Whale watching season is pretty much here! Right now, a large colony of humpback whales are making their extraordinary, 3,000 mile journey from the frigid waters of Alaska all the way down to Hawaii for their warm winter break. From December through April visitors to Maui can get incredibly close to these massive and gentle creatures as they use the warm and safe waters off the Maui shore to mate and give birth to their calves.
Many of the photos here are courtesy of Hawaiian Paddle Sports.
Kayaks and whale season go together
You can watch the whales from shore or from a large boat, but being with a group of guided kayakers is a different kind of whale-joy. These tours launch straight from the sand.
You sit close to the surface. You feel the kayak shift and slide with each stroke instead of hearing a motor. When a whale surfaces within view, it’s just you, your group, and a line of blows or a sudden tail far out in front of the bow. When moving, you’ll be getting plenty of exercise, and when you’re still, expect a very quiet experience compared to a double decker boat with a loudspeaker.
How close is “close”
Humpbacks in Hawaii are protected. Boats, canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, even swimmers, are required to stay at least 100 yards away.
Good guides treat that rule as a hard line. They watch the water constantly, angle the group so you are drifting nearby rather than heading straight at an animal, and give whales room to choose their own course. If a whale turns and closes that gap on its own, you will usually be told to stop paddling and sit still while it passes, then wait until it moves off before you continue.
The result is that you are close enough to hear a blow and see the shape of the back and tail clearly, but you are not chasing or crowding anything. It feels right for the whales and for you.
What Maui morning’s on the water looks like
Most whale season kayak tours run early in the day, before the trades pick up. You meet on the beach, help move the kayaks to the waterline, and get a quick lesson on how to hold the paddle, how to match the strokes, and what each seat does.
Once you are offshore, there’s usually a rhythm. Paddle for a while. Drift and scan the horizon. Talk story with your guide. When something happens, it is suddenly all at once: a whale breach toward Kahoʻolawe, a set of flukes disappearing in the direction of Lanaʻi, the sharp sound of a blow right where nobody was looking a second ago.
Between sightings, your guide fills in the blanks: how long the migration takes, why Maui’s basin is so important for mothers and calves, what different surface behaviors probably mean. Mixed in with the natural history you will likely hear about traditional canoes, old voyaging routes, and the way people here read the ocean and the sky. It feels less like a lecture and more like a long conversation that happens to be taking place in the middle of the Pacific.
If you plan to head to Maui in December or during whales watching season (December through April), we can help you schedule a guided whale watching tour with your group. Enjoy the exercise, the sunshine, and the amazing sights of your visit to our beautiful island. For more information about fun Maui activities, give our on island friendly office a call 1-888-974-4954.
