Aloha Kayaks Maui

We recently had the pleasure of going on a kayaking & snorkeling expedition with Aloha Kayaks Maui, and I can't recommend them highly enough!

The booking process was seamless and the owner, Griff, was incredibly friendly and helpful. He provided all the necessary equipment, which was in excellent condition, and gave us a thorough safety briefing before we hit the water.

The tour itself was nothing short of spectacular. Griff was knowledgeable, personable, and clearly passionate about kayaking and the local environment. He took us on a scenic route that showcased the best of the area’s natural beauty, pointing out various types of fish, a few octopuses and an up close view of sea turtles! He also shared a wealth of fascinating facts about the history of Maui along the way!

Griff ensured everyone had a great time, regardless of their skill level. Even those who were feeling a little uneasy, felt completely supported throughout the entire trip. The pace was perfect, allowing us to fully enjoy the surroundings without feeling rushed.

Overall, Aloha Kayaks Maui, provided an unforgettable adventure that exceeded all my expectations. If you’re looking for a fun, safe, and professionally guided kayaking experience, look no further.

I’ll definitely be back for another trip, hopefully when the whales are back in town!

Had a great time with Griff & group on the water. After doing this for over 10 yrs, he knows his stuff; switched starting beach for better experience. We watched Mother & infant along with escort male close by. When the two adults breached at the same time it was amazing! Interesting stories, knowledge & understanding of Hawaiian language & culture. Highly recommend this up close water level experience with the whales.

Book the kayak and snorkel tour now!! What an incredible experience, and a wonderful way to take in all the beautiful sights and nature of Maui! We cannot say enough how much we loved Griff. He was so knowledgeable (had an answer to the millions of questions my husband had about the islands, culture, politics, ecosystem), so friendly, so funny, and just an all around good guy. He even helped save a turtle caught up in fishing line on our trip!!!! The sights, the company, the experience - just everything is amazing! Thankful for this fun excursion, and for making our honeymoon even more memorable.

We loved this tour! Griff was an incredibly kind and friendly guide. He shared a lot of knowledge about the whales, the area, and Hawaiian culture. We were lucky to see a mother and baby swimming together soon after getting on the water. There was another whale that surfaced several times close to us. It was amazing to hear the whale calls while kayaking!!! A brief snorkel afterwards was a welcome way to cool off! Highly recommend!

Our first trip to Maui and wanted to do something fun. We took a kayak/snorkel adventure with Aloha Kayaks Maui none of us had any experience but our guide Griff was awesome. We had so much fun! I know feel like a kayaking pro!!! I highly recommend.

The moment we met Griff I was thinking "okay this is gonna be great". He's so enthusiastic about what he does; about Hawaii, the ocean and it's life. His tremendous experience really shows as he picks locations based on optimizing for the weather conditions; effortlessly guiding us in and out of narrow channels between shallow reef. He can quickly pick out what roles a whale is playing based on their behavior and has a feel for when they'll be likely to resurface. In the quieter moments between whale sightings he'll share his wealth of knowledge of geology, history, culture and wildlife.

Even if you don't have as great luck as we did on our trip I'm confident you'll have a great time. Not only did I feel it was worth the cost. I was happy to support a business like this. Griff and Aloha Kayaks Maui feels REAL; he's a hard working guy doing what he is passionate about and it shows.

We had a great time with Griff this morning! We saw a ton of whales and Griff was extremely knowledgeable about the whales and all things Hawaii, from local real estate market conditions to the geology of the islands to the local culture and history. Would absolutely do this again! (Note the whale skin we recovered after a whale breached in the distance...Griff was even able to tell us what it looks like under a microscope!)

An amazing day with Griff! He’s super knowledgeable and just a joy to paddle around with. We got super lucky to see and hear a BUNCH of whales and their lilting tunes, but this tour would’ve been amazing even if we hadn’t seen a whale. The snorkeling spot is an incredible coral forest, and Griff literally pointed us to the sea turtles. Such a great day! If you’re looking for a kayak adventure, this is the one. 🤙

Griff is a great guide and person. We saw three different whales, each with their baby' calf quite close to us. One was maybe within 20 yards as they approached us. He is very knowledgeable about the whales and hawaii in general. Very kind and funny as well. Plus good snorkeling at the end of the kayaking. If you have extra time, plan on sticking around after the kayaking to snorkel and explore more by yourself.
Thanks Griff!
Matt, Deanna, Alexis, Payton, and Nana

Griff was awesome - extremely knowledgable, friendly, and helpful. We did the kayak whale watch tour, which is by far the best way to experience whales when they are around. We were lucky enough to snorkel and see turtles too. Griff keeps the number of people on the tours small which creates a very personal and special experience. I would absolutely do this again!

My brother and his family went out with Griff in 2021 and highly recommended we book with Griff when I was taking my family to Maui this year. The expectations were high and the morning adventure exceeded our expectations in spades. Despite some potentially challenging weather, Griff called us the night before to modify our launch location to give us a better shot at a great day. And within 15 minutes of paddling we happened upon a baby whale and it's mother. We had an epic morning with many close encounters with whales - at one point we didn't even know where to look as we were surrounded by whales. We were fortunate to be in the right spot, at the right time, to be able to see sooooo many whales - babies, mothers, guardian males, singing males, breaching, fin slappers and so much more.

While we were thankful for the bounty of the whales, what really made the trip was Griff himself. He was an amazing guide - humble, incredibly knowledgable, funny and genuinely a really nice person. He also shared knowledge about the Hawaiian culture and the respect for nature.

If you are looking for an intimate experience in the Hawaiian outdoors, I can't recommend Aloha Kayaks enough. While we were out on the water, we saw another kayak group out there and the guide had music blaring from a speaker on his kayak and he was shouting loudly to his customer. It was a totally different vibe and I was glad we didn't book with them. Griff really wants his customers to have an intimate, respectful experience with the whales. We really appreciated this and throughly enjoyed it. It was the highlight of our trip and one of the best outings our family has experienced.

We highly recommend Aloha Kayaks! Griff was an excellent guide. Very knowledgeable and will impart a lot of knowledge and history of Hawaii and its inhabitants. He is patient and is quick to get to you if you need help. If you are a first time snorkeler or never used a kayak Griff will have you going in no time. On this trip we got to see whales up close, spinner dolphins, sea turtles, an octopus and many reef fish. Whales migrate and are only around in numbers between January through March peaking in February. Guides can't control the sea life. So just give Aloha Kayaks Maui a call you will not be disappointed.

To start off with Griffen, excellent narrator, educator and spokes person for the Hawiian life on the water! The experience we had today was amazing! You shouldn't go out with high expectations. BUT IF YOU DO, Griffen will do his best to deliver...but hell we are dealing with wild life! We came across a singing humpback and we were able to take all the time we wanted to sit and listen (the kayak acted like a megaphone and we could hear him sing) An adventure like that is almost unexplainable and truly was probably a once in a life time experience. We would recommend Aloha Kayak and
Griffen...with or without the whales. We will be back!

Griff was such an awesome guide! I’m so impressed with the knowledge of the island and the whale info he passed along. He is a steward of the ocean and we are lucky to have made his acquaintance. I felt totally safe and he had very nice equipment for our whale watch/snorkel trip.

Aloha Kayaks is awesome! My husband and I called around 8:00pm hoping to get on a tour the next morning, and they were able to accommodate us right away! No other kayak company was even open at this time. On the day of the tour, our meetup location in Makena was easy to find and we quickly got in the water after a short kayaking lesson. Out on the water, we saw a couple turtles and were even able to snorkel with the turtles at a cleaning station! Our guide, Michelle, was also very understanding when my husband (along with another member of our group) got motion sick and needed to be brought back to shore before the rest of us could continue the tour. While this did cut into the time we were allowed to snorkel, it was still a great trip!

We had the best ever Whale Watching kayak experience. Griff was an amazing guide for us. We learned a lot from him about whales and Maui in general. We were a little scared at the beginning during the kayaking but Griff gave us lot of confidence and we felt more and more comfortable as the excursion continued. Griff- I don’t have enough words to praise him. He is the best man if you are looking to have some guidance on how to kayak and watch the whales. I would recommend Aloha Kayaks Maui to everyone during their visit to Maui. Its a must try. Thank you. Cheers!

Aloha Kayaks Maui was an incredible experience! Griff was experienced, knowledgeable, and fun! My sister had a moment where she needed extra help and he jumped in immediately to find a way to get her comfortable so that she could enjoy the rest of the morning. Only someone with 20 years of experience could have done that. I also loved how respectful he was with the whales while providing us with once in a lifetime sightings. Highest recommendation!

Griff was a fantastic guide who not only had great intuition about the best snorkeling views but also about how his guests were doing. He had plenty of helpful and thorough instructions as well as super interesting Maui history and biology to share. We’d definitely come back to Aloha Kayaks Maui next time!

We had a really great time on our kayak tour with Aloha Kayaks. Griff was an excellent and informative guide. He was a fountain of knowledge on Maui, and always respectful towards the people and environment. We were lucky enough to spot some Spinner dolphins and follow them from a distance while they were sleeping, and saw plenty of amazing sea life while snorkeling. Wouldn't hesitate to book with Aloha again if we return to Maui, and would definitely recommend.

Absolutely wonderful experience! Griff was extremely welcoming, professional, and chalk full of knowledge about Hawaii, Maui, and all of its history and wildlife. Griff exceeded all of my expectations and I would highly recommend his tour to anyone visiting Maui.
We were lucky enough to see whales, dolphins, turtles and snorkel for fish. It was unbelievable and I would absolutely go again!