Pu'u Olai Beach

This is also know as little beach and if you are a fish person this is the site for you. Plus this is your best chance to encounter naked snorkelers on the island (little beach is a nude beach). I have dove here several times and the fish life here is truly impressive! I even saw my first Saddleback Butterfly fish here as well as three Leaf Scorpion fish (Black, Purple, & Red) sitting right next to each other and a Slipper Lobster. I have seen fish here that I have not encountered anywhere else off Maui, this is truly my favorite fish site on the island. Unfortunately, it is a long hike with gear over the rocks that divide big beach and little beach. Once you get over the rocks, hike to far side of the beach and enter. Head north on the dive. This will usually take you against the current and you can just drift back when you are finished with the dive. If you head straight out from the north point in about 42 feet of water you will find "Charley's Reef" named after a local boat captain. This reef features a large school of Bicolor Anthias that are perfect for photographing. These normally shy fish are strangely less shy on this particular reef. This is an easy reef to find if you know where it is, but not if you don't. If you don't find it, just turn around and head back towards the reef near shore. The best parts of the reef are found by just following the shore north. There is even a swim through cave that usually has sleeping turtles in it. Many of the boats dive this site as a drift dive so if you are not an experienced diver and still want to dive here, a boat dive may be more appropriate. The current can really rip out here and just a couple weeks ago a snorkeler (possibly intoxicated) got caught in the current and drowned.