We saw lots and lots of turtles on this dive! Our dive master David took us to the best spots to ensure we saw lots of turtles and all kinds of fish. We contemplated doing this on our own but I am so glad we did it with Dive Maui instead.
About Activity
What's Included
Includes
- Use of SCUBA equipment
Excludes
Departure & Return
Departure Point
- We meet at our shop which is located in Lahaina close to Baby Beach. There is parking for guests in our front lot and free overflow parking on Front Street. All shore divers must have their own transportation as we may have to drive to an alternate site if the conditions at Mala are not favorable.
Return
- We meet at our shop which is located in Lahaina close to Baby Beach. There is parking for guests in our front lot and free overflow parking on Front Street. All shore divers must have their own transportation as we may have to drive to an alternate site if the conditions at Mala are not favorable.
Itinerary
Dive with Maui’s resident turtle population (honu), encounter white tip reef sharks, and more on our favorite shore dive at Mala Wharf. Since being destroyed by Hurricane Iniki in 1992, Mala Wharf has become the best dive site on Maui. A quick walk from our shop, Mala is home to so much life that if you only have time for one dive while you’re on island, this should be it. In addition to turtles and sharks, the sunken pier is home to large schools of fish, octopus, eels, nudibranchs, and the elusive but popular frogfish! The Dive Maui team loves diving and all of our dives have the potential to be one hour long, air permitting. Unless otherwise requested, all our shore dives are conducted on 80’s (standard size tanks) which means you can expect close to an hour underwater. All our shore dives are private or in small groups of no more than 4 divers so you’ll get the most out of your experience. Smaller groups, make it easier for your PADI professional to give you individualized attention and point out the cool stuff.
Language Offered
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
Reviews
Out Dive Master Matt was professional and patient. The group all felt safe and relaxed. We saw a large number of turtles and several white tip reef sharks at The Mala Wharf.
Great experience for our family! Easy relaxing dive with lots to see! We saw a couple of sharks, many turtles, and a host of other species. Definitely worth the money. Small group was nice and conducive to the more relaxed atmosphere. Our guide Jessi was very knowledgeable, helpful, kind, and extremely patient! Thanks for the great experience!
Great shore dive. Saw a nice variety of sea life, including an octopus. Visibility was good. Staff was helpful.
I cannot recommend Maui Dive enough, especially our incredible divemaster, Joey! He truly went above and beyond to save our diving day! Our original dive shop canceled on us at the very last minute, leaving us scrambling to find another option. We literally just showed up at Maui Dive without a reservation, hoping they could somehow fit us in. They only had TWO spots left, but Joey went out of his way to accommodate all THREE of us! There wasn’t enough time to get our equipment ready for the first dive, and Joey understandably didn’t want to delay the next group. Rather than simply turning us away, he worked with us and arranged for us to come back for the second dive. We really appreciated his flexibility, professionalism, and willingness to help, especially given how last-minute everything was! And the dive itself? ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! We dove at Mala Pier and saw SO MANY SEA TURTLES! It was an incredible underwater experience and easily one of the highlights of our Maui trip! A HUGE shoutout to JOEY! He was friendly, professional, accommodating, and an absolutely fantastic divemaster! What stood out most was his willingness to help three divers who showed up completely unannounced. He could have easily turned us away, but instead he found a way to make it work without disrupting the other divers’ schedules. What started as an incredibly frustrating morning turned into one of our favorite experiences in Maui, all thanks to Joey! Thank you so much, Joey, for saving our dive day! We couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I would absolutely dive with Maui Dive again and highly recommend diving with Joey! 10/10 — Five stars aren’t enough! 🐢🤿💙
Matt was great! Had some trouble descending and he was amazing. Saw sharks and lots of turtles. Felt very safe - loved the small groyp
Matt was a phenomenal guide. He knew all of the perfect places to see the Marine wildlife.
Matt, from Dive Maui, was awesome. Great guide and fun to dive with.
We went on a shoredive on Friday at the end of our trip. We went to Mala Pier for the 7:30 dive, 1 tank. It was a beautiful dive site, really easy to get to, and we saw probably 30 turtles!!! Our dive master was Sean & he was excellent!!!
Dive was beautiful and mellow! Sean was a great instructor!!
My partner and I did a 1 tank morning dive at Mala wharf/pier with Dive Maui and it was absolutely an amazing experience! Our divemaster was Matt, and we were in a group of 4 divers. It was just our group that morning, which was nice and peaceful. He gave a great safety and wildlife briefing. All rental gear was included in the price of the dive here, which we found was not the case at many other dive shops in the area, so as divers who came with nothing but a mask we REALLY appreciated that! Note that the walk from the shop to the entry point to the water for Mala wharf is a good 5 minutes with all your gear on. We're in pretty good shape and it was still a bit tiring. You also need to wade in for several minutes on a rocky bottom before you start floating with the water above waist height. This was also a bit difficult. The dive site itself is amazing!! We saw probably over 25 green turtles, several reef sharks hiding in the rocks, several white mouth eels, unicornfish and goatfish we hadn't seen diving and snorkeling elsewhere in Maui and Big Island. The turtles swim by you so closely! Overall, we would absolutely recommend diving with Dive Maui and this shore dive at Mala wharf!
Sean was a fantastic guide…..we saw so much sea life….white tip sharks, octopus, eels, frog fish, tons of turtles…..reef fish throughout the dive in masses. Was a full hour dive and Sean was great to make sure we all saw the highlights! High recommend this dive!
Matt did a great job and we saw a ton of things on the pier dive. He was helpful and knowledgable! It was great!
Matt, our dive instructor at Dive Maui did a remarkable job guiding us on our 2 beach dives. The 1st dive at the sunken pier in Maui harbor was easily the best beach dive I’ve made in 50 years of diving; and probably makes my top 10 list of dives! It was an easy walk from the shop to the dive site. The submerged pier was chock full of marine wildlife including a plethora of sea turtles, a reef shark, moray eels, and an octopus , along with the expected Hawaiian reef fish. It was a leisurely dive with no to mild swell and 50 foot visibility. The 2nd beach dive at the “airport “ dive site was a more predictable beach dive over coral reefs teaming with fish life, that was punctuated with a school of spotted eagle rays that swam right by us. Highly recommend these beach dives if you want a cheaper alternative to a boat dive or as a refresher dive to get back your “sea legs”.
Our experience was unique because a tropical storm caused high swells while we were there. Thankfully, the owner allowed us to split our two-tank dive into two separate one-tank dives since the water conditions didn't allow us to do both. Our dive instructors, Matt and Abbi, were great! They made sure everyone was prepared and felt safe before, during, and after the dives. I felt the cost was comparable to any other dive shop I have used to just show up with no equipment and go diving. We were able to dive for about 55 minutes each shore dive in conditions that were not the best with the currents we were in. We are going to use them again to go diving in Lanai'i next time we are in Maui.
We dove male pier x 2, black rock and airport beach. Mala had so many turtles!! Black rock was chill on the day we went and produced a great experience. Airport beach was an easy dive that produced great diversity with eagle rays and a white tip. Sean was our dive guide and was amazing!
Really enjoyed the dive. Was shallow so we ended up down for close to an hour. Saw a few white tip sharks and SO MANY TURTLES. Enjoyed diving with Matt.
Highly recommended Dive Maui for your next trip to Maui. Owner Nick is very professional and accommodating. Dive instructor Sean is very knowledgeable and patient and has to be the one of the best dive instructors ever. My son and I completed our open water certification with Dive Maui and Sean made it an incredible experience Thanks again Dive Maui
Matt was a great guide and made the dive really enjoyable. I hadn’t been diving in a long time but I felt comfortable and prepared after his pre-dive briefing. The dive itself was perfect as a refresher while also being well worth it- we saw tons of turtles, a few reef sharks, eels, and plenty of fish in and around the coral structures. We also got to do a few swim throughs of coral archways and small caverns. I would highly recommend, especially for someone looking to brush off their diving skills after a while.
It was my first ocean dive after my certification, the location was amazing, I was able to see white tip sharks, turtles, and many different fish. The instructor was really helpful and nice 10/10 experience
I highly recommended this dive shop for anyone!! Sean was an amazing dive master for a delightful reef swim
This trip was amazing. Matt showed us everything we wanted to see, included a shark, so many turtles and fish and a crazy looking frog fish. Highly recommend this trip and our guide Matt.
Had a great experience with Dive Maui! Sean, our guide took excellent care of us, was very safety conscious and attentive to all our needs. This was probably the most relaxed dive I have been on. We were able to just leisurely explore the pier reef and see what it had to offer. We saw rock fish, turtles, many kinds of fish and the rest of the group saw sharks (I missed them somehow). Would highly recommend diving with Dive Maui and with Sean. Excellent experience.
Fantastic experience. We saw lots of turtles, fish, etc. It’s a great dive site, and I plan on diving this site again if I come back to Maui. Sean was a great guide, and it was a nice refresher dive. My only regret was that I didn’t bring my go pro or rent one. The turtles were very photogenic with one swimming right next to me.
We were not current so they recommended doing the shark and turtle dive as a refresher before we dove the cathedrals ! Love the safety regulations and twist my arm…. A shark and turtle dive??? It sounded great but I was not prepared for Mala wharf! It was magical! You’re told you will see turtles, but the sheer number feels like a dream! Our dive trip to Lana’i was lovely. We dove the Dual Arches, saw my first sea bunny and had fun with the swim throughs. Unfortunately conditions for entering the cathedrals were not favourable so they discounted our dive… I guess we will have to come back! As a bonus we saw a pod of spinner dolphins on the way back to Maui! This shops is professional! You’ll be in good hands!
Matt was an amazing dive guide! He’s super professional and attentive throughout the entire dive. He made sure we always stayed together and felt safe, while also guiding us to some truly beautiful underwater views. We had such a great experience thanks to him. Highly recommend!
I had a fantastic group dive with Matt. Matt was professional, detail oriented, and fun. I have not dived in a few years and I felt very comfortable working with Matt. The dive was flawless and there was some fun sights to see including sharks and sea turtles. I enjoyed the diving so much I am returning tomorrow for another excursion.
Great experience. All well organized. Matt is great!
this was our first dive in hawaii. we have several hundred dives in many places but this was our first shore diving experience. we saw sharks eels schools of fish and several dozen turtles!! Caitlin was our guide and did a great job. friendly, prepared, enthusiastic, and accommodating . dont want to leave out sean who helped tie everything together. we highly recommend these guys. i
My husband and I are big scuba divers and the past few trips we have taken were somewhat disappointing. This was by far one of the best! Matt, our guide was completely knowledgeable, safe and patient . He knew just where to go to find all the best wildlife and made this dive excellent!
My wife and I had a great time diving with Dive Maui. We did two days of shore diving, with dives at Mala Wharf both days. Awesome dive site with plenty of sharks, turtles, eels, and also saw a few eagle rays. Matt was our guide and took great care of us, including gear set up / break down and let us leave our own gear at the shop between days of diving and had everything set up and ready for us the next day. Great experience overall
Great dive shop and the dive master Sean was fantastic. We dive Mala pier in marginal conditions but he still made it work and everyone had a great time! Would definitely recommend and use again myself (PADI Advanced 70 dives). Saw a Reef Shark, Turtles and eels.
We did a two-tank dive with Dive Maui and our guide Matt — one at Molokini Pier and the other a drift dive around Black Rock. Matt’s been doing this a long time and it shows — his knowledge is excellent and he really knows the sites. At Molokini Pier he took our small group in and out of all kinds of arches, beams, and little cubbies I’d never been through before. He trusted that we were solid divers and gave us a really fun, close-up tour. The highlight was the Black Rock drift — we saw five reef sharks, the most we’ve ever seen in one day, and a monk seal came right up and played with us. He nosed our dive flag and my son came face-to-face with him — it was hilarious and the highlight of our whole trip. Matt’s great because he trusts his divers’ abilities and doesn’t keep you at a safe distance — he lets you really experience the reef. Highly recommend diving with him.”
I had another great day of diving with Dive Maui! Matt was my guide and was awesome. He had a variety of experience levels with his customers and di an excellent job of keeping up with the new divers and showing the experienced divers what they wanted to see. Matt was awesome! Dive Maui is a great company. Can’t wait to come back and do it again.
Had a great couple of dives with Sean. Very friendly and covered everything in the briefings, so we felt very comfortable. He was good at spotting things, like the monk seal, sharks, ray and so many turtles. Also, the dive ship was very flexible in accommodating our request to change our booking date, which we appreciated.
Matt was our guide. He was knowledgeable and super friendly. We are new to the sport and he was understanding of that - he was careful to make sure we were comfortable. I personally loved the Turtle Car Wash. I also appreciated that he was honest about conditions when we inquired about a potential second dive. Great customer service!
The entire experience was great. They responded to my inquiries with an email and full description. Sean was the dive master and did a masterful job, including assisting a dive group member with back issues. The variety of species, including turtles, sharks, eels, and puffer shark was amazing. I have dove off of Kona, and Kaui, and other than the nighttime manta ray dives, this was absolutely the best daytime dive. We totally recommend them.
Matt was an incredible instructor/guide. Before the dive we had a detailed briefing on what to expect so there were no unexpected surprises. In the water he was very attentive of the group. He did a fantastic job of pointing out various marine life the group wanted to see before the dive! I highly recommend this shop and dive spot! Thank you Matt!
Matt was our DM. He knows the area well, gave us some history about the region and info on the turtles and sharks we saw. So many turtles! The walk out was a little challenging and Matt kept us on hte easiest path. Thanks, Matt, for a great dive. Look forward to coming back and working with Dive Maui.
We just had an incredible 1st dive here in Maui. Matt was our guide and he did an amazing job. He found an octopus! We also saw sharks and lots of turtles and some eels. Highly recommend diving with this outfit.
Amazing dive, maybe my best dive ever. (This was #74). Saw eagle rays, eels, sharks, turtles and an octopus. Matt was a fantastic guide and showed us all the cool stuff.
This was such a lovely dive - perfect for beginners! You see so much life and if you go at the right time, hear so many whales! Our guide Matt was respectful, kind, and patient! He was so helpful!
This is the third time I did this turtle dive with Dive Maui. It has been awesome every single time. The amount of turtle you will encounter was incredible. Joe was our dive master and he was outstanding. He provided a comprehensive pre-dive briefing. He was friendly and professional. I highly recommend diving with him if you are in Maui because you will not be disappointed.
This is the third time I did this trip with Dive Maui and never been disappointed in amount of turtles you encounter. Joe was our dive master and he is awesome. He provided us with a comprehensive pre-dive briefing. He was friendly and professional. I highly diving with him when you are in Maui
Dive Maui's Guide, Scott, was fantastic. The shore dive from the Mala Pier (which collapsed in 1992 during a hurricane) was a thriving ecosystem with multiple varieties of fish, turtles, white tipped sharks, eels, etc. Visibility was excellent and maximum depth was 30 feet which allowed for an easy 65 minute bottom time. Wear booties with firm/thick soles as the walk out to dive entrance is rocky and challenging. One of my favorite dives ever!
Matt was our guide and was excellent. A ton of very curious turtles. Eels galore, and a sandbar shark. Interesting dive!
We had a great shore dive for the turtle and shark adventure! Matt was our dive master and he was great! We saw tons of sea turtles, 2 white tip reef sharks, moray eels, and many fish! Great experience!
Two tank shore dives scheduled. Matt checked weather report and Blackrock was out for the first dive. So, we had two dives at Mala Pier. Geared up at the shop and walked down the street to get wet. Lost count of all the turtles, Matt stated 30+ in his dive summary. Also-7 white tip sharks, some actively out swimming. 2nd dive-not as many turtles/sharks but Matt found us a frog fish!
The dive was so good with Joe , that I booked another 2 dives the next day with Maui Diving top team
Joe is a terrific guide! We’re an older couple a bit out of practice, but Joe was super-patient and always helpful. We saw quite a few turtles and white-tipped reef sharks, as well as a lot of different fish species. Note that the walk to the site, while short, can be strenuous and hot. But once you’re in the water, it’s worth it!
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