Dive Review of Kapalua Dive Company/Ritz Carlton Maui in
Hawaii/Maui

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Kapalua Dive Company/Ritz Carlton Maui, Jan, 2004, by Beth and Steve Welch, IL, USA . Report 938.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Kapalua Dive Company operates from the Ritz Carlton as well as Kapalua Bay Resort. They are a small but excellent service oriented operation that specializes in shore diving and diving from kayaks. My wife dove with them 4 times and I dove with them twice. The operation is smooth and worry free. If you are at the Ritz you can take the shuttle to Kapalua Bay Hotel where you dive from their beach front. Owner Kevin McAfee is friendly, personable, and wants you to enjoy yourself. We did. The diving is low key and fun. You load your gear onto the kayaks for the kayak dive and paddle two coves over to a mooring. While paddling over, a whale breached about 50 yards from us, then swam under us and surfaced again about another 50 yards behind us. Not a bad start. Once moored, we donned our gear and dove in shallow reef of 10 to 15 feet, and swam out to an area of about 40 feet. Lots of tropical fish, several turtles including some very large ones, and found an overhang with a resident white tip. Enjoyable, but season divers might want more. We appreciate the nudibranchs, small stuff, and even the resident tropicals. If you want big animals or colorful corals, this is not for you. If you enjoy low-key mellow diving with lost of fish and great volcanic rock formations, you will enjoy this diving. We heard singing whales on most of the dives, which is an experience in and of itself. Kevin and his staff are very professional, safetly minded, and want you to enjoy the dives. We did, and would gladly do these dives anytime. About the Ritz: we would not normally stay at this level of hotel but I was there for a meeting. The facilities and service are first rate. However, the Ritz is at the northwest tip of the island and is prone to strong winds and occasional drizzle. We found that only a few miles south at Kapalua Bay and Lahaina it is sunnier and warmer, ditto for Kihei and Wailea. However, the north end of the island is beautiful and much less traveled. It's a choice depending on your preference. Hard to complain about Maui at all but if you are a sun-worshipper you may want to be on the southern end of island at this time of year. We enjoyed our time and the Ritz Carlton resort. Great diving, but the volcanic seabed means not as much coral, so you have to keep your eyes out for critters. Kapalua Dive Company is a great outfit for shore and kayak diving. We also did a whale watch cruise with Pacific Whale Foundation and saw whales, spinner dolphins and turtles. Snorkeling off the boat was fun too. Can't wait to go back!
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Also dove with B & B divers while on Maui (submitted in a separate report)
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	75-78°F / 24-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Kapalua Dive Company/Ritz Carlton Maui in Hawaii/Maui

Kapalua Dive Company/Ritz Carlton Maui, Jan, 2004,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Kapalua Dive Company/Ritz Carlton Maui in
Hawaii/Maui