Home / About
Our passion is sharing our love for Maui with you.
When we came to Maui in 2001, we couldn’t think of anything better than spending our days on the water as a family showing people what we loved most – the underwater world of coral, fish, turtles and other marine life, and cruising the tropical teal waters with views of white sand beaches and mountainous islands.
That dream got even better when we custom built our boat, the No Ka Oi. Years of designing and constructing boats for Hawaiian waters taught us a thing or two about what makes a snorkel boat perfect for these unique conditions. So it’s only natural that we’d name our boat No Ka Oi. Like Maui, she’s “The Best.”
Today our family is blessed to have welcome thousands of people onto the No Ka Oi and into the Maui Snorkel Charters ‘ohana. We’re grateful for the new friendships we’ve made with guests who return year after year. Our guiding principles of safety, comfort, and FUN make each trip the Best Day Ever and keep people coming back for more.
Your safety is always the first thing on our mind.
Our boat was designed with high tech safety features such as prop guards, foam air hybrid collars, JPO joystick control for quick and effortless maneuverability, and three sets of padded stairs—not ladders—for ease of getting in and out of the water.
We choose to have more crew than most boats our size to ensure your safety while on board and in the water.
You won’t feel cramped or hurried on your adventure with us.
We purposely don’t max out the capacity of our boat so you can lounge and easily move around under a full size cover, which ensures you always have a spot to take a break from the sun.
You’ll also get plenty of time at each stop to explore before we take you back to shore.
The fun is the easy part! You’ll snorkel the best spots on Maui … all while taking in the playful antics of spinner dolphins and seasonal humpback whales.
Our unique Seafari™experience – snorkel in one area then drift to spots nearby – makes your trip an adventure you’ll never forget.
Come cruise around on the fastest snorkel boat on Maui with a small group of new friends. You’ll be sharing selfies and throwing shakas in no time.
It’s all part of the Best Day Ever!
Our whole day is about hitting the best spots… but the other boats that carry up to 150 people have the same goal, so our philosophy is to hit the best spots, weather permitting, but to avoid the crowds. With our seafari approach, we start the snorkel at one spot and the boat drifts closely by you as you move from one spot to another, visiting between 2 and 5 sites that other boats list as separate stops. This efficient approach allows you to see more without wearing yourself out by swimming back to and getting on and off the boat. Our smaller boat allows us to maneuver around the big crowds to show you the most unique spots and take you to areas that are inaccessible to the big boats.
During your adventure, the captain and crew are keeping an eye on you from the boat. Should you get cold or tired, our boat can easily swoop in to pick you up and you can hang out on the boat for the rest of the tour or jump back in when you’re ready… the call is yours! We proudly ‘overstaff’ our boat by U.S. Coast Guard (and Maui) standards to ensure your safety and comfort. And by having multiple sets of eyes on you and the ocean, we make sure you don’t swim right by a cool, but hidden site or creature.
We’re proud to be family owned and operated. Owners Doug and Tricia along with our daughters, niece, and hānai (adopted) family make up the No Ka Oi crew.
Water enthusiasts with a wide array of knowledge and experience, we focus on safety, comfort and fun and do whatever we can to ensure you have the Best Day Ever! Things like making sure your gear fits properly to snorkeling alongside you to point out things you might miss are touches that make our trips extra special. Our crew members love what they do and put the Aloha in every adventure.
