Maximize your chances of seeing Hawaiian green sea turtles on this small-group kayak and snorkel tour. Paddle from Makena toward Turtle Town, a snorkeling location along the island’s southern coast, and explore the calm, clear water to spot these beloved marine animals.

Sea turtle kayaking and snorkeling tour: Great opportunity to see turtles
Spot other marine wildlife such as manta rays and dolphins
Small-group tour (maximum eight): Provides a personalized experience with a guide
Includes bottled water, snacks, and all necessary equipment

What's Included

Bottled water and snacks
Professional guides with lifeguard, CPR and first aid training
Use of kayak and snorkel equipment

Gratuities
Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Makena Landing Park
5083 Makena Rd, Kihei, HI 96753, USA

Start time

07:00 AM

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for children under 5 years old
Subject to favorable weather conditions. If canceled because of poor weather, you will be given the option of an alternative tour date or full refund

Infant seats available
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
***** Please check-in 15 minutes early at 6:45am for 7am start time. *****
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 3 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 3 full days before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 2 full days before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 2 full days before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

Highly recommend this tour if you want a safe adventure and want to do some exploring on the water!

You go pretty far out and an unexperienced person may get tired, especially if the wind picks up like it did for us.

Reviews

5.0

695 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 695 reviews

Great day

Shannon_A, Mar 2023

Andres was an excellent guide! Very personable, funny, and safety-minded. We had a great time with him - got up close and personal with some whales and saw lots of turtles while snorkeling.

Excellent Adventure - Best Whale Watching in Season!

Lori_A, Mar 2023

John was an excellent guide. He took some extra time with the instruction at the start so it did not feel rushed and we felt prepared for the day. The whale watching portion was superb. We saw a courting pair and listened to and saw a singing lone male several times. Flying fish were fun to see as well. The snorkelling was limited because we rightly focused on the whales. We did see turtles, a glimpse of a shark and some fish in the 20 minutes we had i8n the water. We had our 14 year old daughter with us who paddled a single kayak and loved it.

Kayaking with Whales

Heidi_E, Mar 2023

Never could have imagined being able to kayak in the middle of three whales for over an hour! Thanks for getting us there, John!

Great kayaking trip. The...

Sabitha_S, Mar 2023

Great kayaking trip. The photo expense was too much and awkward to receive so many pictures of strangers.

Breathtaking

Bekki_D, Mar 2023

Such an amazing experience! I’ll never forget it. Kayaked with whales and snorkels with sea turtles.

perfect vacation activity

susan_p, Feb 2023

we had a great time! i took my 16 year old daughter and this was the first time we did any real kayaking. it was a ton of fun. andres, our guide, was friendly and enthusiastic. he lead us out to see the whales (some were REALLY close) then to a great snorkeling spot where we swam with turtles and lots of colorful fish. on the way back to the shore, we saw more turtles swimming under us. andres also took a lot of really great photos for us. so glad we did this and would recommend it to my friends without hesitation.

Great time!

Jeff_W, Feb 2023

Had a great time kayaking and snorkeling. John was a great guide! Water was crystal clear. Made for a great last day in Maui.

Worth the early morning wake up!

Sarah_B, Feb 2023

Andres was a great guide and made the experience very memorable. Knew the good spots for snorkeling and took great photos!

Fun Adventure

Tammy_S, Feb 2023

John was a great guide. We saw many whales (some escort, mom and babe) and it was thrilling. It was harder work for this 60+ couple compared to the younger couples as we went a long way out and the ocean was had a bit of waves, but we love to kayak and enjoyed the adventure. We were disappointed to pay $60 for photos when out of many, many photos of other couples there was only one of us. Thank goodness it was the video where a baby whale was near our kayak.

Kayaking to Makena Turtle Town

Stacie_C, Feb 2023

John was confident and friendly. He patiently gave clear and helpful instructions plus bonus tips and tricks so that we not only had a safe and wonderful experience but took away beneficial information to be better snorkelers and kayakers. (We now know the trick to getting back INTO your kayak after it flips over in the 1st 5 minutes!). We saw whales off in the distance and turtles, turtles, turtles up close! John was able to hand us a darling lil octopus who made our day when she gently wrapped around our fingers! He was knowledgeable about all things aquatic and led our age diverse group while respecting the creatures we had all come to experience. John also took the most amazing pictures and videos of us (both above and below water) without missing a beat to keep sharing information! We would definitely book again on any return visits and highly recommend John Shappell and Maui Kayaks.

Great kayaking experience!

James_M, Feb 2023

We loved being so close to the Humpback whales and snorkeling in the clear waters. Andres was very personable as our guide and went out of his way to make the experience memorable for us. We would recommend the kayaking experience for anyone who is in Maui.

Great Day!! Highly recommend!!

Meighan_L, Dec 2022

What a Great Day!! Booked this Kayak and snorkeling trip for my husband, son, sister, brother-in-law and myself....what a great day we all had!! John was a great guide! Knowledgeable, enthusiastic and funny!! Kayaking was perfect for my 9 year old!! ALL of us were very pleased with the turtle sightings and experience!! Highly recommended and would do it again in a heart beat!!

Wonderful

Laura_J, Dec 2022

We had John as our guide. It was wonderful and we saw lots of things. Best experience. We would do it again.

It says turtles, we saw turtles!

James_D, Nov 2022

My wife and I really enjoyed the experience! Our guide John, was awesome, very personable, and very informative. We saw several turtles. Final note, my wife got sea sick forwards the end of the snorkeling. Being proactive taking medication prior would be smart

Great guide but only two turtles

david_s, Nov 2022

Our guide was very enthusiastic but we only saw two or three turtles entire trip. Next time I would opt to go to a different site of view turtles.

Great experience, definitely recommend!

Jenny_S, Nov 2022

John was great at catering to the group and making sure we all had a great experience. We had a small group of 5, I was a solo traveller and the other 4 were a family. Not once did I feel intimidated or out of place. John was very attentive and made sure I was ok as I kayaked alone and always checked on everyone. He asked a lot of questions to ensure we were comfortable and was very knowledgeable about the area. I had a great time, and swam with a lot of turtles as well as other sea life! Absolutely recommend this tour!

Amazing Experience

Amy_O, Nov 2022

We had a great time with Andres as our guide! It was amazing getting to swim amongst turtles. Highlight of the trip!

Amazing experience thanks to John!

Nils_M, Nov 2022

The kayaking was very easy and simple due to the great introduction and guidance by John. John is simply awesome, very knowledgeable and super fun. We saw a giant turtle and were swimming with her for quite a while.

Mirror into another workd

Karen_M, Nov 2022

Being part of an amazing underwater world. The snorkeling was so much fun and revealed so much life that I was unaware existed. John, our guide, was so sweet. He made all of us feel special and safe.

Swimming with turtles

Jacob_M, Nov 2022

John was very professional and knowledgeable about kayaking. He spent a good amount of time in how to use the kayak and snorkeling gear. He was very informative about the corral and had a great personality. Also was a great photographer.

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