Maui Whale Watching Tour

2HR Maui Whale Watch Tour & Discount Whale Watch

Adventure Whale Watch Tour. Eco-Rafting Vessels.

Depart Lahaina Harbor and search for whales along Maui’s coast and towards the island of Lanai.

bserve the Northern Pacific Humpback Whale displaying behaviors related to mating and raising their young.

Listen to whale songs on our hydrophone onboard.

earn about Maui, humpback whales and Hawaiian history from your Marine Naturalist Guide.v

Small group rafting whale watch tour for <16 guests. Low-to-water rafting vessels allow for eye-level whale encounters. Guaranteed whale sighting or go again free. Whale encounters vary in their natural habitat.

Hydrophone for listening to whale songs. Educational talks by our Marine Naturalist. Complimentary Reef Safe Sunscreen available. Purified water and biodegradable cups onboard.

Bring towels, hat, sunglasses, reef safe sunscreen or a sun shirt! BYOB ok, just no glass containers.

Expect to get wet on the rafting tour. Dress accordingly and bring a waterproof bag for personal items.

Camera or GoPro for photos and videos Gratuity for crew (Venmo accepted)

Due to our style of vessel and activities, no children under 3 on tours, no pregnant or persons with back or neck injuries.

Please no spray sunscreen, rub on reef safe sunscreen is welcome.

At least 24 hour notice for cancellations and refunds. For parties of 5 or more, 72 hours notice is required.

Tours may be canceled or rescheduled by Hawaii Ocean Rafting due to capacity or weather.

We’ve been sharing our award winning Maui whale watching tours for more than 30 years with visitors from around the world.

Our rafting vessels are low to the water, giving guests the opportunity for eye-level encounters with humpback whales. Our rafts are small-group tours for <16 or less guests, giving every guest an oceanfront seat on the boat. The small group also means one-on-one education with our marine naturalists who are sharing info and answering questions about Maui’s amazing humpback whales. The humpback whale migration to Maui is one of the most popular reasons to visit Maui. From December to April, humpback whales migrate to Maui, most residing in the Maui Nui Basin located between Lahaina, Maui and Lanai. Encountering humpback whales in the wild is something you don’t want to miss while visiting Maui!

While Kohola (whales) have been a part of Hawaiian culture since the beginning as reflected in the chant of creation which tells the story of the birth of the whales in the ocean, they are rarely mentioned in legends and only a few petroglyphs have been found with images of whales. Historians don’t know if this is due to there being fewer whales in Hawaii previously or if they were considered sacred and their information kept secret.

Kohola also refers to a flat reef which can resemble a whale when the waves wash over the reef causing spray similar to a whale spout. An earlier Hawaiian word for whales was palaoa, more specifically referring to sperm whales.

Two of Hawaii’s few whale petroglyphs can be found on Maui and Lanai. The whale depiction on Lanai is located at Palaoa Hill, the other whale drawing can be found in Olowalu, Maui.

When toothed whales washed ashore, their teeth were considered prized possessions and were made into leis for ali’i (royalty). Other items like fish hooks were also made from their teeth.

Whales or Koholoa are also considered ‘aumakua in Hawaiian culture, ancestors that have returned as spirit guides and guardians for their ohana. Entire species were not considered ’aumakua, rather a special encounter with a particular animal may indicate the presence of an ancestor seeking to communicate, comfort or assist their family. The ‘aumakua wouldn’t perma- nently reside within that animal, rather they can possess both inanimal and living things to be there for their family.

Humpback whales migrate from Alaska back to Maui every year to mate, give birth and raise their young. Surface behavior displays communication between males competing for a female in a competition pod, male and females trying to get the attention of the other and mom teaching their young.

Some of the most frequent whale behaviors you will see have moves that have been given names!

Pec Fin Slap

Humpback whales will use their large (sometimes up to 15 feet) pec fins to make noise while slapping the surface of the water. This big splash gets the attention of other whales and of course whale watchers! Often they repeat this move dozens of times! Breach

The famous breach is a fan favorite. Hard to imagine a 40 ton animal propelling itself out of the water in one intense leap, but that’s what breaching is! Swimming up to 18 mph gives the whale enough momentum to breach. Researchers speculate that whales breach to clean themselves and remove things like barnacles. They also believe they breach to communicate, exercise

and just have fun!

Head Lunge

Humpback whales most frequently use head lunges when fighting with other male whales in a competition pod. They will often lunge their heads out of the water to also clean themselves and communicate.

Spy Hop

When a humpback whale sticks it’s nose out of the water it’s called a spy hop. This move allows them to look above the water, often curious whales will do this near the whale watching boat. In that case we wonder who is actually watching who!

Mugging

When a humpback whale decides to approach a vessel within the 100 yard boundaries we refer to this as a mugging. To protect the whale, vessels turn off engines and allow the whale to “mug” the boat, while onlookers get to enjoy this amazing close whale encounter.

While humpback whales can be seen almost anywhere on Maui, the majority of humpback whales reside along the west coast of Maui, in front of Lahaina Harbor.

Because of the shallow water between Maui and her neighbor island of Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe, the Maui Nui Basin became the residing place of choice for the majority of humpback whales migrating to Hawaii. The reef along Maui’s west coast and Lahaina, known as Olowalu is a favorite resting place for moms with calves. The milder weather in Lahaina due to the protected West Maui mountains,also makes it the top place to whale watch from. This is also why the Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary designated these waters a protected place for humpback whales.

From shore you can see whales along the Pali and pull off to watch at the McGregor Point parking lot overlooking Maalaea Harbor. During peak migration months you can watch whales breaching from your balcony if you are staying in Lahaina, Kaanapali or the upper west side of Maui.

For closer whale encounters boat tours take you to search for whales displaying active surface behavior. While we do not approach whales closer than federal regulations, often whales will come to our boats, making for eye-level experience on our low to water rafting style vessels.