Boat trips are a popular option for exploring the waters of Maui. Boarding the Alii Nui catamaran for a morning sail (arranged through Maui Dive Shop), we were treated to a lovely breakfast, as well as delicious fresh ginger ale for those queasy, fragile beings prone to motion sickness (ahem). Once we had set anchor, the passengers took to the waters to snorkel (gear provided), enjoying the varied marine creatures that flourish amongst the coral reef. Lunch was presented soon after, followed by some delicious champagne, served by the boat’s friendly and very suntanned crew. Top notch all the way. A more ’family style’ snorkel sail is offered by Trilogy Excursions; the Discover Lanai Sunrise Sail was indeed an all day affair that had plenty of children on board.
The crew was friendly (and damn cute!), but this definitely had a slightly more down market vibe than the Maui Dive Shop trip; the ’breakfast’ was a cinnamon roll, and while the snorkeling off of the beach at Lanai (a separate island about 9 miles from Maui) was quite spectacular, towels are not provided, a huge flaw. I had sand in crevices I didn’t even know my body had. A guided van tour of the island (population 3,000) proved interesting and amusing; our charming driver let us know that Lanai has a "zero percent high school drop out rate." Sure honey, maybe that’s because your alphabet has only 12 letters! Fun, and the BBQ chicken lunch was great, but bring your own towel and be prepared to be out on the water for a long, long time.
