Maui Outrigger Canoe Tours
Cultural and Educational experience
Maui Outrigger Canoe Tours
If you’ve ever seen a vintage postcard from Hawaii, you’ve probably seen an outrigger canoe. These sleek, long vessels are the traditional canoes Hawaiians have used for centuries (and the same vessels used originally to discover the Hawaiian islands!). Today, they’re used for everything from whale watching to intermural racing.
Are you interested in marine life, history, and culture? Our Outrigger Canoe Tour is an excellent alternative to a traditional museum visit. You’ll learn about the island of Maui right from its beautiful waters.
7AM TO 10AM
GROUP TOUR
ALL
YEAR
LOW
DIFFICULTY
An outrigger canoe tour from Makena in the heart of Turtle Town lends itself to many great options for snorkeling with green Hawaiian sea turtles.
Surrounded by calm waters most mornings, this is the ideal tour for families with small children, first-time paddlers and those looking for a calm ocean experience. Never more than 6 guests per tour, it’s a great option for guests looking to learn about Hawaiian Culture and snorkel in Turtle Town without the masses. With many snorkeling locations to choose from among the various reef formations in Turtle Town, our canoe guides will keep you away from the crowded snorkel boats.
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7AM TO 10AM
GROUP TOUR
ALL
YEAR
HIGH
DIFFICULTY
If you’re an outrigger canoe, dragon boat or other disciplined paddler looking for a long paddle while on vacation, the Molokini Outrigger Canoe Challenge might be a good fit for you.
Keep in mind we need 5 paddlers to fill the canoe, so this tour is best for parties with 3 to 5 guests so we may try to find extra paddlers to help get us there. We depart early in the morning, so you’ll get to see the Sun rise over Mauna Haleakala as we paddle towards Molokini Crater. This tour is really about the experience of paddling to Molokini over anything else, so it doesn’t share the same educational and cultural information that our other shoreline tours are known for. Even though this isn’t designed as a snorkel tour, your guide will give you the option to take a quick dip at Molokini to cool off and check out the underwater marine life.
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7AM TO 10AM
GROUP TOUR
ALL
YEAR
LOW
DIFFICULTY
If you’re lucky enough to be coming to Hawaii between late December and early April, hopefully you’ll be visiting Maui. The waters off of Maui’s South and West shores are a Humpback Whale Sanctuary with whales everywhere you look!
Every year humpback whales, or Kohola, make the long swim from the great white north to Hawaii so they can mate and give birth. An Outrigger Canoe is the best option of self-powered vessels for whale watching for several reasons. The streamlined design allows for easy paddling so you can cover more ground on your whale watch tour with 6 people paddling in synchronicity. On the canoe you sit on a bench seat. which gives you a better vantage point over kayaks in which you are actually sitting slightly below water level.
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And I think to myself, what a wonderful world. 🌈 #mauinokaoi #rainbows
You made it through another work week! Now go out there enjoy the weekend. #Molokini #OutriggerCanoe #AlohaFriday KIALOA
Stoked to participate in #paddleforlife2019 today, helping @pacificcancerfoundation raise over $240K!!!
Sometimes when you stop looking, the exact thing you were searching for just pops up! And that’s just what happened with this curious Hawaiian green sea turtle on our canoe tour yesterday. A turtley awesome experience! #turtletuesday
Let one of our knowledgeable Maui Outrigger Canoe Tour guides share their Culture, Hawaiian place names, Hawaiian marine names and passion for paddling with you on a Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Tour today! The modern Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe or Wa`a is where ancient Hawaiian Culture and modern technology mix. In ancient days wooden Wa`a were used for transportation, fishing, voyaging and sport for chiefs or Ali`i. Today modern fiberglass design allows for a more stable, performance based canoe, perfect for individuals, small groups, families and children.
Our canoe guides are certified marine naturalists, who are passionate to share their knowledge of Hawaiian Culture while you experience it firsthand. Unlike our kayak tours which are exclusively private for the number of people in your party, we DO COMBINE parties to fill all the seats on our Outrigger Canoe Tours. With the extra engines the outrigger canoe easily glides across the ocean and is the vessel of choice in rougher water. Guests will actively participate in the launching and landing of the canoe as well as paddling throughout the tour.
Each canoe guide has their own background, experience and stories to share on this three hour cultural tour. During the summer months learn to make rope or kaula from coconut fibers. Our tours are educational and cultural…as well as fun. This environmentally sustainable experience is one not to miss. Watch the video above then call us to start planning your Maui ocean adventure with Hawaiian Paddle Sports.