Maui Day 4: Snorkeling at Molokini Crater and Coral Gardens

On Friday, my daughter and I got up early to be at the harbor for our snorkeling tour. I reserved for us on Wednesday, and was very excited for the chance to snorkel in spots only available by boat.

The first destination was Molokini Crater, a half moon shaped piece of land off the coast of Maui. It’s an incredible spot to snorkel (and scuba dive) and we were so excited that the winds had died down enough for our boat to go.

Only my daughter and I went on snorkeling tour, because it was expensive ($450 for the two of us) and because my son does not like snorkeling. My husband was kind enough to stay back with him while my daughter and I headed out.

When we arrived at Molokini Crater we could immediately see the coral below. The visibility was something like 100ft and everything in the water looked stunning.

My GoPro shots really don’t do it justice, because it was deep enough that you start to loose colors like red and yellow. So all the shots look really blue, but being there it looked like a rainbow. It was truly some of the best snorkeling I’ve ever done.

We snorkeled at Molokini Crater for about an hour, which was perfect timing because the water was cold (all around the crater the water is 300ft deep). Then we headed back, this time against the wind, to Maui.

The second place we anchored was called Coral Gardens. I was a little disappointed because the trip was billed as “Molokini Crater and Turtle Town,” and I was desperate to see a sea turtle swimming, but I was so blown away by Molokini Crater that I couldn’t really be upset.

Then we got in the water at Coral Gardens and it was beautiful. And then someone yelled that they saw a turtle.

It was a little guy. And he was just chilling. He swam into a little cove, floating around.

Then he swam out of the cove, right under us!

Then he swam into deeper water, and I got to swim right next to him (keeping 10 feet away of course).

We followed him around for about half an hour, and it was the most amazing experience. For a while he hung out on a coral reef, just munching. He looked like he had his head in a giant thing of popcorn (again it was deeper so color was lost in the shot).

Finally he swam away. I was truly the happiest panda.

And with that I had experienced everything I had hoped to and more on my trip. I felt incredibly content. And so, so lucky to have shared it all with my daughter. It was a really great day.

In the afternoon we hung out with our friends back at the property. Later we went to a distillery and drank some cocktails. The view was breathtaking.

Finally, the kids played on the beach at home, while I read in the hammock. Honestly this might have happen after the swimming pool, I can’t really remember. Time is a flat circle. Especially in Hawaii.

Our weekend (Days 5 and 6) has been much more chill. I’ll probably write about them when I get home. Our friends leave tomorrow (Sunday) morning very early so we’ll be alone in the property the last day. This was not originally the plan, but we’ll make the best of it. Then we leave early on Monday. I can’t believe summer is over. I can’t believe all we’ve done and seen.