Snorkeling Maui in Winter

by Susan
(Columbia, SC)

It was cold at night!! I never thought cold and Hawaii went together, but... We had a great time anyway...wet suit was a first but very good in the chilly water, especially on the Lanai snorkel trip. Galen and Nicole, I have to thank you guys immensely for your guide. I went by your list and the camp towels were wonderful. We didn't take the big beach towels and the camp towels soaked up the water on our suits much better. The cover for the mask strap kept it comfortable (didn't pull my hair) and it didn't keep falling on my ears. The photo tips helped so much with my photos and putting the mask on the dry face and keeping it on did much better and I didn't drop my snorkel. :) Unfortunately, no amount of reading will help my graceful entrance and exit from the water. The whole guide was helpful in so many ways. Now to my story.

We went on the snorkel trip to Lanai and although I don't care that much for snorkeling off a boat, that trip was so great. The water was so clear and on the way we saw whales galore and the babies were breaching, one whale even swam under our boat then we came up on so many bottle nosed dolphins (or they came to us). They were all around the boat and jumping and playing. Then we made it to our snorkel spot and although I didn't see anything but fish and coral, it was still loads of fun and saw some fish I haven't seen before. We did snorkel at Kapalua twice and Mile marker 14 (I can't ever remember the name of that beach) and that was good but no turtles or other critters and it was pretty choppy most of the time.

Oh, and the mini snorkel worked great and the camera (Canon Power shot D10) was wonderful. Without having to use a casing I could SEE the fish instead of waiting to see if I got good shots or not when I got back. Overall, the snorkeling and whale watching was a great combination. I was ready to go back before I got home.