Molokini Crater

Molokini Crater is approximately 4 miles off the South Maui Coastline in the Makena area and is a Marine Life Conservation District. Molokini offers the best scuba diving on Maui. The waters are clear almost every day of the year. There are several dive and snorkel boats that visit Molokini on a daily basis. Unfortunately, that places as many as 2000 or more people in the water at one time, most of them snorkelers which are inside the crater. The larger snorkel tour boats tie off to mooring pins along the curve of the inside wall.

The scuba dive boats tie off to mooring buoys inside the crater and/or drift with their divers after getting them in the water.

The currents vary from day to day and can be strong along the outside of the crater.

The diving is good inside the crater and depths can reach over 100 feet. In my opinion the best diving at Molokini is outside the crater at "Reef's End" and the "Back Wall." Depths can reach over 300 feet so one must closely monitor their depth gauge. Boats operating out of the Kihei Harbor are closest to Molokini with only a 15 to 20 minute boat ride. The larger snorkel boats leave from Ma'alaea Harbor making it about a 45 to 60 minute ride. I strongly advise against taking boats out of the Lahaina area unless you are seeking a long boat ride. The Trade Winds come up around noon almost daily and this makes for a rough ride back, especially to the Lahaina area. The picture below will give you some idea of the layout of Molokini Crater.

A: Inside the crater. This area will be occupied by many snorkel boats along the wall as well as dive boats at the mooring buoys which would be mostly located at the area known as Reef's End (B.) The diving is good with depths up to 100 feet. This is the most crowded area of Molokini Crater.

B: "Reef's End"  Dives begin inside the crater and continue outside along the reef at varying depths with a return to the boat by crossing over the top of the reef which can be as shallow as 6 feet . Another option is to start inside the crater, scuba along the outside reef, and continue on around the Back Wall getting picked up by the boat wherever you surface. This is one of, if not the best, dives at Molokini. Currents can be strong on the open ocean side of the reef. I prefer to do this dive by continuing around to the Back Wall but the individual dive operators have their own routines.

C: "Back Wall" Many boat operators will put their divers in at points along this area and retrieve them upon surfacing. This is also an excellent dive and an opportunity to do a wall dive if you have never done so. The depth along here is over 300 feet with crystal clear waters. The S/W corner area of the Back Wall quite often has a surge which can move you up and down like an elevator by as much as 10 feet, depending on conditions. Caution is advised here.

D: "Shark Ledges" This dive is inside the crater. Depths can reach 160 feet.  Currents can be very strong at the point where the inside and outside of the crater meet, and can pull you out and around towards the Back Wall. You can feel the current building so as to avoid it if the dive profile is to remain inside the crater.

Does snorkeling and scuba diving mix?

No. That's my opinion when it comes to charter boats here on Maui. For the most part the scuba divers don't get the best diving and the snorkelers don't get the best snorkeling. Snorkeling is usually best in shallow water and scuba diving varies depending on the dive site. One exception to mixing both on the same boat is for a family/group who want to stay together and some of them don't scuba dive. If you want to snorkel, take a snorkel boat. If you want to scuba dive, take a dive boat.

Mike Severns Diving  is an excellent dive boat operator out of the Kihei Boat Harbor in South Maui.

A couple of snorkel boat companies that use fast moving boats are Seafire and Blue Water Rafting. These boats can get to snorkel sites quickly. This is a plus when it comes to changing snorkel spots due to poor visibility as well as spending less time out on the water. Both companies operate from the Kihei Boat Harbor. 

The Kihei Boat Harbor (boat launching ramp) is the closest boat facility to Molokini.

A word of caution about "guaranteed dive sites":

Molokini Crater is almost always 1 of the 2 dive sites when booking a 2 tank boat dive.

Do not be misled into believing you are guaranteed a Back Wall dive. Operators choose dive sites based on the experience of the divers on board the boat on the dive day. If any of the divers object, or are not qualified to dive the Back Wall, then it won't happen.

Maui Dive Shop is the only operator I am aware of that does a dedicated one tank Back Wall dive from their Kihei Harbor based boat. They give you a discount if you do the 3 tank dive package but be advised that involves two boat trips. First, a boat trip to Molokini for the Back Wall dive and a return trip to the Kihei Boat Ramp. Then a second trip to Molokini for 1 of 2 dives with the two tank trip customers.