Maui

The luau buffet off the island of Maui is of the wild underwater variety. The Valley Isle boasts all of the main attractions a diver expects when visiting the islands of Hawaii: radical volcanic topography, historic wrecks, cool endemic species, exciting pelagic encounters and that signature deep-blue North Pacific water. With dozens of sites scattered along more than 100 miles of coastline, there are options to please every diver, from do-it-yourself shore diving through underwater arches and lava tube caverns to valet-style boat diving in a picturesque submerged volcano crater.

Giant striding off Maui Dive Shop’s 48-foot Maka Koa, it’s hard not to be distracted by the topside splendor of Molokini, the crescent-shaped islet left over from an ancient volcano in the Alalakeiki Channel between the islands of Maui and Kahoolawe. Maui’s signature dive and snorkel attraction site is a towering amphitheater surrounding a bright, shallow coral garden below. Along the inner reef, sites from Eneui to Middle Reef, Tako Flats and Reef’s End provide a hard-coral habitat for a wide variety of colorful tropical fish, many of them endemic to the area, as well as green lionfish, barracuda and several varieties of nudibranch.

But Tako Flats is my target, named for the stealthy octopod hunters that prowl the nooks and crannies of the reef. Finning along in 30 feet of crystalline water, I peer into dark holes in search of the secretive critters and spot nearly a half-dozen until my time is up.

But Molokini, required diving for any Maui visitor, is just a pupu (appetizer) of Maui’s dive buffet. Other signature sites include the west side’s Mala Warf, a critter-filled shore dive on a former shipping pier ruined in 1992 by Hurricane Iniki, the turtle-filled caverns of Five Caves at Makena Landing on the South Shore and the scuttled whaling vessel Carthaginian off Lahaina.

Related Reading: How to Dive Maui Without Breaking the Bank

“What makes diving in Maui so special is 24 percent of all of the marine life and 18 percent of all of the coral are endemic to Hawaii,” says Jeff Strahn of Maui Dive Shop. “Plus, exciting big animals like manta rays, green sea turtles, spinner dolphins and humpback whales are common animals to see.”

The latter species — which frequents the deep channels between islands in the winter months to mate and birth calves in the warm, protected waters — is by far the most moving to encounter, not only because of its haunting, ever-present whale song underwater, but also for the rare chance to share the water up close.

“My most memorable experience underwater is something most people don’t get a chance to do very much because it is such a chance encounter,” explains Strahn, who has 30 Maui winters under his weight belt. “I have dived with the humpback whales underwater eight times, and what makes this so hard to do is that the humpback must approach you underwater because it is illegal for divers to approach whales.”

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary enforces strict rules of engagement to protect the gentle giants, so human-humpback encounters are rare — and well-worth bragging about.

“If you are in the water a lot and you are fortunate enough for this to happen, you will remember it for the rest of your life,” Strahn says. “I can remember each and every time it happened as if it were burned into my memory.”

mauidiveshop.com

Related Reading: Jack’s Diving Locker, Big Island, Hawaii

No visit to Maui is complete without a visit to Haleakala crater to witness the most otherworldly sunrise in the Pacific. Leave well before dawn to make the drive up the dormant volcano to witness the sun creeping through the crater, spreading red, gold and purple hues against the Mars-like landscape. But be advised to plan this adventure with your dive schedule in mind, because the 10,000-foot elevation is a serious DCS risk. nps.gov/hale