female and her calves out of the Hawaiian channels. It is quite common to see “competitive pods” of males at this time. (Males fighting amongst each other to win over and impress the females.) Male Humpback Whale competitive pods can be very aggressive; head slapping, tail slapping, and breaching upon each other sometimes resulting in bloodshed.
• Only male Humpback Whales sing! They sing in their breeding grounds to attract females, and ward off other males. The singers are lone animals, singing 50-60 feet below the oceans surface with their heads pointing down and their tails pointed up. Their songs can last from 20-40 minutes, and are liken to a complex classical music when broken down into specific phrases and units.

SNORKELING

Your Captain will select a Maui snorkeling destination where the ocean conditions are the very best. Our favorites are Olowalu and Coral Gardens.

Fantasy Reef (aka Olowalu), is an exceptional snorkeling destination, where you can swim with the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles. This is an interesting array of underwater lava shelves featuring a variety of tropical fish and marine animals. Olowalu is a well established cleaning station where the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles congregate to be cleaned by a fish aptly named “cleaner wrasse”. Sightings of the sea turtles are common at Olowalu.

The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles are a protected species, and it is unlawful to touch, chase, ride or harass them in any way.

In addition to Fantasy Reef, the Pride of Maui frequently visits a palatial garden of corals, aptly called Coral Gardens. The gentle sloping terrain and sheltered cove is ideal for snorkeling and suitable for a variety of experience levels, from beginners to advanced. There is a diverse array of colorful coral and fish that inhabit this underwater wonderland. Coral Gardens offers exceptional Maui snorkeling on a coral reef with an impressive diversity of marine life. There are butterfly fish, damsel fish, cardinal fish, crustaceans, octopi, and the gentle and famous Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles – making your snorkeling adventure one you will not soon forget.

Snorkeling locations are determined by the weather and prevailing conditions. The Captain will select one of our Maui snorkel sites where the conditions are the very best! Whether snorkeling at Fantasy Reef or one of our other beautiful sites, you are sure to experience an amazing snorkeling adventure, filled with cherished memories. Rest assured that your Captain will select the very best snorkel location for the prevailing conditions and you will experience an unforgettable snorkeling adventure.

 
You can relax and take it easy on board the spacious Pride of Maui. Enjoy the view any where on the sprawling upper deck, or downstairs in the large main cabin. With your comfort in mind, the Pride of Maui is an exquisite passenger vessel, with more than enough room for you to comfortably enjoy your afternoon Maui snorkeling and whale watching fun.

You are in for very personalized service on the afternoon whale watching and snorkeling tour. This is because many visitors start their day early, joining us on the Morning Molokini snorkel tour. As such, the afternoon adventure always cruises with fewer passengers.