The staff were super friendly and helpful which made the trip worthwhile. You spend the majority of the trip (3 hours) traveling on the boat. You are forced to use the reef friendly sunscreen which is ineffective for preventing sunburn. I applied it religiously all over, several times during the trip and was burned. As for the snorkeling portion, you get a total of two hours in the water, one hour at each location. The Molokini Crater was pretty to see up close. It was overcrowded with other snorkelers and boats, and there were not many fish. I was told ahead of time from someone who had been there previously (a couple of decades ago) that it was like swimming in an aquarium. It is no longer like that. Even another guy on the boat made a comment that there used to be more fish in that area in past years. We did not go to turtle town due to the water conditions. The second location was similar to the first as far as the type and amount of fish we were able to see. Perhaps my expectations were too high especially for the cost of over $250. Again, the staff was awesome, food and drinks were fine and what you would expect, equipment was good (there are a few add-ons- I would recommend the wetsuit top), but the snorkeling portion was just okay. For those reasons, I would not do this snorkeling trip again but I would recommend Pride of Maui for other activities.
Réponse de l'hôte
Aug 2022
Quite a lot of inaccuracy in this review, I must say. Travel time to Molokini Crater and back is a little less than 2 hours round trip, which leaves 3 hours of time to snorkel, which is the ideal amount of time to spend in the ocean. We do not force anything on anybody. The State of Hawaii (thankfully) banned the use of sunscreens containing chemicals which are harmful to the coral and marine animals. Applying the reef safe sunscreen that we provide on the boat throughout the day and especially after swimming or sweating is important. Several times over the course of the day in the tropics is not enough. The State of Hawaii (thankfully) limits the number of boats permitted inside Molokini Crater, unlike years past when there were no limitations on the number of boats permitted. There are plenty of fish and colorful coral varieties, including species endemic to Molokini and found nowhere else on the planet. Molokini is a unique opportunity to swim in an ancient offshore volcanic caldera, teeming with wonderful marine life, but yes, an aquarium it isn't, and yes if that is what you expected in the wild, then perhaps your expectations were a bit high. There is a very distinct uniqueness to the snorkeling at the crater which is much different on the reef closer to shore, which is why we and most the other boats visit both. While I do think you are being far too critical of the quality of snorkeling, we do appreciate your business and your five star compliments about the unmatched level of personalized service we provide.