This small group eco-adventure travels off the beaten path to the wild side of Molokini. It includes an opportunity to visit one or more reefs where sea turtles are plentiful to observe these fascinating marine reptiles. The Molokini Wild Side is offered on our 54 foot catamaran, Ocean Explorer, which offers an open viewing environment for a small group experience. For ages 7 and over only.
Posted By : 170titod
Our day started with check-in and a short walk-down to the boat. We were pleasantly surprised to be on PacWhale's sailboat. Great service from the staff. They were able to accommodate my two vegan kids. We stopped to see one of the last whales of the season! Snorkeling at Molokini was much less crowded than other boats that were there. Great safety gear and instruction. The cruise back to dock was the absolute highlight as the crew unfurled the sails and cut the motor. One of the talented staff, Molly got up with her ukulele and entertained us with several songs. She was one of two marine biologists on the boat. The dedication and education of the PacWhale staff is something I have not seen on the two other Molokini cruises I have taken in the past. Great adventure! My adult kids loved it!
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Posted On : 2024-05-23 16:37:31 
Posted By : Jessica_F
Captain, Aaron and his team were absolutely amazing. Not only did they have a vast amount of information and knowledge about the island, but went out of their way to host a beautiful day on the boat. We had a storm the night before that made some of the waters murky so Aaron found other areas for us to snorkel. He took us to some amazing places the other tour boats do not go. We have the greatest time and would do it again in a heartbeat.
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Posted On : 2024-05-12 12:43:34 
Posted By : skbaillie
Definitely worth taking a boat ride for some snorkeling. We had a group of 10 (grade school age to retired) and everyone had a great time. We were able to see coral and all kinds of fish. Being able to rent the go pro cameras for underwater pictures for cheaper than buying my own camera pheon housing was a nice additional perk too!
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Posted On : 2022-09-08 09:04:35
Posted By : patrícia a
I did several activities in Maui, and by far this was THE BEST. I loved the trip guides, they are educated people about the natural life of the island and they can literally answer any question you have. They are super fun, and I loved this experience so much.
They serve food on the boat, a super cool BBQ, and you will have the perfect experience in Maui.
In the beginning I was unsure if I should purchase this activity, but I am so glad I did it because it was worth every penny. I absolutely recommend this if you are interested in having an experience in maui which you will not forget! Literally everything was perfect.
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Posted On : 2022-08-28 15:28:21
Posted By : roj1281
This is a great tour and the guides were very knowledgeable and helpful. I particularly enjoyed them explaining the parts about sunscreen and the different animals and fish in the water. We saw dolphins on our trip from the boat, I saw about 6 or 7 sea turtles and lots of fish and coral. The only recommendation I would have is to have boats with some shade because the sun is brutal! The tour is great and well worth it!
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Posted On : 2022-08-22 16:33:00
Posted By : 907blaked
This was supposed to the highlight for our family of 5, and it turned out to be the low point. We were on the cruise Pride of America and reserved the Molokini Crater snorkeling tour as one of our shore excursions. Upon arrival at the Harbor, the staff was very friendly (and in fact they continued to be friendly for the entire trip). However, the first problem we noticed was that there were WAY TOO MANY customers booked for this tour, given the size of the boat. We happened to be towards the end of the line to embark, and so our family of 5 couldn't even sit together on the boat because it was so crowded. As the ship departed, there was the opportunity for a light breakfast. One of the staff gave a talk on way out to the Crater (the talk lasted for about 15 minutes of the 45-minute drive), and the views were beautiful. Once we arrived at the Crater, we noticed we would be 1 of about 12 boats out there, and the area we were going to be assigned to snorkel in was way too small given how many people would be getting off our boat to snorkel. We had well over 120 people on our boat. Upon arrival at the Crater, the captain said she would give a Snorkeling 101 discussion at the front of the boat, and so our family went up to hear that (along with about 15 people total). The talk was just a few minutes and was very helpful (the captain provided some tips about how to have a good experience with the mask and snorkel), but the problem was that we were now again at the end of the line for getting into the water to snorkel. After the 5-minute talk, we waited literally 20 minutes in line to finally get in the water, and by the time we got there, they had run out of flotation assist devices. We were given 1 hour to snorkel, but our group was now going to have only 30 to 35 minutes to snorkel because of the wait. We then got in the water and immediately bumped into everyone else trying to snorkel in this jam-packed space. We heard many other people also complaining about bumping into everyone else and not being able to enjoy the snorkeling. As soon as we got in the water, people started coming back on the boat, frustrated at the poor experience. I would say half of the guests were back on the boat within 30 minutes of our arrival at the Crater. In our group of 5, 3 of us got back on the boat within 10 or 15 minutes.
When we got back on the boat, we drove to a second spot where we were supposed to then snorkel with sea turtles. The problem, though, was that the water was not good for snorkeling that day, and so we didn't get off the boat at the second spot. What was annoying was that the captain knew this ahead of time - saying "we've been hearing from other captains that the water is not good for snorkeling by the turtles today, but we're going to give it a try anyway." What they should have done is stayed longer at the Crater. As a result, we ended up not being able to snorkel any more.
Given the amount of money my family of 5 spent on this tour, we were sorely disappointed that we were able to snorkel for a total of 30 to 35 minutes. PacWhale, you seriously need to reconsider how you run this tour, or I'm sure mine won't be the only negative review. Here are some suggestions:
1. Don't book the boat to capacity. Raise the price if you need to, but this absolutely ruined the experience for us.
2. Give the Snorkeling 101 talk during the ride out to the Crater. You don't need the captain to give this talk.
3. Figure out a better way to get everyone in the water within 10 minutes of arrival. Hand out flippers in advance and have a system for helping people get their flippers on. Personally, it took me less than 30 seconds to put my flippers on and get in water, but some people took several minutes. You need to have staff helping people with this process given that there are only 2 points of entry to the water from the boat.
4. Don't run out of flotation devices. (You also ran out of masks, and so we were worried that weren't going to be able to snorkel, but you were able to get some from a sister ship once we got to the Crater. You should have had enough masks from the very beginning).
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Posted On : 2022-07-25 09:44:28
Posted By : Sandra_H
Lovely trip, many beautiful snorkeling spots. Just the time at Molokini Crater itself could be a bit longer. But it was really busy at Molokini, lots of boats wanted to get a spot.
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Posted On : 2022-05-23 07:39:52
Posted By : GrandTour493186
Poor breakfast, for 184$ that we pay in hotel Kaanapali Villas should get better. Most time are spend on boat. Snorkeling can be better done without your by lava rocks. I am considering that trip as ripped off. Rather by hotel or PWF
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Posted On : 2022-04-27 12:47:33
Posted By : lovenotfear406
The crew was welcoming, friendly, and very knowledgeable about the aquatic life around us. When sea conditions prevented us from stopping at one of our 2 stops, they adjusted on the fly and found an alternate stop. We saw manta rays and a huge variety of fish! Will definitely be back.
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Posted On : 2022-03-26 11:04:39
Posted By : gemtlmkr
Took our trip on February 9 2022. Our trip turned into whale watching, dolphin watching, and snorkeling. We had dolphins swimming beside and in front of our vessel. Several whales breaching and one that unexpectedly surfaced right in front of us. The snorkeling was amazing. The food was also very good. Captain T and crew were very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. I would highly recommend Pacific Whale Foundation for your excursion. Mahalo Pacific Whale!
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Posted On : 2022-03-08 11:32:38
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