Whale watching out of Lahaina since 2021, run by the same family behind Dive Maui. One boat, twenty seats, and groups kept small on purpose.
With people who could not stop thinking about something. For this family, that something is the ocean — and specifically the stretch of water between Maui and Lana‘i known as the Au‘au Channel, and the humpback whales that fill it every winter.
We are not a large operator and we have no ambition to become one. We are a family business based in Lahaina, running one boat, Hoku, with one clear purpose: to bring guests into genuine, unhurried contact with some of the most extraordinary animals on Earth.
Sharing the ocean with our daughter is one of the great pleasures of our lives, and it is most of the reason we care as much as we do about what is left of it.
Hoku is a 37-foot rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) powered by twin 300 hp low-emission outboards. She carries a maximum of 20 guests, which is roughly a seventh of what the big catamarans on this coast take out.
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We try to run this business as carefully as we can, and we would rather tell you specifically what we do than describe ourselves as eco-friendly and leave it there.
Hoku runs twin fuel-efficient outboards, which cuts both fuel burn and greenhouse emissions relative to older two-strokes.
Filtered water refills and paper cups aboard instead of bottled water. It is a small thing that adds up quickly across a season.
Oxybenzone and octinoxate are banned in Hawai‘i for good reason. We ask every guest to use reef-safe sunscreen, and we mean it.
We hold the 100-yard rule, we do not chase, and we do not jockey with other boats for a closer photo. If an animal wants distance, it gets it.
Every booking sends $1 to the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, which runs direct-action campaigns for marine wildlife worldwide.
Genuinely. If you see something we could run more responsibly, we would rather hear it than not. Get in touch.
The foundation, founded by the marine conservationist Paul Watson, runs grassroots direct-action campaigns to defend critically threatened marine wildlife. It is not a comfortable organisation, and that is rather the point.
A dollar a guest is not going to save an ocean. It is, however, a real amount of money moving from whale watching to whale defending, every single trip, and we would rather do that than print a leaf on our brochure.
Guests per trip
Max 20
Vessel
37′ RHIB
Guest rating
4.9 / 5
Per guest to conservation
$1
“Naturalist & Captain Marina were GREAT guides for our family of 13, ranging from 3-71 for our early morning whale watching. Their enthusiasm was infectious and their knowledge deep. “Best experience of my life, so far,” said our 11 yr old grandson. What a great Maui experience to see mother humpback whales teaching their babies to swim, breach, breathe, & dive. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!”
Mary Crawford · Google review
“The crew did an amazing job at providing us information about the whales and the islands as well as getting us about as close as you can get to a baby humpback, his momma and 2 escort whales. They were rolling right next to our boat and swimming under us almost the entire time. They were professional, on time and incredibly friendly — truly embracing everything Aloha!”
Shelly Lupo · Google review
“A wonderful whale watch experience! Renea was very knowledgeable and engaging. Justin got us lots of awesome whale sightings. It was a great last day on the water! A hui hou!!!”
Christina Montana · Google review
Twenty seats, a marine naturalist on every trip, and whales guaranteed. Daily from December 15 to April 12.
