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Snuba at Molokini Crater
The short answer Snuba lets you breathe underwater through a hose from a tank on a floating raft, with no scuba certification. Boats keep it shallow, between about 8 and 20 feet by the figures we found, and set their own age and swimming rules.
On this page
Snuba sits between snorkeling and scuba. You breathe from a regulator, but the air tank does not go on your back. It sits in a raft on the surface, and a hose connects you to it.
How it works
Compressed-air cylinders ride in a floating raft. A hose runs from the raft to a regulator in your mouth. The raft stays at the surface, and a guide goes with you.
Because the hose is short, depth is limited. SNUBA International says dives reach depths up to 20 feet. Four Winds says its guests stay within 8 to 10 feet. Treat any figure as the operator's own and ask which one applies on your boat.
How long is a Snuba dive?
Four Winds says its guided dive lasts about 25 to 30 minutes, after a safety briefing of 15 to 20 minutes on the way to the site. Other boats may differ.
Inside the crater is a shallow coral reef sheltered from major swells, and the cove floor slopes to about 100 feet before it drops off. The depths boats quote for Snuba are a small part of that. The full picture of the site is in the crater guide.
Do I need to be certified?
SNUBA International says no scuba certification is required. Boats still set their own rules: Four Winds' booking page asks for strong swimmers who have snorkeled before.
Who can try it
Rules vary by boat, and some pages disagree with each other.
- Age: Trilogy and Pride of Maui say ages 8 and up.
- Swimming: Four Winds' Snuba page says you can try it even if you are not a strong swimmer and have never snorkeled. Its Molokini booking page says strong swimmers who have snorkeled before. Take the stricter version as the rule and confirm when you book.
- First-time snorkelers: Four Winds' booking page asks for prior snorkeling, so a first-timer should ask the boat before adding it. Space is limited on Trilogy and Pride of Maui, so ask at booking.
Health
The operator pages we read do not publish a health list for Snuba, so ask for it when you book. Because you change depth, trouble clearing your ears is one reason to ask your doctor first, and so are a heart or lung condition or pregnancy.
Flying and Haleakalā afterward
Advice conflicts. Four Winds says you do not have to wait the 24 hours it gives for scuba before flying. The Divers Alert Network sets a minimum of 12 hours before a flight after one no-decompression dive, and 18 hours after repeated dives or several days of diving. Ask your boat which applies. Until you have a clear answer, plan around the longer figures, and leave extra time before a flight or a sunrise drive up Haleakalā.
What it costs and who offers it
Snuba is an add-on to the regular trip, and prices are not set in one place. Dated figures from November 4:
- Four Winds: $75, paid on board.
- Pride of Maui: $82.68 including fees, on its booking page, on the large boat only.
- Trilogy: price not shown.
- Aqua Adventures: no operator price; resellers list it for ages 8 and up.
Maui Magic does not offer it, per its own site, and Pride of Maui's ʻElua does not either. For the boat-by-boat list, see which boats offer Snuba.
Snuba, snorkel or scuba
Snorkeling keeps you at the surface and is covered by the regular trip price. Snuba lets you go a few feet down with a guide and no scuba certification. Scuba goes deeper and needs training beforehand. Scuba versus snorkeling at Molokini covers that choice.
Sources and corrections
The 10 sources for this page
- SNUBA International, read . Backs: Snuba: breathing through a regulator fed from an air supply on a surface raft; dives to depths up to 20 ft with a trained guide; no scuba certification required.
- Four Winds Maui: Snuba vs snorkeling vs scuba (Four Winds Maui), read . Backs: Four Winds says its Snuba stays within 8 to 10 feet, the guided dive lasts about 25 to 30 minutes, a safety briefing takes 15 to 20 minutes on the way, and a guide accompanies you; its page says you do not have to wait 24 hours before flying, and that you can try Snuba without being a strong swimmer.
- fourwindsmaui.com (Maui Classic Charters), read . Backs: Four Winds' Molokini booking page says Snuba is an add-on paid on board, at the price the page lists, and that it asks for strong swimmers who have snorkeled before.
- fourwindsmaui.com (Maui Classic Charters), read . Backs: Maui Magic's own site says Snuba is only offered on the Four Winds.
- sailtrilogy.com (Trilogy Excursions), read . Backs: Trilogy offers a Snuba upgrade for ages 8 and up, space limited, price not shown.
- prideofmaui.com (Pride of Maui), read . Backs: Pride of Maui offers Snuba for ages 8 and up with limited space on its Molokini Snorkel Tour, not on ʻElua.
- Aqua Adventures, read . Backs: Aqua Adventures' Snuba appears only in reseller listings (ages 8 and up).
- Flying after diving (Divers Alert Network), read . Backs: DAN recommends a minimum preflight surface interval of 12 hours after a single no-decompression dive and 18 hours after repetitive dives or multiple days of diving.
- Filous et al. (2017), Marine Pollution Bulletin 121:274-281, study of reef predators and crowding in the Molokini MLCD (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa + DAR Maui). Read in full as Exhibit 2 of BLNR Item F-4 (May 2023): https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/F-4.pdf (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa / Hawaiʻi DLNR DAR), read . Backs: Inside the crater is a shallow coral reef sheltered from major swells.
- Maui – Molokini Shoal (HAR 13-31) (Hawaiʻi DLNR, Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR)), read . Backs: The cove slopes to about 100 ft before dropping off.