famouschinesec

Family with 2 kids ages 10 & 12 will be on Maui in April. Would like to do a day boat trip to Lanai with snorkeling. I'm leaning toward one of the Trilogy boats for an all day trip tht spends some time on dry land or the Seaview Explorer for a 5 hour morning trip to 2 snorkel spots and lunch on the boat. Can anybody give any insight or recommendations.

bettie

I would be very interested in finding out more information on the trilogy trip to Lanai also. I had read they were the best. Then I read in Maui Revealed that they were not fond of the Trilogy staff, said the crew was a little rude, but were getting better since the write up in their book. I also read it's a gamble as to whether the water there would be clear for snorkeling, as it takes months to clear up after a storm. This is what I read, don't know if it's true or not.

hmmm

We took a dolphin/whale watch w/snorkel excursion in late November with Pacific Whale Foundation. We'd used PWF before and were pleased both times. They know their marine mammals. After a week of stormy weather the water off Lana'i was clear well beyond the depth most snorkelers dive. The water on the east side facing Lahaina was as calm as lake water on a still day. Amazing. Know nothing special about Trilogy, but, if you wish to land on the island on a snorkel trip, I understand they are the only game in town. As a bonus, you may see humpbacks cruising the channel between the 2 islands.

pb_and_j

No first hand experience, but I researched this trip a lot. I saw almost entirely postivie reviews for Trilogy except for the Revealed book. My hang-up with them is that it's so expensive! Another company that offers a similar trip is PWF. They must have landing-priveledges also since they include lunch at the Manele Hotel.
Other options are the full or half day rafting trips - there are at least 5 companies that run these. The boats hold about 20 people I think. The full day trips will cirlce the island which was appealing. But I was worried about the water conditions on the crossing since my trip is in winter (end of Feb). That channel is supposed to be a bit rougher than other areas, and in a low raft you'll feel it more.

hmmm

PB & J: Allow me to elaborate. I've read that only Trilogy has access to snorkeling from the Lana'i shore, and its web site states it has "exclusive access" to Hulopo'e Beach. Several outfits can land on Lana'i and drive you to a hotel/restaurant for lunch, and let you snorkel the waters from their boats. Maui Revealed makes this connection: Same entity owns Trilogy, Dollar Rent a Car and the only gas station on the island. M/R also says you can do better than Trilogy when booking a trip to Lana'i. If price is a concern, investigate PWF. It's also a not-for-profit research organization.

crazy4Hawaii

Went to Lanai with Trilogy based on a very positive review from the Paradyse family guidebook on Maui and was disappointed. It was my daughter's eighth birthday and I had called ahead to arrange a cake and a special day for her - got there and no mention of it at all. Also, we were first-time snorkelers and had expected a little instruction. Didn't happen. They pretty much handed us some generic equipment and pointed to the beach! Not exceptional service.

JayH

I don't know what Trilogy means by "exclusive access" to Hulopo'e Beach. Take the Expeditions ferry, which runs five times a day from Lahaina to Manele Harbor for $50 round trip, and you can walk to the beach in five minutes. Just bring your snorkel gear and a picnic lunch, or you can eat at the hotel if you want. You can stay several hours and take one of the later boats back.