Whale watching tours from Lahaina
Two trip lengths, five departures a day, twenty front-row seats on every one of them — and whales guaranteed.
Choose your trip
Same raft, same crew, same guarantee. The only question is how long you stay out there.
2 hours whale watch
$85 / adult
$60 per child, ages 3–12 · 2 hours on the water
Our signature trip, and the one our regulars book. The extra half hour is what lets us stay with a pod when it settles beside the boat, instead of turning for the harbor just as it gets good.
- Up to 2 hours on the water in the Au’au Channel
- Twenty front-row seats, eye level with the whales
- Hydrophone aboard — hear the males singing
- Marine naturalist and captain on every departure
- Filtered water, cups and rain ponchos aboard
- Whale sighting guarantee — or your money back
1.5 hours whale watch
$70 / adult
$50 per child, ages 3–12 · 1.5 hours on the water
Same raft, same crew, same guarantee, ninety minutes. The right call for young kids, or a day that already has a luau at the end of it.
- 90 minutes on the water in the Au’au Channel
- Twenty front-row seats, eye level with the whales
- Hydrophone aboard — hear the males singing
- Marine naturalist and captain on every departure
- Filtered water, cups and rain ponchos aboard
- Whale sighting guarantee — or your money back
Sunset Whale Watch
$85 / adult
$60 per child, ages 3–12 · 2 hours
The 3:45 pm departure, sold as its own trip: the same two hours on the water, finishing as the light goes gold over Lana‘i. The photographers’ pick, and often the liveliest surface activity of the day.
Book the sunset tripWhale Watch Bundle — buy 8, get 10
$680 for 10 seats
That is $68 a seat, against $85 on the day
Ten whale watch seats for the price of eight. For families who come back every winter, condo owners with a season of visitors, or anyone who plans to go more than once. Seats are shareable and valid all season.
Buy the bundlePrivate charter
$1,300 / 2 hours
Up to 20 guests · $1,000 for 1.5 hours
Hoku and her crew to yourselves. Any departure time, your own pace, and all twenty seats for your own people.
Private charter detailsDeparture times
We run five trips a day, every day, from December 15 to April 12. Whale activity is fairly steady across the day, so choose the conditions and the light you want.
| Departs | Trip | Why pick it |
|---|---|---|
| 6:45 am | Sunrise | Glassy water and the softest light of the day. The channel is usually at its calmest before the trade winds fill in. |
| 9:00 am | Morning | Our most popular departure. Good light, light wind, and plenty of surface activity. |
| 11:30 am | Midday | Bright, clear water — the best visibility for spotting whales below the surface as well as above it. |
| 1:30 pm | Afternoon | Competition pods are often most active later in the day, especially in February and March. |
| 3:45 pm | Golden hour | Warm low light off the West Maui Mountains. The photographers’ pick. |
Check in at 1223 Front Street, Lahaina thirty minutes before departure.
Hoku — 37 feet, 20 guests
A custom-built 37-foot rigid-hull inflatable boat (rhib) with twin 300 hp low-emission outboards. Have a look around her before you book — drag to spin the model, and tap a marker to see what you are looking at.
Drag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom · tap a marker for detail
- Full shade canopyShade over the seats for the midday trips, open sky at the rail for the photographers.
- Twenty front-row seatsEvery seat faces the water with a backrest behind it. Nobody watches over a shoulder.
- Low to the waterA rigid-hull inflatable sits at the surface, so a surfacing humpback meets you at eye level.
- Twin 300 HP outboardsFast out to the channel. Then we shut them down, drift, and let the whales come to us.
What that means once the whales show up
- 360-degree views with no cabin blocking the rail
- Outward-facing seats with proper backrests
- Large canopy for shade on the midday trips
- Sits low to the water, so you meet the whales at their eye level
- Fast enough to reach the whales quickly and spend the time where it counts
A rigid-hull inflatable is a livelier ride than a catamaran, which is part of the appeal — and the reason we cannot take guests under 3 or anyone pregnant.
What is included
- A naturalist on every trip — A marine naturalist rides alongside the captain on every departure, so your questions get answered while the whale is still in front of you.
- Hear them sing — We drop a hydrophone over the side and pipe the song through the boat. In January and February it is loud enough to feel in your chest.
- Whales guaranteed — If we do not find whales, you go again for free or take your money back — your choice. We have rarely had to honour it.
- Twenty front-row seats — Hoku is a 37-foot custom-built raft, not a 150-passenger catamaran. Every seat is on the water, and nobody is three rows back.
- Filtered water aboard — Refills and paper cups instead of single-use plastic bottles.
- Ponchos for the squalls — Kept aboard for the days a shower blows through. Some of our closest encounters have happened in the rain.
What to bring
- Sunglasses — polarised if you have them, they cut the glare and help you spot whales
- A hat that will stay on at 25 knots
- Reef-safe sunscreen (required — oxybenzone and octinoxate are banned in Hawai‘i)
- A camera or phone, ideally on a strap
- A light windbreaker for the early and late departures
- A reusable water bottle to refill aboard
Policies
- Guests must be at least 3 years old.
- We cannot take pregnant guests — a rigid-hull inflatable is a lively ride.
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
- Whales guaranteed: no whales, no charge — go again free or take a refund.
- Check in at 1223 Front Street 30 minutes before your departure time.
Tour questions
When is whale season in Maui?
Humpbacks are in Maui waters from roughly November through April, and our own season runs daily from December 15 to April 12. February and March are the peak — that is when the greatest number of whales, the most surface activity and the highest concentration of mothers with calves are all in the channel at once.
Will I definitely see whales?
In peak season, almost certainly. We back it with a whale sighting guarantee: if we do not find whales on your trip, you can come again for free or take a full refund. No arguing about it.
How close do you get to the whales?
Federal law sets the minimum at 100 yards from a humpback in Hawaiian waters, and we hold to it. What we can do is shut down the engines and wait — and whales regularly close that distance themselves out of curiosity. Because Hoku sits low to the water, a whale that surfaces beside us is genuinely at eye level, which is a very different thing from looking down off an upper deck.
What is the best time of day to go?
Whale activity is fairly steady across the day, so pick the conditions you want. Early morning is the calmest water and the softest light. Midday gives the clearest blue water for spotting whales under the surface. The 3:45 pm golden-hour trip is the photographers’ choice. Competition pods are often liveliest in the afternoon.
How many people are on the boat?
A maximum of 20, and often fewer. Hoku is a 37-foot rigid-hull inflatable with outward-facing seats, so everybody is on a rail with an unobstructed view. Large catamarans on this coast run 100 to 150 passengers.
Is it suitable for children?
Yes, from age 3 and up, and children’s pricing runs to age 12. A rigid-hull inflatable is a livelier ride than a big catamaran, which most kids love. If anyone in your group is prone to seasickness, take medication an hour before you board and choose an early departure when the water is flattest.
Can I swim with the whales?
No, and neither can anyone else legally. Approaching a humpback within 100 yards by any means — boat, swimmer, drone or paddleboard — is prohibited in Hawai‘i under federal law. Any operator offering to put you in the water with a humpback is breaking it.
What happens if the weather is bad?
We run in most conditions, and some of our best sightings have come on grey days. If the captain judges the sea state genuinely unsafe we cancel and you are rebooked or refunded in full — we will not take a boat out in conditions we would not put our own family on.
Pick your departure
Five a day through the season, whales guaranteed on all of them. Free cancellation to 24 hours before you sail.