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Maui Eco Tours
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P.O. Box 959-117
Kihei, HI 96753
(808) 891-2223
Kihei, HI 96753
(808) 891-2223
10% per person if you mention Yelp.
Just call us or book online at our website and mention…
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- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
7 reviews for Maui Eco Tours
I can't recommend Maui Eco Tours enough. This was the definite highlight of an excellent trip to Maui. We took the "Whales" tour, which is (quite reasonably) only available when the whales are in season. It included kayaking around to watch the whales followed by snorkeling.
The whale watching was amusing, though we never really got very close to any of the whales we saw. We seemed to be paddling around between two or three groups, who I like to think were deeply amused to take turns coming to the surface and watching our group of kayaks frantically change course each time to head in the direction of the most recent group to surface. There were definitely a number of good views of whale backs and flukes, including a number of pairs that surfaced together that were probably moms with babies. And, paddling around was an excellent workout.
While the whales were nice, the best part was the snorkeling. On the website you'll see they have a turtle tour, and I'd seen pictures there of people snorkeling with the turtles. I sort of expected that was a rare thing. But when we got in the water to snorkel (don't worry, they give you a little tutorial on how to do it without flipping your kayak), we almost immediately encountered two turtles swimming our way! I was so glad we brought our underwater camera; I will watch that video of us swimming with the turtles over and over and over. There were also a bunch of beautiful and interesting fish, interesting coral formations, and fun stuff like sea urchins and eels. Our guide was quite knowledgeable about all the things we were seeing as well, which was a good bonus (pretty + information = extra awesome).
If I was going to recommend only one thing to do on Maui, this would be it!
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My boyfriend and I took the Discovery tour in Lahaina (actual spot was in Olowalu*) Overall it was a good experience--we snorkeled in two locations (one in deeper water, the other in shallower water/coral areas) and saw some fish and several turtles.
I took two stars off for the following:
- Shoddy equipment. I knew not to expect pristine, top-of-the-line gear by any means, but our masks leaked constantly, even though our guide had us test the seal on our masks before we got in the water. I would strongly suggest bringing your own equipment if possible.
- I was surprised (given the Yelp reviews about the fabulous guides) that our guide was a little detached and unengaged the whole time...he was on auto-pilot with everything he was obviously required to explain (basic instructions and safety rules). Once we got in the water, he went off on his own a few times to take photos with some fancy camera he packed in his kayak. As we were paddling back to shore, we also noticed that he never once stopped to turn around and see how everyone was doing (we were right behind him). We thought that was a little disconcerting, especially since we were all spread out and one couple was way behind. By the end of the tour this was all pretty annoying given the fact that right before we got in the water, he got up and made this big announcement about how he works for tips.
Overall...I could see this as a good tour for families and beginner-intermediates IF it came with better equipment and a guide who would at least pretend to have a little bit of fun.
*location error--corrected by owner. sorry!
Comment from Richard L. of
Maui Eco Tours
10/6/2009
Aloha. Just for accuracy sake, the Discovery tour takes…
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On another recommendation from my friend, we booked a kayak/snorkeling trip with Maui Eco Tours. We got a great deal online so be sure to check their website before your trip.
The week we went, the weather was a little bit unpredictable, so they called to reschedule our tour a few days before our trip. Since we were only in Maui a few days, we ended up having to reschedule to another tour, but it turned out to be fantastic because while we were snorkeling we ended up seeing about 12 sea turtles which was the most the guide said he'd ever seen. Be warned that the kayaking is not easy especially for people like me who don't have incredible upper body strength. You can kayak tandem on solo, but if you're like me I definitely recommend tandem. The kayaking was beautiful, but if you get seasick remember to take proper precautions before leaving. Since the conditions on the island were pretty bad the snorkeling spots on the tour were more crowded than usual, but we were able to get there a little bit earlier than the other groups so we had some time to ourselves.
The lunch we had afterward was light and refreshing though one of our friends needed an extra snack once we got back to our condo. Overall a great experience and a fun activity on Maui.
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I took the "Discovery" Introduction Kayak/Snorkel Tour in Maui during my stay there for my cousin's wedding. The majority of my family took this tour. It was very good for beginners. We kayaked out past several swimming turtles and finally set anchor to snorkel around. It was deep, but I was still able to spot swimming turtles and fish among all the coral. After some snorkeling, we kayaked back to shore and ate a lunch box of chicken skewers and juice. The guide was knowledgeable, and I had a great time.
There are different tours depending on what you want to do. Ours was the "easier" hike to a waterfall tour. Mark picked us and a few other small groups up and we got a nice tour of the entire north west of the island (wait, is that right? Geography is not my specialty) He also gave us free coffee and a continental breakfast.
Even though it was wet and often rainy, we had a great hike down to the falls. Even our four year old could do it, and those paths were narrow, rocky and slippery! We jumped off a short cliff into some 65 degree water for a refreshing dip. We hiked back up again learning more about flora and fauna and ending with some huge cookies. Mark also drove us to a small banana bread stand (DELICIOUS!) where I bought some macadamia nuts and coconut candy.
I definitely recommend doing some kind of hiking tour. Just wear industrial strength bug-off. (We all did spritz down before the trip but I guess it wasn't good enough for me) I had to deal with 49, yes FORTY-NINE bug bites for the duration of the trip. Not cool being all pale legs and red welts on the beaches after that.
a little bit of paddle, a little bit of swimming, and a LOT of wonderful ocean friends and fauna await you with maui eco tours!
some useful basic info for you:
- the tour starts off at makena landing, a public and well-maintained launching beach (it's less than a mile wide). there are public restrooms and a proper parking lot - yay!
- the guide sits in front of a white van with a small label for maui eco tours - there are a number of other vans holding kayaks around, so make sure you go to the right one!
- minimize your valuables - because even though you can bring them on the kayak with you in a water tight bag, you just never know if your kayak is going to flip (our guide taught us well, so we didn't flip!)
- if you can wave your hands in the air like you just don't care, you can paddle a kayak! :)
chris, our guide, was unpretentious and very surfer-dude. i think the one thing that stood out was that he was really keen on protecting the ocean wildlife - he even told off another tour's snorkeler for trying to pet our friend, the sea turtle! =O good on ya for your integrity chris! he explained things well and very loudly while we were swimming around, and was patient as our small group jumped in and out of our kayaks very ungracefully.
highlights of the tour:
- swimming with the sea turtles! we found a cave and there were so many of them bobbing up and swimming *with* us! weeee!
- pufferfish all over and beautiful colorful fish swimming in two-zies! i like how fishes always swim in groups and are not loners -- much like me! keke!
- floating freely in the deep blue ocean and soaking up some sun and great scenery of the kihei coast.
- paddle at your own pace, munchie snacks passed out half way for energy
- the warm glow of sunshine on your skin after a fulfilling 3 hour tour!
with three snorkel stops along the way, we definitely were fulfilled snorkelers! the trip is well spent, as it's unlikely you'd be able to see all of the goodies by just launching off the nearest beach. you gotta paddle to peruse the posh coral! :D i am still giddy with delight at meeting my new ocean friends.
thanks maui eco tours!
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I can not recommend Maui Eco-Tours enough. We went on the Xplorer trip and it was the highlight of our vacation. This is mostly due to our guide, John. He took us via kayak to several coves that were packed with wildlife, all of which he was extremely knowlegeable. He got in the water with us, explained what we were seeing, and brought various creatures to the surface that were safe (for us and for them!) to touch. They keep you in a very small groups, I think there were about ten of us, so you don't feel like you're being taken on the tourist train. Only thing I would say is remember to reapply your sunscreen.. you're going to have so much fun and be so cool in the water that you're likely to forget and be one crisp cookie!
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