Booking choice: The Pride of Maui trip, from $233 per person. Check dates Tour details
Two of the Molokini boats on this site sell SNUBA on board: Pride of Maui and Four Winds. It is the easy way below the surface, with a guide, a 20-foot hose and no course.
Scuba is a separate trip on a dive boat, and at Molokini it is for certified divers only. Here is how each works, what it costs and who can't do it.
The quick answer
SNUBA is sold on board the Pride of Maui and Four Winds morning trips; Four Winds charges $75. You need no certificate, must be 8 or older, and stay within about 15 feet of the surface for 20 to 25 minutes. Scuba at Molokini is for certified divers only: a two-tank trip costs about $250 to $285. Intro dives for beginners happen at other sites. Wait 4 to 6 hours after SNUBA, and 12 to 18 hours after scuba, before flying or driving up Haleakala.
What is SNUBA, and how is it different from scuba?
SNUBA is a guided dive on a long air hose from a surface raft: no tank on your back, no certificate, about 15 feet deep. Scuba carries the tank, goes deeper and needs certification.
Pride of Maui describes the setup on its SNUBA page: a raft at the surface holds the air tank, and a 20-foot hose runs to your regulator. You wear a light harness, mask and fins, and follow an instructor. Its guide puts the maximum depth at about 15 feet and the time at 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the guest.
| Snorkel | SNUBA | Scuba | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | Surface | About 15 feet | To 90 feet at Molokini |
| Certification | None | None | Open Water, recent dive |
| Minimum age | Per boat | 8 | Set by the dive shop |
| Time down | An hour or more per stop | 20 to 25 minutes | Two tanks |
| Cost | In the tour price | $75 on Four Winds | About $250 to $285 |
| Where to book | Any trip here | Pride of Maui, Four Winds | A dive boat |
Which Molokini tours offer SNUBA, and how much does it cost?
Pride of Maui and Four Winds sell it on their morning trips. Four Winds charges $75; Pride of Maui sells it per person, per snorkel stop, and quotes the price at booking.
Four Winds: SNUBA is $75 on its morning Molokini trip, with limited spots, so reserve in advance (Four Winds booking page). The Viator listing calls it an extra purchased on board.
Pride of Maui: SNUBA is an add-on per person and per snorkel location, offered only on the morning Molokini trip, for ages 8 and up (Pride of Maui). Its site does not print the price; call 808-242-0955 or ask at booking. One guest: "Such a great experience! The fish were absolutely beautiful and our Snuba instructor. Julie was absolutely incredible!"
Spaces are limited on both boats. On a windy day the dive can be cancelled with the rest of the stop.
Snorkel Molokini and Turtle Town, then add a SNUBA dive at either stop. Breakfast, lunch and drinks included.
Explore the Pride of Maui trip Tour detailsWho can't do SNUBA?
Children under 8, people on heart medication, and anyone with heart, lung, blood-pressure or breathing problems without a doctor's clearance. Pregnant guests past three months should ask a physician first.
Pride of Maui's requirements ask for basic swimming skills, comfort in the ocean and a signed health questionnaire. Guests on heart medications cannot take part. Heart, blood-pressure, respiratory, lung or chest conditions need physician clearance, and so does pregnancy beyond three months.
Four Winds says its SNUBA is for strong swimmers who have snorkeled before, and not for first-time snorkelers (Four Winds). If anyone in your group has never had a mask on, let them snorkel at the first stop and decide at the second.
SNUBA for $75 on a glass-bottom catamaran, with sea boards and vests for the rest of the family.
Check dates for the Four Winds sailCan you scuba dive at Molokini without certification?
No. Molokini is for certified divers only. Beginners' intro dives take place at other sites, usually 20 to 40 feet deep.
Trilogy, a Maui snorkel and dive operator, says on its scuba page that conservation district rules limit scuba diving at Molokini to certified divers, and that intro dives are held at a second site, usually 20 to 40 feet deep with 20 to 30 minutes of bottom time. The crater is a Marine Life Conservation District where commercial use needs a state permit.
If you are not certified and want to go below 15 feet, SNUBA is the only way at Molokini itself.
What does a Molokini scuba trip cost?
About $250 to $285 for a two-tank morning dive, depending on whether you rent gear. Advanced back-wall dives cost more.
Maui Diamond, for example, runs a two-tank Molokini dive from Ma'alaea slip 23, checking in at 6:15 AM and back between noon and 1:00 PM. It costs $250.03 with your own gear or $284.14 with rental, tax included (listing). It takes Open Water certified divers only, who have dived within the last two years or do a refresher first. The first tank is inside the crater, down to about 90 feet; the second is usually a turtle site on the Maui coast.
The back wall of Molokini, where the outside of the crater drops away to great depth, is an advanced drift dive offered by some shops. None of the snorkel boats on this site carry scuba divers.
Is SNUBA at Molokini worth it?
For confident snorkelers who want to see the reef up close, yes. For nervous swimmers and young kids, the snorkel is enough: the water is clear enough to see the bottom from the surface.
Molokini's visibility can reach 150 feet on a calm day, and the shallowest reef inside the crescent sits 10 or more feet down. Snorkelers see most of it from the top. SNUBA changes the angle: you swim among the fish rather than over them, and see turtles from below. Pride of Maui and Four Winds guests who tried it describe it as the highlight of the day.
Skip it if the wind is up and the crater is choppy, or if you have only one stop at Molokini and would rather spend the whole hour snorkeling. Ears need equalizing at 15 feet just as on a scuba dive; anyone with a cold should wait.
Snorkel or SNUBA at two stops on a big power catamaran, with breakfast, lunch and drinks.
Check dates for the Pride of Maui tripCan you fly or drive up Haleakala after SNUBA or scuba?
Not straight away. Pride of Maui says wait 4 to 6 hours after SNUBA; DAN recommends 12 hours before flying after a single scuba dive and 18 after multiple dives.
Going up in altitude after breathing compressed air raises the risk of decompression sickness. Pride of Maui asks SNUBA guests to avoid helicopter tours, the drive to Haleakala and airplane flights for 4 to 6 hours before or after. For scuba, Divers Alert Network's flying after diving guidelines recommend at least 12 hours after a single no-decompression dive and 18 hours after multiple dives or days of diving.
Haleakala's summit is above 10,000 feet. Do the sunrise drive before your dive day, not the evening after, and don't book Molokini on the morning you fly home.
How do you plan Molokini for a mixed group of snorkelers and divers?
Book Pride of Maui or Four Winds and add SNUBA for those who want it. Certified divers who want real depth book a separate dive boat on another morning.
- Families with kids 8+: Four Winds is the simplest choice, and Pride of Maui works too. SNUBA for the keen ones, sea boards and vests for the rest.
- Certified diver plus snorkelers: many Molokini dive boats take only divers, so split for one morning or book everyone on a snorkel trip and add SNUBA.
- Want both: snorkel Molokini early in your stay; dive later in the week, and keep flights 18 hours clear.
Whatever you book, the crater is a no-touch zone: no standing on coral, no feeding fish and 10 feet from turtles (Molokini's rules).
SNUBA at $75, a glass-bottom room and sea boards: one boat that works for divers, swimmers and the kids.
Explore the Four Winds sail Tour detailsFrequently asked questions
How deep do you go with SNUBA at Molokini?
About 15 feet. The air hose is 20 feet long, and Pride of Maui keeps guests at around 15 feet for 20 to 25 minutes.
How much is SNUBA on a Molokini tour?
Four Winds charges $75 per person. Pride of Maui sells it per person and per stop and gives the price at booking or check-in.
Do you need a certificate to scuba dive Molokini?
Yes. Molokini scuba trips take certified divers only, usually Open Water with a dive in the last two years. Intro dives for beginners happen at other sites.
Can kids do SNUBA?
From age 8, with an instructor, if they are comfortable in the water. Younger children snorkel with a vest or a sea board.
Ready to book
Choose your boat
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every option. Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
Molokini & Turtle Town on Pride of Maui
A big power catamaran with drinks included and SNUBA for extra
Four Winds Molokini Sail & Snorkel
Families and nervous swimmers: sea boards, vests and a glass bottom
Molokini & Turtle Town on the Calypso
- Molokini, then a second stop chosen by the captain
- Breakfast pastries and fruit, deli lunch
- Snorkel gear and flotation
