Several things to consider beyond what boat to book:

If you're bringing small children, don't book a Zodiac tour.

If you have any issues with sea sickness, morning will 9/10 times offer the flattest water. Also makes spotting easier.

To add on to the sea sick point, if you're not a regular on the water, take some kind of motion sickness medicine as directed. Bonine IMHO is the best conventional remedy, but there are many alternatives.

Check out the boats you consider rather than calling blindly or relying on pictures from the internet. The last thing you want to happen is to pay for a trip and upon arrival at the docks, you realize that the craft you're about to get on is less seaworthy than the SS Minnow. Chances are you'll be fine, but there are a few less reputable operations out there.

Call the Kona Charter Desk at Honokohau Harbor and ask some questions. There is a wealth of information to be had from the people who work there.

There are several research groups on the net who do not give tours, but do report their findings pertaining to frequency of sightings, location, etc. A valuable resource and will help to avoid disappointment if the numbers aren't there.

If you're staying close to town, Kailua Bay has been known to at times have a decent number of mothers with calves. the shallower water lends to protection as the newborns get their bearings, hone there swimming skills. This can lead to amazing free encounters.

Pacific Whale Foundation special sale
 

I just received an email from the Pacific Whale Foundation regarding a sale price on their whale watch cruise. I did the snorkel cruise with them in January and loved it! Hope someone can use this. Here's the info:

To celebrate our 29th birthday, we are pleased to offer you tickets for any Pacific Whale Foundation Whalewatch for just $19.80.

This sale price is available ONLY for new reservations placed between 8 a.m. on Thursday, December 18 through 1 p.m. on Friday, December 19. It's good for whalewatch tickets for a trip on any day from January 3 through May 1, 2009.

Regular Price: $31.95
29-Hour Sale Price: $19.80

http://www.pacificwhale.org/mauiecoc...halewatch&id=1

Terms and Conditions:
Please note: tickets purchased during the 29th Birthday Sale are nonrefundable and non-transferable. All purchases must be made online at www.pacificwhale.org during the 29 hour sale period. This special may not be combined witih any other discounts or offers

I don't see that price on their website. Do you have to call to get that rate?

My wife got the same email this morning.

Coincidentally, she just called me as I was reading this thread to check what time/day we wanted to go when we're there in mid-February, so I asked her this question.

If you haven't found it yet....she said it doesn't show up UNTIL you go in to book it, and it's automatically there.

As JimG said, just put in your dates (they must fall in the range of dates shown in the email) and the $19.80 price will show up after you click "Book It". Wish I could go, but already been there this year and will have to wait a couple of years to go back :(

Thanks for the OP. I almost booked a couple of days before you posted this thread but got it yesterday and it said I saved $24.30. Once again thanks. ^

The one day I didn't check this forum:mad:

I managed to miss out on this sale by 49 minutes -- drat!!! Naturally, couldn't get the sale price online so I called Lahaina and all Amanda could say was "The sale has ended". And we will be on Maui the beginning of February. I get so frustrated every time I miss one of these offers (like the UA LAX-AKL) -- oh well, the regular price is going to a good cause (hopefully) and we are getting to HNL from EWR on the UA $292 bargain!!:D

If you become a member, you get a free whale watch plus 20% off all whale watches and ecoadventures through the Pacific Whale Foundation. A family membership is $55. You also get to board first (we know how important that perk is to frequent flyers) and get the first choice of seats.

A few years ago, they had a season pass that allowed you to go on as many whale watches as you wanted for a flat rate; I think it was about $250. We went on 51 whale watches that year. We met some of the other people who had the season pass and they were also taking multiple trips a day. They no longer offer this bargain. BTW - we tipped the crew for each whale watch and got a free poster for each whale watch.

Whale Watching in Maui
 

Hi FTers,

I am headed to Maui for a short trip next weekend and want some advice. I arrive Friday afternoon and am leaving late Monday evening.

I was thinking of doing some humpback whale watching and was wondering if I should take a tour or if they were visible without a tour. If I should take a tour, is there a specific operator you would suggest?

I am also going to drive the Road to Hana. Should I plan on a full day for that? What are some of the sights to see on the road.

Any other hot spots? I am definitiely planning on spending a considerable amount of time sitting on my butt and man-tanning.

Thanks!

They are visible without the tour, but take one anyway, unless you can swim really far, really fast or can walk on water. :eek:

Ultimate Whale Watch.^

Yes.

The search feature is your friend. :)
All these questions have been asked (and answered) many times before.

What we tell you to do depends on what you like to do. :cool:
Like art galleries? Go spend the day in Lahaina.
Like hiking? Go up into the I'ao Valley.
Like scuba? Go to Cathedrals on Lanai.
Like golf? Go to Kapalua or Wailea.

Good luck and e komo mai.

Considerable? Between a whale watching trip and driving to Hana, you won't have much more time over your quick weekend for more than getting back and forth from the airport.

Whale Watching from Haleiwa/North Shore Oahu?
 

We'll be staying on the north shore of Oahu the end of March and would like to do a whale watching trip...just a couple of hours or a morning, whatever works best. We've always really enjoyed such trips it on Maui but have never done it on Oahu...I know Maui is best for whale watching, but I presume there is some off the north shore of Oahu as well. Any recommendations for one of the smaller boats/catamarans and services that do a good job without charging a fortune? Mahalo in advance.

IIRC the whales will be gone by the end of March - particularly from Oahu.

As well, I've always seen them on the East Shore not too far from Sea Life Park.

Wirelessly posted (slippahs' iPhone : Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20)

The whale sanctuary where whales thrive is between Maui and Oahu, so the chances of seeing whales will be greater on the south shore (Sea Life Park area) than on the North Shore.

any chance of stragglers end of march begin of April?