All Reviews for Marine Wildlife Encounters

It was a relatively large boat, so I was wondering if the whales wouldn't come close, but we were able to enjoy various whales, both far and near, including spouts, jumps, and mother-and-calf pairs. The whales in Lahaina, Hawaii during winter met my expectations.

割と大型の船だったので、クジラが近くに来てくれないのかなと思ってましたが、遠くも、近くも、潮吹きやジャンプや親子連れなど、いろんなクジラさんを楽しめました。
冬のハワイのラハイナのクジラさんは、期待通りでした。

The crew was outstanding, the vessel was perfect for viewing, and the whale activity in late January '23 was second-to-none! I highly recommend this experience to both novice and seasoned whale watchers. Pro tip: if there is any shot at rain, invest in a poncho. Regardless of weather, this trip is definitely worth it.

It was a large two-story boat. The guide was in English.
I saw about 15 whales, but they were all quite far away, and I only saw them jump twice from a distance. I participated in mid-January, and right after we set sail, the captain announced, "This is the peak season," so I had high expectations... However, since it's nature, it's understandable, but it's better not to have too high expectations. The large boat made it less likely to get seasick, but the loud motor noise seemed to make the whales wary. They stuck around for about 10 minutes longer than scheduled, moving and stopping repeatedly.
The male guide talked about the ecology of whales, the history of whaling, and how they were on the brink of extinction. Since he was talking the whole time, we often spotted whales before he did. My knowledge about whales deepened.

【Parking】
The problem was the parking. Veltra mentioned that if you park in public parking for more than three hours, there’s a possibility of being towed, so they recommended paid parking. In the center of Lahaina, the parking fees are high—about $20 for 5 hours and $30 for a day. The Outlets of Maui, located about a 15 to 20-minute walk from Lahaina Harbor, offered free parking. It was very spacious, so there were no issues parking when participating in the whale watching at 9 AM. It was great because we could stroll around Lahaina while going back and forth to the harbor. We shopped at the outlet, but even without shopping, parking was free (there was no parking ticket, and you could come and go freely).
There is little information about parking in Lahaina in both Japanese and English, so I wanted to share this here.

2階建ての大きな船でした。英語ガイドです。
クジラは15頭くらい見えましたが全てかなり遠くて、ジャンプもかなり遠目に2回ほど。1月中旬に参加して、船に乗った出港直後に船長から「今がピークシーズンだ」とアナウンスがあったので期待していましたが…。相手は自然なので仕方ないですが、期待しすぎない方が良いです。大きい船だと酔いづらくて良いのですが、モーター音が大きい分クジラは警戒するようです。移動と停船を繰り返して予定より10分オーバーするまで粘ってくれました。
ガイドの男性はクジラの生態や捕鯨の歴史、絶滅しつつあったことなどを話してくれました。ずっとお話ししているためか私たちの方が早くクジラを見つけることもしばしば。クジラの知識は深まりました。

【駐車場】
困ったのは駐車場。veltraから公共駐車場は3時間以上駐車するとレッカーされる可能性があり有料駐車場を勧められました。ラハイナ中心地はは駐車場代が高く有料だ5時間20ドル、1日30ドルくらい。ラハイナ港から徒歩15分〜20分にあるアウトレットオブマウイは無料でした。とても広いので9時台のホエールウォッチングに参加する場合全く問題なく駐車できました。ラハイナの街を散策しつつ港と往復できるのでとても良かったです。私たちはアウトレットで買い物をしましたが、買い物をしなくても駐車場台は無料でした（駐車券が無く出入り自由です）。
日本語も英語もラハイナの駐車場情報が少ないのでここに記載させて頂きました。

I participated in a whale watching tour that can only be experienced during this season. About five minutes after leaving the beach, we spotted spouts of water coming up from the sea! From there, we were able to see several whales. There was even a mother and calf swimming right next to the boat, which had everyone on the tour very excited. I would like to visit Maui again during the season when the whales return to Hawaii and participate in another tour.

この時期にしか見ることができないホエールウォッチングツアーに参加しました。船がビーチを出国して5分ほどのところで、海から潮が上がっているのを発見❗️ そこから何頭もののクジラを見ることができました。そして船のすぐ側で泳いでいたクジラの親子もいてツアーに参加していたみなさんは大興奮でした。またクジラがハワイに戻る時期にマウイ島に行き、ツアーに参加したいと思います。

Good host is great
Divers are cool
No turtle nor much depth

Arrive at the port and check in at least 15 minutes before departure. The departure was on time. The weather was clear, but we only saw about ten whales from a distance. When I participated previously, we encountered several whales up close, saw them dive, and even ran alongside a pod of dolphins, so this experience was quite modest in comparison. It was disappointing that the captain kept talking not only about the whales but also engaging in small talk like a monologue, showing zero enthusiasm for actively searching for whale spots. (The previous captain was proactive, using experience and intuition to find the best spots and move quickly.) Whether you can see the whales well really depends on the captain. (You can't choose, though...)

出港15分前までに港に集合して発券。時間どおりの出港でした。天気は快晴でしたがクジラは10体弱遠目に見えた程度。以前参加したときは間近に何体も出現し、ダイブも見られたり、イルカの群れと併走したこともあって、それに比べるとかなり控えめでした。船長がずっと解説のみならず世間話も独り言のようにしゃべり続けていて、熱心にクジラポイントを探し当てるようなやる気はゼロだったのが残念でした。（以前の船長は経験と勘で次々とベストポイントを当てて積極的に移動していた。）クジラがよく見えるかどうかは本当に船長次第です。(選べませんが。。）

We loved our whale watching tour. I would highly recommend. Make sure to bring sunscreen and a hat or a shirt to cover up with as it gets hot on the boat. I plan on doing this again next time and booking though Veltra. Great price for the best tours. Tip: rent the binoculars or bring your own for close up viewing.

It was an amazing experience!
The crew was fantastic, great service
The captain gave lots of information and fun facts about whales. We got amazing viewing of the whales.

We had an excellent time.. We were looking for a casual fun experience for Christmas evening and this trip delivered. This is my 6th time in Maui and have participated on many excursions and this is on the top of my list. Crew was fabulous and attentive. Captain was experienced and knowledgeable. Felt safe the entire time. The cost was appropriate for what we received...and as a reminder, always tip the crew

The experience was good. We saw both whales and dolphins. The unfortunate thing was that they overbooked the boat and there wasn’t seats available for everyone on deck. Being forced to sit in the crew area below and not hear the captain’s commentary had a way of making you feel unwelcome. However, we did get to do the activities and saw wonderful marine life.

Our family went on the early morning Whale Watching tour. It was worth getting up early to go! Our captain was very knowledgeable about the tour and surrounding islands. He took us a little farther out so we were able to see 3 whales! It was 2 males chasing down a female and she was leading them out on a chase! I would definitely recommend this cruise!

Had such an amazing experience. Seen some incredible sights and sealife during the ride. 10/10.

Had fun on the cruise. The staff was very friendly and welcoming. Seen whales and cool views. The meal was alright, but the experience was amazing. 10/10.

Even though my girlfriend and I were sea sick for most of the cruise the entire staff still made sure we were very well taken care of. Excellent hospitality.

The adventure is totally worth it! Very well organized, kind and humorous crew, plus expertise, and the sub is safe, clean and comfortable. The size is just right.
Would suggest the sound system be improved, especially for those seating toward the back of the sub- when children’s excitement or conversations of “oooh’s” and “aaah’s” are happening half way from the front, it is hard to hear . Nonetheless, the captain rotates the sub to ensure both port and starboard sides get the same views!
We were treated to a visit of a pack of stirring dolphins! And on our way back, a sight of a whale shark…. Not your everyday adventure.
Lot’s of fish, and a surprise reef viewing await those who want to take this great tour.

Everything was extraordinary . The view & atmosphere was amazing. Service was excellent. People were very friendly. Photos were very beautiful take home memory.

Such an amazing experience experienced with my Fiancé !

All crew members were great hosts and courteous. The music was on point, the drinks were flowing and the shrimp were ate!

I will do this cruise again 10 out of 10 times!

The tour up the Maui coast was breathtaking. We encountered a large pod of dolphins that were very playful, jumping out of the water and spinning around. The lunch was tasty.

What a great way to spend our last night in Maui! The crew on this fantastic catamaran made sure our drinks were full and we were happy. Dinner was awesome considering we were cruising the waters between Maui and Molokai. Would recommend this experience to everyone!

Boat was great and comfortable, Crew was fun and helpful, and the Captain was Great. My wife and friends loved the time sailing and cool music.

The views you get from this boat cruise and incomparable and the service and staff are great!

Great day in the water, seen lots of ocean life!!!

The crew were great & I would highly recommend to others

This was a fun cruise for us to take our daughter and grandaughter on. Crew was very knowledgeable and interacted with each guest. Guests seemed to have a great time. Food was okay. Didn't expect it to be great!

What a fun experience! The crew was very attentive and thoughtful from beginning to end. They made sure everyone was well taken of. I was also impressed with how clean and well cared for the catamaran was. You can tell that SeaMaui takes a lot of pride in what they do. I booked the excursion as part of my daughters 30th birthday celebration on Maui. There were 5 of us and we were all able to sit together which was nice. Everyone had a great time and unanimously would recommend it. Mahalo SeaMaui .

Highly recommend this package!
- our boat captain, Cary, shared many interesting facts about all the islands while we were on our way to our snorkeling sites.
- he has great sense of humor and I enjoyed his choice of background music during the trip.
- I was blown away by the number of spinner dolphins and sea turtles we saw!
- Allison, one of the crew, was so friendly and helpful.
- Highly recommend.
Thanks again, Cary!

Our family had a wonderful time! We had 4 adults and 2 kids age 5 and 6.
The crew were so kind and helpful! They answered all our questions and really knew their material. We would definitely recommend this adventure to other families!

This was so much fun for my family! My 2 year old had so much fun and absolutely loved seeing the divers in the water. The whole crew were so great with my daughter and all so kind. The divers would give her high fives and fist bumps through the window, she loved it so much! The crew was so helpful getting on and off the boat and laughed at all my jokes lol. They are all so knowledgeable, smart, and so willing to help and answer questions. We definitely felt welcome and appreciated! Such an amazing experience for kids and adults alike! So thankful my daughter got to see fishies even though she can’t do things like snorkel.

I can’t fault the company too much for this but our outing got cancelled because of high surf so we moved it back and then that outing got cancelled for high surf. It’s a little frustrating because we try to schedule all of our plans for the day in the same area so this really threw off our plans on two separate days. It may have been useful to get a warning on the second rebooking that there was a decent chance that the boat could get cancelled again. I do understand safety is priority and as someone with no boating experience, I really don’t know how far out a high surf can be predicted. But overall, we’re pretty disappointed. I wouldn’t recommend booking boats that leave from Lahaina.

I couldn’t experience more, than I had on our boat trip to Lanai
It’s perfect size of boat if you want to see views without other passengers heads in front of you, actually hear interesting and fun stories from captain and feel close to water.
We saw so many dolphins, colorful fish, turtles and learned a lot about these islands. As a bonus I got stung by a jelly fish, but I’ll take it as a very unique experience lol
If you’re very picky about food, bring your own, but for me it wasn’t important at that moment. They have different drinks and water, so nothing to worry about.
Both captains are super friendly and knew what they do.
Thank you guys!