Plan your trip
Private Molokini snorkel charters
The short answer Yes, you can hire a private boat to Molokini. We found eight operators that offer a private charter and most print a boat price. Weather, moorings and permits still decide whether you reach the crater.
On this page
You can hire a private boat to Molokini. We found eight operators that sell a private charter, and most list a boat price rather than a price per person. Weather and the state's rules can decide whether you reach the crater.
Who offers one
Order: departure point, then lowest boat price. Kīhei Boat Ramp boats come first, then Māʻalaea Harbor, and the one boat with no price found is last.
- Redline Rafting, Kīhei: a raft, 2 or 5 hours: from $1,250 per boat, before tax and fees, on Redline Rafting’s site, checked . See the Redline page.
- Aliʻi Nui, Māʻalaea: two 37-foot boats, Aliʻi Nani from Kīhei and Aliʻi Nalu from Māʻalaea, 3 or 5 hours: from $1,499 per boat, tax not stated, on Aliʻi Nui’s site, checked .
- Aloha Blue Charters, Māʻalaea: 2 or 4 hours: from $1,500 per boat, before tax and fees, on Aloha Blue Charters’ site, checked .
- Maui Reef Adventures, Māʻalaea: 3-hour snorkel charter: from $2,600 per boat, tax not stated, on Maui Reef Adventures’ site, checked .
- Maui Snorkeling (Lani Kai II), Māʻalaea: from $4,800 per boat, tax not stated, on Maui Snorkeling’s site, checked . See Lani Kai.
- Pride of Maui, Māʻalaea, charters its 50-foot yacht Leilani, which takes up to 33 passengers. We found no price.
Each price is the lowest charter the operator's own site names for Molokini, or its lowest snorkel charter where no destination is named. Sunset and ash-scattering charters are left out. Four of the six name Molokini as an option: Redline Rafting, Aliʻi Nui, Maui Reef Adventures and Aloha Blue. The charter pages of the other two don't state their stops, so ask them.
Prices carry their check date. The hours each price buys differ, so compare the same length when you ask.
Per person
Divide the boat price by the number of guests yourself. Group size is where private charters make sense: a full boat costs less per head. Most sites do not state a passenger count for the private boat, so ask for it before you divide. The exceptions are Pride of Maui's Leilani, at up to 33, and Redline Rafting, at up to 14 on the 2-hour charter and 15 on the 5-hour. Aloha Blue adds catered food for $32.15 a person including tax.
What you control, and what you don't
Several listings name Molokini as one option, along with Turtle Town or the Pali coast, so the route can vary within what the day allows. Ask the operator which start times and stops it sets.
You do not control the crater's rules. A commercial in-water trip needs a state permit, and day-use moorings are first come, first served with a limit of 2.5 hours per vessel. The state names 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. as the crowded window, and afternoons can have stronger current inside the cove.
In whale season, any boat stays 100 yards from humpbacks by federal law. A private charter does not change that.
When it is not worth it
The boat price is fixed, so a small party pays more per head than on a shared trip priced per person. A full group that wants one schedule gets the most from it. For couples, the couples guide compares shared options.
Before you pay
Call the operator and ask about deposits, cancellation, tips and how far ahead to book, since each company sets its own. For general rules see the crater guide, and for shared-trip prices the price comparison.
Sources and corrections
The 12 sources for this page
- redlinerafting.com and its booking pages (Redline Rafting), read . Backs: Redline's private charters: up to 14 guests on the 2-hour, 15 on the 5-hour. · Redline's private charters: Molokini inside and the back wall, the South Maui coast and turtles, planned with the captain.
- HAR chapter 13-31, Molokini Shoal MLCD, Maui (amended and compiled, effective 3/15/2024; unofficial copy) (Hawaiʻi DLNR), read . Backs: Commercial in-water trips at Molokini require a state commercial use permit.
- HAR chapter 13-257, Day-Use Mooring Rules (amended and compiled 3/15/2024) (Hawaiʻi DLNR, Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR)), read . Backs: Day-use moorings allow 2.5 hours at most per vessel, first come first served.
- Regulations, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries), read . Backs: Federal law prohibits approaching a humpback whale within 100 yards.
- Maui – Molokini Shoal (HAR 13-31) (Hawaiʻi DLNR, Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR)), read . Backs: Currents may get stronger inside the cove in the afternoon.
- Board of Land and Natural Resources, 26 May 2023, Item F-4: DAR/DOBOR briefing on Molokini rule amendments (with exhibits) (Hawaiʻi DLNR), read . Backs: DLNR names 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. as the peak crowding period.
- redlinerafting.com (Redline Rafting), read . Backs: Redline's private charter is on a raft, 2 or 5 hours, by arrangement.
- aliinuimaui.com (Aliʻi Nui), read . Backs: Aliʻi Nani (from Kīhei) and Aliʻi Nalu (from Māʻalaea) are 37-foot private charter boats; Molokini is one option.
- mauisnorkeling.com (Maui Snorkeling (Lani Kai II)), read . Backs: Maui Snorkeling's Lani Kai II sells private charters.
- mauireefadventures.com (Maui Reef Adventures), read . Backs: Maui Reef Adventures private charters run 2 or 3 hours to Molokini or the Pali coast.
- alohabluecharters.com (Aloha Blue Charters), read . Backs: Aloha Blue custom private charters run 2 or 4 hours to Molokini and/or Turtle Town; rate is plus tax and fees; catered food is extra per person.
- mauiboattrips.com (Pride of Maui), read . Backs: Pride of Maui's Leilani is a 50-foot motor yacht for private charters, up to 33 passengers.