SNORKEL WITH TURTLES

West Maui Express Snorkeling

Your Maui vacation isn’t complete without seeing our Hawaiian Honu in Honu Heaven! Come out on a quick 2 hour mid-afternoon West Maui snorkel tour! We provide top of the line Sea Sports snorkel gear, onboard and in-water naturalist. This trip is PERFECT for last minute excursions and those that prefer to ease into an in-water snorkel experience.

TURTLE ETIQUETTE

Green sea turtles are protected under the Endangered Species Act and therefore a respectful distance (10 feet) must be maintained at all times. Imagine eating at your favorite restaurant and being followed by 18 strangers all of a sudden! You'd probably lose your appetite. Our protection efforts have lead to a population increase in Hawaiian green sea turtles and we pride ourselves in being part of the solution!

FUN HONU FACTS

Hawaiʻi is home to the infamous "honu", Hawaiian green sea turtle. Green sea turtles are one of seven species of sea turtle world wide and frequent the coast of Maui waters as their feeding and mating grounds. They are the largest hard-shelled sea turtle and can get to be upwards of 4.5 feet in diameter reaching over 300lbs. It is common to see sea turtles resting at the ocean's surface taking a few breaths of air, but these oceanic reptiles can hold their breath for up to 5 hours by slowing their hear rate down to 7-9 beats per minute!

What is a turtle cleaning station?
Sea turtles pick their favorite part of the reef where Hawaiian cleaner wrasse, cleaning shrimp and other marine species hang around waiting to clean algae off of sea turtles carapaces' (shells). Think of it as an underwater car wash! Fish get to have a sneaky snack while turtles get their shells cleaned for free!