The island of West Maui is a perfect place to explore, relax and experience a bit of adrenaline rush. It has scenic mountains to hike, bike, or even horse ride. It’s the exact place you’re looking for if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the metro. West Maui offers numerous restaurants, local shops, comfy accommodations with stunning oceanfront views, and delicious aloha cuisine you need to have.
One reason why visitors keep on coming back to West Maui is because of its rich nature experience. You can set yourself to a different level of inland and water adventure. However, if you want more thrills, you should go scuba diving. You don’t want to leave the island without exploring several beaches and experiencing scuba diving at its finest.
West Maui Scuba diving locations
Scuba diving is one of the most exciting activities you can do in West Maui. If you are ready to tan your skin and dive under the sea, you need to know the top scuba diving spots to explore.
Honolua Bay
Honolua Bay is one spectacular and famous diving spot in West Maui. Before you can get right at Honolua Bay, you need to get through a jungle and request permission since it’s a privately-owned property.
Head on to the North of the bay, and you’ll find the perfect snorkeling spot. Moreover, if you want a real scuba diving experience, you can explore both sides of the bay. However, there are moments where you’ll encounter North, Northwest, and West swell activity. These are waves that you don’t want to play with, or else it’ll take you farther.
Kapalua Bay
Kapalua Bay is a white sand beach with two reefs extending out, making a C-shaped cove. The cove is the perfect exploration for scuba diving and snorkelers. Unlike any other bay, you don’t have to worry about swell activities here because it has calm water, ideal for kids and beginners in snorkeling and scuba diving.
You can access Kapalua Bay through the Lower Honoapiilani Road. If you want to park your car safely, you can find the bay parking right between Merriman’s Restaurant and Napili Kai Beach Resort.
Napili Bay
Napili Bay is a sandy beach with a slightly steep entry and lively reefs on both sides. Although it has some protruding rocks and sandy middle, it’s still a go-to place for scuba divers. In fact, the North and South sides of the bay offer more interesting reefs for you to enjoy while scuba diving.
The bay also has large green sea turtles exploring the area, often with some butterflyfish. If you haven’t seen a sleeping Monk Seal yet, Napili Bay is its habitat where you can find it. However, beware of the large waves and rip currents here if you are not an experienced swimmer.
Kahekili Park
Kahekili Park, also known as Airport Beach, is ideal for beginner to intermediate scuba divers. You’ll see lots of intro scuba diving lessons here for beginners due to its calm and shallow water. Its outer reef has depths of 25 feet to 47 feet and 40 to 150 feet visibility ranges. You can reach the reef 25 feet from the shore.
This dive site features a colorful reef, unique Hawaiian green sea turtles, and peculiar HawksBill turtles. You can access Kahekili Park through a 2-minute walk on a grassy field right from the parking area of the bay.
Black Rock Point
Based on its name, you could tell Black Rock Point is a rocky outcrop diving site. It is located on the North end of Ka’anapali Beach, and Hawaiians used to call it Pu’uKeka’a. This is also one of the tourist attractions for cliff jumping. If you want to try cliff jumping, make sure you know how to properly do it because climbing to the rock itself is a real challenge at Black Rock Point.
If you do a little research about Black Rock, you’d know that it’s a place where it’s said that ancient Hawaiians’ spirits jump so they can be with their ancestors. But setting aside these beliefs, it is indeed an exceptional place for scuba diving, snorkeling, and cliff jumping.
Olowalu
Olowalu is another beginner-friendly scuba diving site. It has a dive depth of 35 feet. The underwater world would give you superb scenes of eagle rays, eels, lots of turtles, and shy octopuses. If you want to do more than just ‘testing the waters,’ go scuba diving at Olowalu.
The pride of Olowalu is its 50 acres of coral garden with plenty of large green sea turtles. It is a famous Maui snorkeling spot. However, you need to know that the water here is full of sharks. The runoff coming from local streams brings in small fish, and then bigger fish tends to follow. Sharks can threaten scuba divers here, so be cautious in this area.
Find comfort before and after scuba diving
Scuba diving in West Maui is a fantastic experience to look for. However, you should also not forget to settle your accommodation where you can rest before and after your scuba diving adventure. There are many places where you can check in the island of West Maui, but you might want to choose the one that can give you easy access to the dive spots discussed above.
Kahana Village is convenient and popular for tourists seeking vacation rentals and accommodations. It is strategically located at the Lower Honoapiilani Road, Kahana Village, so you can quickly come and go to different tourist spots you want to explore. It offers condo units ideal for both small and large groups of visitors. They also have modern facilities to satisfy the comfort you need after your wholesome adventure.
Ready to go scuba diving? We at Kahana Village offer beachfront accommodations so you can experience even more water adventures just steps from your home away from home. Worry no more about parking fees and resort fees, because we won’t charge you for it. Call (808) 669-5111 today to reserve your accommodation before visiting West Maui.