The island of Maui in Hawaii is one of the best areas in the world for observing humpback whales. Warm weather combines with the beautiful scenery of the Hawaiian islands to make for perfect observation conditions. Humpback whales migrate to the Hawaii area each winter, and return to their summer feeding grounds each spring. December through May is the best time to watch whales in Hawaii. The town of Lahaina on the island of Maui developed as a base for hunting whales, and today Lahaina serves as a base for watching whales. The humpbacks like to stay in the shallow waters on the calm 'leeward' western side of Maui.
Why does whale watching on this island of Maui in Hawaii receive the highest rating from everyone in our family? Because of what we have seen on our various expeditions...
... a humpback whale the size of a school bus rising halfway out of the water (breaching), then falling back down onto the surface of the water with a thunderous sound and spray of water.
... a pod of active male whales - each larger than the boat we are riding in - pushing, shoving, and butting each other to try to get close to the lone female.
... watching a calf and mother both breach at the same time.
... finding a whale slowly moving under our boat, just far enough under the ocean surface to clear the bottom of our boat. (See our video of this at the bottom of this page)
... quietly sailing at sunset, observing a peaceful mother whale with her calf frolicking at her side.
2. Watching Whales from a boat
The huge size and loud sounds from the whales make the most impact the closer your are to the whales. And the way to get closer to the whales is from a boat. There are a wide variety of whale watching charters and tour boats - large and small boats, sailboats and motorized boats.
Whale watching packages are created by tour operators to combine activities such as snorkeling, sailing, and dolphins with whale watching. Just about all ocean activities on the leeward (west) side of Maui during the months of December through May become 'whale watching activites' because of the many whales in the area.
The most common package is combining snorkeling with a whale watch. The captain looks for whales on the way to the snorkeling area, and will detour toward surfacing whales, then stop to watch them. After a snorkel and lunch, the same whale watch occurs on the return to the harbor. We often go on these - read about our whale-snorkel package trip from Kaanapali.
Combining sailing and whale watching is a natural and peaceful way to observe whales. The sailboat is not as maneuverable as a motorized boat - when sailing, the captain can't suddenly turn in a different direction when a whale is spotted - but there are still a lot of 'inadvertant' sightings just because of the number of whales in the area. And the comaratively quiet and low profile of a sailboat makes for a good platform to get close to a whale. We enjoyed our whale-sailing package morning sail from Lahaina harbor.
Dolphins school together in some areas around Maui, and a few boats package a 'dolphin watch' with whale watching. A pod of about 20 spinner dolphins swam and jumped out of the water around us for about 30 minutes (the catamaran stopped for awhile so we could watch them) on our dolphin - snorkel - whale watching package trip.
Some tour operators also package trips to 'turtle town' (this seems to be wherever there are groups of sea turtles) with whale watching and snorkeling, including a large group of turtles close to the island of Lanai. The Hawaiian green sea turtle is an endangered species, and grows up to 400 pounds.
3. Watching Whales from the Beach
Humpback whales can be also viewed from a distance by doing Maui beach whale watching. Their spout (spray from their exhalations) can be easily viewed from miles away. Binoculars may be required to see the details of the whales. You miss the impact of size and sounds of the whales, but this provides a very economical way to watch whales.
Maui beach whale watching is an easy and inexpensive way to observe humpback whales. Scan the horizon, looking for a blow and large splashes caused by activities such as breaching or tail slapping (heavy ocean whitecaps on windy days make it more difficult to locate whales). Another indication is a boat that is sitting still for no apparent reason; there's likely to be a whale nearby. Whales dive for an average of 7-15 minutes - if you see a whale dive, keep watching the area for when the whale surfaces again.
As you drive along the coastal highway, any area with a view of the ocean may have whales close by - there are many lookout areas. A good spot for Maui beach whale watching is Pohaku Beach Park (also known as S-Turns), located about 15 minutes north of Lahaina at Kahana.
You can also take advantage of an elevated location such as McGregor Point Lookout & Lighthouse (also called Papawai Point - drive south from Lahaina on the Honoapiilani Highway (Highway 30) to mile markers 7 and 8 - just west of Maalaea). During humpback watching season, the Pacific Whale Foundation's Ocean Outreach Van is often at this scenic lookout area with interesting displays and free information about whales. Sometimes they even have a Marine Research Naturalist on hand (with binoculars for you to borrow) to help you spot whales.
Another way that some people observe whales from the beach - just look for a group of cars stopped along the highway. This occurs frequently along the coastline highway when we travel south of Lahaina. (If you do this, please move safely to the side of the road!)
If you are near the ocean, always be on the lookout for whales. We have spotted them from all types of locations, including Hecocks restaurant in Lahaina, as well as many high observation areas as we drive along the Maui coast.
Randy Willis and his family vacation each year on the island of Maui in Hawaii, and share their experiences for others planning a trip to Maui. For more planning tips for such activities as snorkeling, luaus, Maui beaches, touring the Maui volcano Haleakala, and driving the road to Hana, visit www.lahaina-family-vacation.com
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