Whale Watching Experience
Recommended by 99% of travelers
Maui, USA
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Skip the 150-person cruises and go whale-watching on an intimate vessel—better for you, better for the whales. Depart from Ka'anapali Beach at 2435 Kaanapali Pkwy, Lahaina, and enjoy Hawaiian views and talks from the onboard animal behaviorist until the splashing and spouting distract your eye. Going out in both calm and choppy waters, with any luck, you’ll get up close and personal with these titanic-hearted creatures.
- Learn about—and hopefully see—Humpback whales in their natural habitat
- Get as close as possible for fantastic views and photos of the majestic creatures
- Easy meetup with your captain at Ka'anapali Beach
- Get a better, more intimate wildlife experience on a smaller vessel
What's Included
- Soda/PopWe will provide sodas and waters during the tour.
- Bottled water
- Don’t forget Tips for the Crew! (Cash or Venmo)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 2435 Kaanapali Pkwy, Lahaina, HI 96761, USA
Check in is directly on Ka'anapali Beach in front of Whaler's Village. We will be doing check in a half hour before your scheduled departure time. Look for the crew wearing our green The Magic Merman shirts. We will be standing on the beach between Leilani's restaurant and The Westin Hotel.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Vanessa_H
Super fun and exciting experience. We saw many whales and learned a lot about their behavior. We will definitely do this tour again!
Reviews
4.9
based on 156 reviews
Vanessa_H, Mar 2026
Super fun and exciting experience. We saw many whales and learned a lot about their behavior. We will definitely do this tour again!
JeanneM_K, Mar 2026
Comfortable boat. Great captain and Shasta and Kristin were great. Austin was so accommodating. They take care of all passengers. Water soft drinks.
They get 5 stars❤️ Oh and we saw many whales!
Bryan_V, Jan 2026
Convenient location at Whalers Village. Knowledgeable captain and marine biology training about whales. Had a speaker to list to the whales.
Daniel_K, Dec 2025
It was outstanding and the crew were the best!!!!
Well worth a try! Learned some much about the Humpbacks behavior!!
Laura_D, Dec 2025
This is experience was incredible. The boat is small and safe, built for the Coast Guard. Everyone gets a seat. Boat is covered with a canopy which helps with the sun. The team is small, only a four person company. They truly care about the passengers and the animals. Super knowledgeable and they had a good read on where to take us. We saw a baby whale, a playful guy who stayed at the surface for quite awhile and waved at us several times, slapping his fin in the water. Then at the end, they heard there was a whale competition where males were fighting over a female so we hightailed it over there. Saw at least 6 males, amazing. Obviously if you are prone to motion sickness, be prepared. But they have tricks to help you so speak up if you need it. They also have a cooler of cold drinks on board and sunscreen. They thought of everything to make this experience amazing.
Anna_T, Feb 2025
What an amazing time! The crew was super knowledgeable and gave us plenty of interesting facts about the whales. They even got us up close to several groups…including one whale coming right up to the boat. We went in the morning after the sun came up so it felt like the whales were super active and getting the day started. It was nice being on a smaller boat with a smaller group of people as everyone was able to see everything. We would definitely recommend!
Casey_B, Feb 2025
Great experience. The guys were super friendly and knowledgeable! They were also conscientious of the environmental recommendations.
Melissa_W, Feb 2025
Was absolutely epic. Highly recommend. The captain and staff were informative and very hospitable. We saw multiple whales during our tour.
Brad_C, Jan 2025
We had the best time and would recommend this excursion. Lots of
Whales and three close up breaches. The guides were well informed and cheerful.
Chuck_H, Jan 2025
We had the most incredible time on this whale watching experience.
The crew was very informative and was quick in locating the whales. Because the boat is so close to the water. We were able to get very close to the whales as they swam by and played up against our boat. This experience was a dream come true!!!
Andrew_H, Dec 2024
Great experience and highly recommend to anyone traveling solo or with a family. It is safe, fun and they do their best to get you as close as safely
Possible to see the whales.
CHARLOTTE_R, Mar 2024
The trip was informative and we saw several groups of mothers. babies, and escorts
The grand kids loved the trip!
Thank you,
Amy_S, Feb 2024
Had a great time! Location was nice due to close proximity to resorts. Lots of Whales late Jan early Feb. Only reason for 4 stars is to get on and off the main boat requires a dinghy. Was not a problem for me but kids had a hard time and other people with limited mobility could get hurt in the on or off process. A few fell into the sand and water with big waves raising the potential for injury. Would be better with a dock but understandable due to the recent fire in Lahaina. Otherwise seating is the best I have seen in smaller vessels. Drinks and toilet onboard. Well worth it.
Response from Host, Feb 2024
Thank you for the review.
Nancy_C, Dec 2023
We were able to be closer to the whales than the larger boats! The captain was fun and informative and played great music as well to enhance the experience which I found fun. We even ad Dolphins come up to and around the boat!
Response from Host, Feb 2024
The raft style boats are the best way to go for snorkeling and whale watching. We truly appreciate your review and we hope to see you again soon.
sanjay_c, Dec 2023
Tour guides know nothing about the experience. Navigator instead of looking for whales just kept chatting with customers. Worst experience ever
Response from Host, Feb 2024
You did not go on my tour. We did not run any whale watching tours prior to January 1st, 2024. You are leaving a fraudulent review against an honest business that is struggling to survive following the Lahaina fires. I find this review to be tasteless and disrespectful and I expect it to be removed immediately.
Juli, Mar 2023
The staff was very Friendly and informative.
I liked the small group size and the boat allowed you to be close to the water.
Mgilmer8, Feb 2023
Really liked the smaller boat with less people. Saw whales up close. We did get wet but we expected that. It’s was very windy. Great trip.
Dina_N, Jan 2023
This tour was an experience of a lifetime. Bradley was our captain and Bethany was the marine biologist. She knew so much and was so knowledgeable. It really enhanced the experience. Within our first few minutes out, we experienced a couple of males fighting for the attention of a female who had a young calf with her. Most likely the calf was born within the past 24 hours. About an hour, and we had a close-up experience with a couple humpback whales. They were curious about us, and would go under our boat and around our boat and we were literally looking at them straight in the eye. It is an experience we will never forget. The boat was close to the water and perfect for experiencing an up close and personal observation. If you book the store, you will not be disappointed. Thank you Bradley and Bethany for the experience of a lifetime.
Shaun_D, Mar 2022
Brilliant experience with a great crew! Saw plenty of whales, despite it being the end of season - would highly recommend!
Ryan_C, Mar 2022
Great staff and safety oriented. Went out on a choppy day. Conditions were rough. The crew still made great experience out of it and safely got us back to our original destination.
Kelley_H, Jan 2022
I can’t say enough about our experience. This is a small, but first class team. Well organized and well run. Boat was perfect. Everyone was extremely knowledgeable about the whales and always made sure to respect their space yet put us right in the action. It was an amazing experience thanks to the whales as well as the crew! If you are looking for an amazing, personal whale watching experience, this is it.
Jacqueline_B, Jan 2022
Having the whales approach the boat and swim right under us! Spectacular! The animal behaviorist was so knowledgeable and entertaining too!
Jamey_W, Jan 2022
The best whale watch ever. We were literally in whale jail 2 times. What that means in you have to sit still because the whales are within 100 feet of you.
They were swimming under our boat.
It was the coolest thing ever!
Vilija_A, Jan 2022
Having a whale naturalist on board was great, answered all our questions. Very friendly staff and being in a raft style boat made you feel closer to the whales than a larger boat. Almost felt like we could reach out and touch the whales. Yet also felt perfectly safe.
Leora_B, Jan 2022
Wonderful whales and guides. Fun boat trip too. Saw many active whales - males competing, moms and calves. Got close enough
Chasidi_W, Jan 2022
My husband and I went on this trip the afternoon of 12/31/21. We worried the rain clouds in the distance would put a damper on our tour, and it did, partially.
Also, it should be mentioned whether rain is on the horizon or not you will get wet so dress appropriately. The directions were spot on and when we were met on the beach we put our shoes in a tub. After a few minutes a few at a time were brought to a small “dingy” you will then push into the ocean and hop in. I can only assume the majority of people flop into this like our group did, and it’s probably always comical for the guides (lol), it was comical for us at least. We were then taken to a larger raft style boat, and this is about the time it started raining on us. It ended up raining about 90% of the time, and it seemed to be challenging to find calmer waters. The tour guides were apologetic, but of course they cannot control the weather. We did see whales, and the baby even got really close to our boat around the time we got a 10 minute break in the rain. It was a really beautiful experience that of course would have been better in sunny weather, again no fault of the tour. We did have to leave out before another storm blew in, it looked a little worse than the first one. I was delighted we were getting to go back, I didn’t want to deal with another round of pelting rain. Hoping out of the dingy onto the beach you will get quite wet again, which is no big deal, and was actually really warm compared to the rain. On the beach we were offered a Monday tour (this was offered on the boat as well), or a refund. I would appreciate at least a 50% refund since this could have been canceled ahead of time due to weather conditions. We would have taken the Monday tour if we were still in town.
In fact a few hours before departure time it was canceled due to a large group that canceled, and within minutes they called back and it was back on. I can’t help to think maybe the initial cancellation was partially due to incoming weather. We were staying nearly a hour away so our weather was bright and sunny, we didn’t see the rain until we were close to Lahaina.
All in all…..I would recommend to a friend and we would do it again, if it was going to be nice weather. :-)
Thanks for the adventure! All the guides were kind and had good energy.
sabine_c, Feb 2024
Très belle activité , bien organisée . Juste un peu galère pour les trouver sur la plage . Mais tout s’est bien passé !
From $102.20
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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