What Makes Maui Snorkeling/Whale Watching So Incredible?

It’s a well known fact that whales are the largest mammals in the world. The scales are tipped by the enormous blue whale, but you can find a slightly smaller (but just as impressive) sibling in Hawaii every winter. Maui is home to many Pacific Humpback whales that love to come to the surface and say hello! We’ll detail more about whale watching while snorkeling in Maui in the rest of this article.

Vacation Destination of a Lifetime

There are numerous good reasons for going on vacation in Hawaii. Sandy beaches and warm waters are probably the first things that come to mind, but Maui is much more than just a tropical paradise getaway.True, the islands and natural scenery are quite picturesque, something you might not be able to appreciate until you see it for yourself. But there is more to this place if you look under the surface.

Whale Sighting

Even if you’re coming to Maui to relax and unwind, you’ll probably enjoy partaking in local activities and adventures. Many visit to enjoy a multitude of water sports like surfing, snorkeling, jet skiing, and parasailing. The cozy island is definitely an excellent place for this thanks to calm water and weather conditions. But not all activities require you to work hard. There’s also a lot to see without needing to actually do anything.

Fish of all colors probably come to your mind first, but try to think bigger. As a matter of fact, think much bigger. One of the greatest creatures you can see in Maui is the Pacific Humpback Whale! During the winter, thousands of humpback whales migrate to the waters around Maui. When the northern waters of Alaska begin to get colder, the number of krill and plankton in the water decrease and the need for birthing and mating becomes the top priority of Humpback whales around the Pacific Ocean. Humpback whales find the warmer waters of Maui far more hospitable (and less painful) for birthing their young. Baby whales born during the winter in Alaskan waters would likely freeze to death, but they have an excellent chance of survival in the tropical Hawaiian waters, feeding off their mother’s milk. Each baby whale consumes up to 52 gallons of milk per day to gain enough weight for its long migration from Alaska to Hawaii. 

Maui’s Whales

Humpback whales are well known for breaching, lunging, blowing, slapping, diving, and arching, all actions that are easily noticeable from the deck of a boat and even, at times, from shore. Not only are humpback whales easy to spot, but they’re also quite the entertainers!

Here are some other staggering facts about humpback whales:

• There are currently more than 22,000 humpback whales estimated to live in the North Pacific ocean. Of those, up to 10,000 make the long journey to Hawaii.
• Humpback whales weigh between 25 and 40 tons (50,000 and 80,000 pounds respectively) as an adult. Babies are only a ton, but have no fear, because they can gain 100 pounds per day.
• The length of a humpback whale can reach 60 feet, but it’s the females that are larger.
• For every foot of body length, a whale weighs an average of a ton. This means that a 30 ton whale should be 30 feet long.
• They can live as long as 50 years, but some have been reported to live closer to 100.
• Whales take between four and six weeks to reach Hawaii during their migration. Their average rate of speed? Not much faster than a good run. These speedy whales top out at seven miles per hour, but you can find some real slowbones at just three miles per hour.
• Males can sing for the greater part of an hour. Forty minutes is the average length, and they can be heard as far as 12 miles away!
• You can see whales in Maui between November and March, but the best month is February.
• Even though humpback whales leave Alaska because there isn’t any food, they don’t actually eat the entire time they’re staying in Maui. Talk about taking intermittent fasting to the extreme! Instead, adult whales rely on their excessive stores of fat to tide them over. As a result, they lose upwards of 33% of their body weight.

Snorkeling Tours and Whale Watching With Kai Kanani

The radiant island of Maui is a vacation destination that families visit from all across the world. With warm water and plenty of gorgeous scenery, there’s no confusion as to what makes the location so appealing. This also makes for some fantastic visual entertainment for you. When you’re snorkeling, you can see lots of different fish, but you can also see some enormous humpback whales!

With upwards of 10,000 humpback whales migrating to Maui every winter, there’s certainly an excellent chance of seeing some silly whale antics live in action. Sometimes seeing something alive that is so much bigger than yourself can really open your eyes to just how big the world really is.

If you’re lucky, you might spot some whales from the shore, but you’ll have a much better time whale watching from the water. When you go on a snorkeling tour you’ll have a great opportunity to see several whales just riding between destinations. Even better, you can go on a calming cruise made just to watch these glorious creatures in action. Plan a whale watching adventure with Kai Kanani on your next snorkeling trip for some genuinely amazing memories!