Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 18924h ago)
Max Depth
24.9 ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Kapalua Bay
Kapalua Bay is a sheltered white sand beach on the north west side of Maui. The bay is protected by two reefs that extend out on both ends forming a C-shaped cove making it ideal for snorkeling. The bay’s calm water makes it one of those perfect places for beginner snorkeling and is an ideal spot to take the kids. Getting into the water couldn’t be easier. The ocean will literally be a few feet from your beach towel. The Kapalua Bay Hotel overlooks the beach’s soft sand and tranquil blue water.
As you stay to the right on the dive, you will actually exit the Bay and start to make your way into Namalu Bay (the next bay over. Very interesting coral, lava formations, and marine life can be seen. This is an excellent night dive as well.
Kapalua Bay never gets old for diving. It is also a very safe dive (other than the occasional current).
Kapalua Bay is accessed by taking Lower Honoapiilani Road into Kapalua Resort. Located between Napili Kai Beach Resort and Merriman's Restaurant is public beach parking for the Bay. This includes showers and restrooms.
Park in the lot or along the road (by all of the other cars). The beach is about 100 ft walk from the restrooms. While the entire Bay is worth diving, the best is on the far side (located furthest away from the parking, near the Ritz Carlton Kapalua Bay Residences).
Surface swim out across the Bay until you are near the rocks on the far side and are out just past the restaurant (in terms of distance from the shore).
Drop down and stay to the right. This is a great dive, especially at night.
Access
shore
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DB
Aug 18, 2009, 12:00 AM
scuba
The wife and I spent two weeks in Maui this July. We rented shore diving gear from Pacific Dive Company in Lahaina. The rentals were inexpensive and the shop hooked us up with some local shore dive info. Since Kapalua Bay had been rated 1 of the top 10 beaches overall by Sunset magazine, we knew we had to dive it. Parking was great if you get there early enough, showers and a bathroom within a few feet of it. The beach is just a short walk down a paved path, a small hike. Once at the beach, we entered on the left for our first dive and the right for our second. The right side put us on the best area to dive. Average depth was 20-35', vis- 25-50', temp- 73-74. We surface swam about 200 feet before descending. Lots of snorkelers overhead, turtles, coral and Hawaiian fish were everywhere. We came back and dove this site two more times. Beach gets a little crowded in the afternoon, so it is best to get there before 9am.