Molokini snorkel tour prices, and how they stack up against a Maui zipline

On this page

A Molokini trip costs whatever its listed price says, plus whatever the listing leaves out. Some sites print an all-in price. Others print a price before tax and fees. Others do not say. Put them side by side without checking and you will compare unlike numbers.

This page lines them up on one basis, shows what the extras add, and sets a zipline beside them.

What the listed price means

Order: departure point, then our own order. Many operators sell some dates below their listed price.

The table lists the operators running Molokini trips, by departure point and then our own order. Kai Kanani is paused (no November dates; December on sale, per its booking page on Nov 4), so it is not in the table. Two operators whose status we could not confirm are left out too.

Each row shows the lowest adult price printed on the operator's own site, with its basis and check date. Three bases appear:

• All-in. Pride of Maui and Aloha Blue Charters say their price includes required taxes and fees.
• Before tax and fees. Four Winds, Trilogy, Pro Diver and Redline Rafting say tax and fees are added. Maui Snorkel Charters and Maui Reef Adventures say tax is added.
• Not stated. Most other pages print a number and no basis. Ask before you assume.

So an all-in trip with a higher number can cost about the same as a trip with a lower number before tax.

Why prices differ between sites

Date. Many operators sell some dates below their listed price.

Online against regular. Pacific Whale Foundation prints a regular price and a lower online price on its Turtle Arches trip. The online offer ends 11/30/26, so check it again after that.

Resellers. The same boat can sell for different numbers elsewhere. One reseller sells Malolo's afternoon trip for less than Malolo's own site. We use the operator's own price, and the row says so.

What the price leaves out

These are the extras from each operator's page, as of Nov 4.

• Wetsuits. Four Winds charges $10. Redline's 5-hour trip includes an optional wetsuit. For the 2-hour trip, ask us about wetsuits.
• Snuba. Four Winds sells it for $75, and Pride of Maui offers it too, for $82.68 including fees, on its booking page, for ages 8 and up with limited space.
• Photos. Calypso rents an underwater camera for $85.
• Parking. Trilogy says harbor parking runs about $1 an hour and tells guests to plan for six hours.
• Drinks. Calypso charges for adult drinks, and Pride of Maui includes an open bar after snorkeling.

Two adults, then a family of four

For two adults on Four Winds' morning trip, work it out like this. Take two adult fares ($180 adult, before tax and fees, on Maui Classic Charters’ site, checked Nov 4), add tax and fees, add parking, and add wetsuits if you want them.

For a family of two adults and two children aged 4 to 12, add two child fares of $135 each, also before tax and fees. The trip page lists infants under 4 as free; ask the operator where the cutoff falls.

Pride of Maui works differently. Its adult price ($198 adult, with tax and fees, on Pride of Maui’s site, checked Nov 4) is all-in, and a child aged 4 to 12 pays $158 all-in. Infants up to 3 are free. Required taxes and fees are already in both numbers, so the family total is the sum, plus any add-ons.

Short trip or long trip

Divide each price by the hours of the trip to see the cost per hour. Check the math yourself, because the trips differ in what they include. A two-hour trip from Kīhei is the short way to see Molokini. Blue Water Rafting, Maui Snorkel Charters and Redline Rafting each sell one at the same listed adult price. The chart above shows each price, basis and check date, and the Kīhei boats are listed together. Food differs: Redline's two-hour trip has none, while Maui Snorkel Charters lists coffee, banana bread and snacks. Redline's five-hour trip includes breakfast and lunch and has a bathroom on board. What you give up on a short trip is the second stop and, on some boats, the meals.

Mooring time is capped at 2.5 hours per vessel, so a five-hour trip does not spend five hours at the crater. The rest is travel, a second stop and meals. See the chart of boats for lengths.

Premium or value

Compare the same fields.

The extra money buys an open bar, a photographer, in-water instruction and a group capped on purpose. The cap is not published, so we cannot say how much smaller the group is. It does not buy more time at Molokini, since the mooring limit applies to both. The Aliʻi Nui post goes through what a luxury trip includes. For ways to spend less, read the budget guide. Malolo's afternoon trip is one of the lowest listed, but it goes to Coral Gardens or Molokini at the captain's choice.

Zipline against a Molokini morning

Both ziplines below are in West Maui. Prices are what each operator's own page shows on Nov 4. Neither page's price basis is recorded, so ask whether tax and fees are added.

Read the table in two ways. On time, the two-hour trip is shorter than either zipline and the catamaran is longer. On cost, compare the printed numbers on the same basis: the Four Winds price is before tax and fees, and the two-hour trip's basis is on its row.

The ziplines have limits the boats do not. Both start at age 10, and both have weight ranges. Kapalua adds about 8,500 ft of zipline, an ATV ride and a suspension bridge. Skyline refunds in full if you cancel 24 hours ahead, runs rain or shine, asks guests to bring cash for gratuity and rents GoPro cameras.

Parents of a child under 10 can only use the boats. A 9-year-old can go on a boat trip, not on either zipline.

Doing both in one day

You can, but it is a long day. Molokini trips go in the morning, and the state says currents can get stronger inside the cove in the afternoon. Boat check-ins are early, such as 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. The ziplines are in West Maui and the boats leave from Kīhei and Māʻalaea. Check each zipline's start times on its own site before you book either one. A two-hour trip leaves the most room. The downside is a very long day with two early or tight starts.

Filed under Molokini · Molokini Crater · Maui

Sources and corrections

The 15 sources for this page

1. fourwindsmaui.com (Maui Classic Charters), read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Four Winds morning trip: adult fare is before tax and fees; child fare, wetsuit and SNUBA add-ons; parking extra.
2. prideofmaui.com (Pride of Maui), read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Pride of Maui prices are all-in online prices that include required taxes and fees; child 4-12 and infant fares; open bar after snorkeling; SNUBA add-on for ages 8 and up, limited space.
3. aliinuimaui.com (Aliʻi Nui), read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Aliʻi Nui's Molokini Deluxe includes chef-prepared breakfast, island lunch buffet, open bar, in-water instruction and an onboard photographer; numbers intentionally capped; the November calendar seen Nov 4 showed several price levels.
4. molokinimaui.com (Malolo), read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Malolo's afternoon trip has a price on its own site and is sold for less by a reseller; adult drinks, wetsuit rental and camera are extra; the afternoon trip goes to Coral Gardens or Molokini at the captain's choice.
5. pacwhale.com (Pacific Whale Foundation), read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Pacific Whale Foundation's Turtle Arches online price has a regular price and an online offer that ends 11/30/26; wetsuit tops are a rental; breakfast, lunch and drinks included.
6. calypsomaui.com (Calypso), read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Calypso includes breakfast, lunch and soft drinks; adult drinks, wetsuit and an underwater camera cost extra.
7. redlinerafting.com (Redline Rafting), read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Redline's two-hour trip includes no food or drinks (for wetsuits on that trip, ask us); the five-hour trip includes an optional wetsuit, breakfast and lunch.
8. redlinerafting.com and its booking pages (Redline Rafting), read Nov 3, 2026. Backs: Redline's listed prices are before tax and fees: its checkout adds Hawaiʻi GET and the state ocean fee. · Redline's five-hour trip includes breakfast and lunch and has a bathroom on board.
9. sailtrilogy.com (Trilogy Excursions), read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Trilogy prices do not include taxes and fees; harbor parking is paid by the hour and guests should plan for 6 hours.
10. bluewaterrafting.com (Blue Water Rafting), read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Blue Water Rafting 2-hour Molokini Express: children must be 4 or older; listed adult price matches the other three two-hour Kīhei trips, basis not stated.
11. mauisnorkelcharters.com (Maui Snorkel Charters), read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Maui Snorkel Charters 2-hour trip: kids must be 5 or older; online price is before tax.
12. HAR chapter 13-257, Day-Use Mooring Rules (amended and compiled 3/15/2024) (Hawaiʻi DLNR, Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR)), read Nov 3, 2026. Backs: Day-use moorings allow 2.5 hours at most per vessel.
13. Maui – Molokini Shoal (HAR 13-31) (Hawaiʻi DLNR, Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR)), read Nov 3, 2026. Backs: Currents may get stronger inside the cove in the afternoon when the wind picks up.
14. Kapalua Ziplines 6-Line Tour, read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Kapalua Ziplines 6-Line: 3.5 hours, ages 10 and up, 60 to 250 lb, at least 4 ft tall, about 8,500 ft of zipline, ATV ride and suspension bridge.
15. Skyline Hawaii Kāʻanapali 8-Line Zipline Tour, read Nov 4, 2026. Backs: Skyline Hawaii Kāʻanapali 8-Line: about 3 hours (2.5 to 3.5 by group size), ages 10 and up, 80 to 260 lb, full refund if cancelled 24 hours ahead, rain or shine, bring cash for gratuity, GoPro cameras available to rent.

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