I've always wanted to go whale watching off Maui and The Magic Merman did not disappoint! I came back from the trip and was telling everyone who would listen about this whale watch! Captain Jill and naturalist Bethany were fantastic crew! Captain Jill knew all the rules for whale watching, and made sure we got the best and safe view of the whales. Naturalist Bethany has her Masters in marine biologist and is a whale enthusiast. She knew everything about the whales and would tell everyone about what the whales were doing (and why) while we were watching them. It was like being in a nature documentary but in real life, I learned so much about whales. She actually follows the whales when they migrate and goes up north in the summer! She told us about how she saw the same whale in Washington last year and now saw the same whale here in Hawaii, I thought that was so cool. We saw multiple groups of whales, but one trio (mom, calf, and an escort male) was very curious and hung around the boat for a long time. Bethany told us how the calf stays with mom but this male was trying to get the attention of the female. The calf was curious about the boat, and eventually the mom chaperoned it over to the boat!! Captain Jill had the engines turned off so we knew it was the whales choosing to come over to us and it was AMAZING!! One of the coolest things I've experienced!! The whales hang out at the surface of the water most of the time so we could see the baby and mom turn to swim towards the boat. They came up to the boat, took a few breaths right next to us and slowly swam right underneath it!! It was the highlight of my entire Maui trip. Bethany also was taking pictures the whole time and posts the pictures on her website.
Whatever you do on Maui, this tour is 10000% MUST DO! Nothing else like it! The Magic Merman is a smaller company and this meant no crowding with other people and everyone got a front row seat.