When we were planning this trip we learned that whale watching season officially runs from Nov/Dec until mid-May, although it’s still possible to see whales outside of the “official season”. We also learned the peak season for humpback whales to visit Hawaii is mid-January until the end of March. The Captain’s Log website offers a pretty good overview of the season and what to expect if you go whale watching. It also shows some great videos from whale watching tours.
We began our whale watching tour from Lahaina in northwestern Maui.
It was a cloudy day and we were told that the water would be choppy. We had heard choppy waters could mean more whale sightings at the surface so we were actually ok with this.
As we set out the crew pointed out some whales in the distance. They were so hard to see and we didn’t think all that much of our tour at the time.
However, as the captain steered our boat towards the whales we started to see more activity. They were breeching the water!
And then we realized there were a few males competing for a female’s attention. They put on an amazing show for almost an hour, getting very close to our boat. At one point one of them swam right in front of our boat and began splashing his tail fin over and over. It was awesome!
At the end a couple of whales jumped out of the water right by our boat. It was the highlight of our trip to Maui and something we will remember forever.
It was such a memorable day! If you ever get the chance to go whale watching in Maui in February definitely do it!
Leave a reply