Eco Sea Scooter Snorkeling Academy 🪸🐠🤿 is an amazing women-owned business guided by the leadership and vision of Barbie Yamamoto! Her team is top-notch; focused on safety, environmental education/conservation, and ensuring everyone feels the aloha spirit. 🤙💯
I showed up at her house for a safety briefing and gear fitting. It was well organized. Everything was sanitized and laid out in advance. Despite being a certified freediver, I took the upgrade and wore one of the float suits. Other advanced swimmers might enjoy the fins-only option. I enjoyed the float suite and found it so relaxing just gliding through the water effortlessly. The 3 speeds on the sea scooter allow you to start slow and turn up the speed as you get more confident.
I was so impressed by how accessible this experience was to non-swimmers. There was a brother and sister pair on my tour, and neither of them were strong swimmers. After a brief orientation with our guide and with the aid of the float suit/scooter combo, they were as comfortable in the water as I was after the first ten minutes.
We explored the breathtaking underwater landscape of the vibrant Kapalua Bay, the visibility is world-class. We saw a wide variety of coral and abundant marine life including sea turtles and several species of fish. The underwater scooter made cruising the crystal-clear waters a breeze, giving us more time to soak in the scenery while covering a lot of ground. 🫶🌊🌴
The tour ended with a heartfelt debrief where we shared highlights and received tips on how to continue supporting marine conservation in our everyday lives. Eco Sea Scooter Snorkeling Academy is a gem, offering not just a fun adventure but also an opportunity to connect with the ocean in a meaningful way. Highly recommend this to anyone visiting—whether you’re a water enthusiast or a complete novice, you’ll leave feeling inspired and deeply connected to Maui's underwater world! I'm so glad I have GoPro footage to share on Instagram and revisit whenever I need to be reminded of how incredible our beautiful planet is. 🌏💖
Mahalo to my guide Ocelli 🫶 and 🌈 to the entire Eco Sea Scooter Snorkeling Academy team! This was the highlight of my trip!