So, the previous Saturday we were signed up for the Molokini experience on the "newest and biggest" boat in the fleet - if you are at all interested in snorkeling Molokini, you'll immediately know which boat I'm referring to. We paid our $135 per person and were fully expecting the time of our lives. Once they had us out of the berth and on our way, they made the announcement that the wind was too high and they were ditching Molokini for Turtle Town instead. Now, if you know the island at all, you know you can access Turtle Town from the beach very easily - just go to Boss Frogs and rent your snorkeling gear for a FRACTION of the cost and have at it! It was VERY disappointing to miss out on Molokini, and frankly they KNEW before they left that was the case - they should have announced before departure and given us a chance to cancel and get a refund - better business practice all the way around - but in a "touristy" type of business I guess they are not too worried about repeat business. Bottom line, WAY over priced for what you got. Now, on the other hand you have the great folks on the Malolo, the object of this review - since we were so disappointed in missing out on Molokini (the highlight of all the snorkeling shows!), we decided to try again the following Saturday before we left to return home. The price was less than HALF of the "other big boat" guys, and these experienced gents got us into Molokini to snorkel - guess who WAS'NT there that same day with us......... you guessed it, the "big boat" boys were once again stymied by the "hurricane" force winds (wink wink!), while we had a wonderful time leisurely snorkeling with only 35 other folks from our boat (rather than over a 100 for the "big boat" guys). Now THIS was the Molokini experience we were looking for, and advertised and DELIVERED quite well by the crew of the Malolo! If you are looking for the same experience, stick with the local crews and smaller boats, exemplified by the good folks who own and run the Malolo! read more

The crew was incredibly friendly and professional and you can tell they really love their jobs. We have two small kids and they helped us out and were just plain awesome. This is a good boat to go out on! One of the best days of my life. read more

Our party of ten had a good time on this half day excursion to Molokini and Turtle Town. There are lots of boats that do this circuit. We were on Malolo which is one of three vessels for this company. Pluses: - Our group discount for this boat brought our price down to $60 per person. - The crew of the Malolo was awesome. Captain Ed, Morgan and John made a special effort to take care of the passengers. They were safety conscious but still cool and very personable. In fact they were the best part of the trip - We had plenty of new snorklers on our trip and the crew was supportive and encouraging to get them going. Minuses: - There were very few fish at Molokini! Even though the water was a beautiful deep blue and visibility was out to 70+ feet, we only saw a few of one species. For me this was the main reason for the trip and I was disappointed my kids didn't see the variety we saw in Honoloa Bay and Black Beach in Kaanapali. - Malolo, the boat, is sturdy but slow. We made just over 12 mph so the transit to Molokini took an hour. It was a good 20 min from there to "Turtle Town" where we saw five turtles and nice coral formations. Then it was 45-60 min back to the harbor. We spent more time in transit than in the water. - If you are claustrophobic or get motion sickness, this may not be for you. There were about 45-50 passengers on our boat so we were packed in pretty good. We were lucky to have fairly smooth seas, but even then at least two people got sea sick. This is a voyage across open ocean so be prepared. - Those in my party were pretty wiped out by the trip. Because it starts so early you'll want a nap in the afternoon. And since you're moving on the ocean the whole time, you may still feel like you're on a boat for the rest of the day. Best advice: if you like boats and want a nice adventure on the ocean to enjoy awesome views and a day excursion, take some Dramamine and go for it. Gather a group and negotiate the price down. $110 is overpriced for what you get. If you want to see lots of fish, rent snorkel gear and hit the reefs along the shore on Maui. You'll save LOTS of money and will probably see more fish. Whatever you do, the island is beautiful and you can't go wrong. read more

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DO NOT book this company for any snorkeling related activities on trip advisor. A complete tourist trap. As advertised on trip advisor, this company advertised Molokini crater and the coral gardens as a "bonus". We didn't go to the crater and when I called the next day asking about the false advertisement, they mentioned it's either they go to the crater or the gardens but their "marketing team must've made a mistake" because this was not advertised in this description, pictures, or fine details. Please save your money and go with a company with integrity! read more

We had so much fun! The staff was just so great and the experience was unforgettable! Thank you guys!

The staff was friendly. Hence 2 stars. The snorkel cruise was advertised to go to Molokini. When we arrived for our afternoon excursion we were told that 90% of the time the afternoon cruise goes to a different location due to wind. We had better snorkeling off the beach at black rock. Don't book an afternoon excursion if you want to go to Molokini. It's a waste of money. read more

We had a group of six on our adventure aboard the Malolo. The boat was fully booked and had around 40 people total on it. The staff was fantastic, I can't say enough good things about them. They were helpful with every aspect of our tour and super friendly and funny. While at Molokini the swell picked up and we were unable to travel to Turtle Town, but were able to have extra time at Molokini and had a blast. The waves became a bit much for me and left me a bit seasick while in the water. The staff was more than willing to help me back on the boat, seat me where the movement was the least and gave me a bunch of ginger ale to settle my queazy stomach - it worked. The ride back was awesome, lots of big waves which doused everyone on the front of the boat with water causing eruptions of laughter. It was a ton of fun. I really appreciated the relatively small number of people in comparison to some of the other ships. This may not be the fanciest boat out there, but it was perfect for what we were looking for and I would recommend it to anyone. read more

Boyfriend and I had a great time on this snorkeling trip to Coral Gardens! The two for one deal made the trip very affordable, and we were very happy with the price point for $3 mai tais. We didn't get to see any sea turtles but saw lots of different types of fish and a couple eels. While there, we saw the more expensive Four Winds at the same spot, so I say save money and go for this one. The crew was very friendly! We packed a lunch and enjoyed our time on the water! Definitely a highlight of our Maui vacation! read more

We had a blast with our crew going out to Molokini Crater! They were so welcoming and took the time to make sure each and every person was having a great time. I highly recommend this company!! The groups are also smaller due to COVID which makes for a much more comfortable ride. They do not disappoint!! read more

We went whale watching with Malolo Charters. It was a fantastic experience! The crew was as excited as we were to see the whales jumping and putting on a show. Very friendly and hospitable crew made the trip memorable. read more

Excellent snorkeling! We did the crater and turtle town. Breakfast and lunch is served on board-even alcoholic drinks. Crew was very helpful with being a first time snorkeler. Such a fun day! read more

We booked this for our group last minute on their website and received a booking confirmation and everything. The next day we woke up at 4:45 to get to the dock in time to check in only for them to tell us the reservation didn't go through and that we could not get on the boat. I don't understand how the reservation could have gone through if they did not have room for more people. This left us with nothing, all the other boats were booked and we had several kids who were extremely disappointed because they thought they would be able to snorkel. Unacceptable. read more

On the way to Molokini we were encouraged to rent wet suits-the Captain Ed said the waters were 20 degrees colder than our body temp and said we'd need to get out every 15 minutes if we didn't wear one. He told us to see Freddy to get one if interested. I decided to get one for my son and asked Freddy if I could try out the water without one and if I decided then to rent one I could-he said "of course"! I rented one of their cameras since my personal go-pro SD card was full. It was a basic point and shoot-and while it had underwater settings, it was not specifically meant to be great for underwater (I'd think they would want to offer something better for the rental cost of $40 at the end you get a CD instead of an SD card...a bit outdated plus the battery life is about 15-20 minutes). When we arrived and the anchor was set, we were told where to stay once we got in the water and given the basic do's and don't's. People had started getting in when Scotty was approached by several people who wanted to get wetsuits, and he, as well as the Captain, started to get noticeably frustrated before Scotty said, "you were all told 3 times to see Freddy to get a wetsuit on the way out here, so were not going to do that now!" It was an unexpected rude response and unreasonable, not to mention Scotty lost about $50 in sales-made no sense! Then a couple wanted to rent a camera, but Freddy had already gotten into the water as he was to be in the water keeping an eye on everyone; Scotty told them-"I don't deal with the cameras, umm, hold on! FREDDY!" After calling Freddy over he was insistent that he was to help with renting the camera out, that he doesn't "do the cameras". Another $40 sale lost...wow! The water was cool but by no means was a wet suit necessary-at all! The camera kept shutting off, and when I came back to the boat, I told Scotty and he made me find Freddy-who was in the water keeping everyone safe-to get the situation remedied. He immediately determined it was a dead battery and headed for the boat to ask the captain to put a new one in it. A couple of minutes later I was handed the camera and it worked fine. However after just a few minutes, we were called back to the boat-they said our hour was up! I spent most of the time dealing with the camera they rented to me and that was disappointing. After boarding back on the boat-we were taken to turtle town--a place you can get to on your own by driving we found out! While there we saw two GIANT turtles-it was amazing! Also saw puffer fish the size of a French bulldog and bigger! While we were looking around the rocks where the turtles were, Scotty started to tell those of us over there that we needed to get away from the rocks. This was fine, we weren't there to break rules or cause the crew frustrations; however, he spoke to us all as if we were children. He actually told us, "you all need to learn how to listen" and proceeded to scold us about the instructions we were previously given on the boat-which included staying 15 feet away from the turtles but NOTHING about staying away from the rock reef! My 18 y/o son and I looked at each other in disbelief, again not because Scotty corrected us, but how he did it. Scotty seemed barely interested in getting to know his patrons, let alone making eye contact and smiling: that came at the end of the trip when tipping was suggested! During the trip I just witnessed a grouch who had Freddy doing all of the work. When he supervised us in the water he spoke down to us. It's obvious he is burnt out on this trip-he seems to forget that, for most of us, this is the first time going to Molokini and we're here to make memories to last a lifetime! Maybe he just doesn't care... There may have been three on the crew, but only Freddy demonstrated great customer service! He seemed to respect that we purchased to ride on their boat with so many other options to get to Molokini, to acknowledge this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for many of us, and seemed interested in our origin and reason for visit! He only charged me half the cost for the camera rental which really made it worthwhile! He even gave me a mai tai on the house! Thanks Freddy! If you get to go with Freddy you'll be in good hands! Also, if it weren't for him I'd have given only 1 star. I don't like to trash talk, I want to give credit when it's due-but I was so disappointed in the service from 2 out of the 3 crew who were supposed to be there to assure we had a safe and enjoyable time, I had to write this review. 24 hours later: my son and I both had issues that evening and were up all night with horrible stomach cramps and all that comes with it. The only thing we ate was the breakfast and lunch the Malolo served...we have food poisoning. If you go, bring your own food... If I ever do go on another boating excursion-I'll choose a different company! read more

Our family took the morning trip aboard the Malolo and had such an amazing experience. Lots of beautiful things to see and we could not have asked for a better crew (Jensen, Ryan and Jordan). Very laid back group of guys who took great care of us and made our time aboard as enjoyable as possible. Would recommend this particular boat to anyone visiting Maui. Thank you all so much for such a great morning!! read more

I've been to Molokini numerous times and this is by far my worst experience. I live on Maui and scuba/snorkel regularly around the island. Malolo's mooring is located on very boring part of the reef. No exciting features and not a whole lot of fish. For safety reasons they will not let you venture to the better parts of the reef. I even overheard tourists saying they enjoyed Black Rock much better, which is a shame because the crater is amazing in the right spots. Molokini is an awesome location to snorkel but choose your tour company wisely for the best experience. I will say that the crew was very friendly and accommodating. The boat itself was nice and handled the normal Maalaea chop with ease. read more

Ed, John and Dan were awesome!! They were very funny and also quite patient with those who were less than attentive when safety instructions were given. They were very good at overcoming language barriers. This was a fantastic way for my wife and I to wrap up our honeymoon! We highly recommend Malolo for your snorkeling adventure!!!! read more

Malolo Charters - Snorkeling Near Me - Wailuku, Hawaii

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This group provides a very satisfying experience. They leave early to avoid the crowds at the Molokini Crater, and have lots of knowledge about the ecosystem. They want everyone to have fun, but safely. The whole crew on our trip was great, but the crew member, Jensen, deserves a particular shout-out. Jensen is both knowledgeable and entertaining. He takes his work seriously, but has a great sense of humor. Go and have fun. -- Bill from Virginia read more

We booked for 19 people and paid over $2,000 and wasn't even allowed to go on such an inconvenience to drive an hour out in 3 different cars at 4 am !! read more

I would have given this zero stars is possible! We had a trip booked for a snorkel trip on our last day and just as we were pulling into the harbor (at 6am) we received a phone call canceling our trip. We were up at 4:30am that morning to make it to our snorkel trip on time and 15min before check in they called to cancel claiming there weren't enough people signed up. This is something that they would have known the day before but never called to let us know. The women who called to cancel our trip said that she tried to get in touch with us earlier via email. My husband checked his email and she had sent the email 6mins prior to calling. This is not a trust worthy company and snorkel companies on the island are a dime a dozen. Go with someone else! read more

We had a great trip the crew were great Ryan and Jenson and the captain very helpful and professional and entertaining we well do this again

We didn't get to go to molokini b/c of the winds. But we still did go snorkeling. They suggested that we go on a different day, but since we only had a couple days left in Maui we couldn't. It was a nice fun day!! And john is pretty hot lol read more

My husband and I booked this through boss frogs for a discounted rate and we had the best time! Staff was great! So helpful and friendly. The fish we saw were breathtaking! We even saw 2 huge sea turtles! It was an amazing experience and for a great price!!!! read more

I must say, as an avid traveler, my Molokini snorkeling tour was one of the most memorable experiences I had on any of the Hawaiian islands, ever! Thanks to the friendly and knowledgable staff, crew and captain for my exciting, relaxing and educational experience snorkeling Molokini. The trip was even more magical with all the whale and dolphin sightings on our way to and from the crater. I'd highly recommend contacting Malolo Charters for your Molokini snorkeling adventure! As they say in Hawaii, MAHALO! read more

Very bad service, didn't wait for customer even we are already at the harbor and could talk to them, just told me to call where I booked the ticket,and told me only 1 boat per day, and no refund, never take Malolo read more

Took the entire family there, 5/13/17 first day in Hawaii. We were all very excited. Arrived there early in the day to get snorkeling gear. Service was poor, not friendly. I had to tell the guy about the online specials and he was not willing to work them individually for 7 people. We all left feeling down. We had issues with some of the gear. Good news is we went to the Lahaina Cannery Mall Boss Frog's and they fixed everything read more

A lot of Maui feels like it is trying to squeeze the last dime out of you. Not here. These guys run an outstanding snorkeling tour which accommodates all ages for a really great price. They were extremely polite and positive dudes, and generous with their local knowledge. You can tell they've thought a lot about their business, and how to make it run as smoothly as possible. For the customer, the result is an extremely enjoyable and relaxed day focused on snorkeling, and not lining up to get a wetsuit first or fighting for the last scrap of lunch. Everything is taken care of for you. Also, THE FISH, EELS, TURTLES AND WHALES! Wow! I've snorkeled in a few different places across the world and would say this tour has offered the best value and experience. read more