Ahihi Kinau Natural Area Reserve : Best Snorkeling Maui

SNORKELING at ahihi kinau natural area reserve Overview

Ahihi-Kinau Marine Preserve is located in South Maui near Kihei and Wailea. It’s a snorkel site that is accessed right from the shore. As part of the Nature Reserve, fishing is not allowed and as a result Ahihi Bay is teeming with both large and small schools of a variety of fish and other marine animals. Though I haven’t been to every snorkel site in Maui, Ahihi Bay was my favorite because of the huge amounts and diversity of fish we were surrounded by. I’m awarding the title of best shore snorkeling in Maui to Ahihi-Kinau Marine Reserve. 🙂

Parking at Ahihi-Kinau Marine Preserve

There is a medium-sized parking lot at Ahihi-Kinau Marine Reserve.

Parking costs $5 for non-Hawaiian residents (free for residents). Pay and print your parking ticket at one of the two machines on the north end of the lot, then be sure to display your ticket on your dashboard. As always, it’s best to arrive early before the parking lot fills up, as there aren’t areas along the street to park.

Facilities at ahihi kinau natural area reserve

There are several porta potties in the parking lot at Ahihi-Kinau Marine Reserve.

Snorkeling at Ahihi-Kinau Marine reserve : Before you Go

Best time to Snorkel at Ahihi Bay

Wherever you are in Maui, snorkeling is best in the morning when the water is most calm and clear. If you’re coming from a time zone that is several hours ahead of Hawaii, take advantage of the fact that it’s not difficult to get up at 6AM when it actually feels like 9AM. We aimed to be entering the water shortly after sunrise, which, when we were there in early November, was about 7:00 AM.

It’s not a bad idea to check snorkel conditions before you head out for the day: Boss Frog publishes snorkel conditions daily (scroll down to “Southside Beaches” which includes Ahihi Kinau Natural Area Reserve, as well as Maluaka Beach and Makena Landing)

Getting to Ahihi-Kinau Marine reserve & Where to Enter the Water

Use the map below to get directions from your location to Ahihi-Kinau Marine Preserve. You can see from the satellite view that there is a short walk from the parking lot through the lava fields (from the last eruption of Haleakala several hundred years ago) to the (rocky) beach area. The red arrow on the map shows the entry point on the rocky shore and the direction to swim after entering.

Snorkeling at Ahihi Bay

Entering the Water at Ahihi-Kinau Marine reserve

It’s a short walk from the parking lot to the water (this view is from the path looking back towards the parking lot):

Once you hit the shore this sign directs you to the left where you are supposed to enter the water:

Wear shoes because it’s rocky!

The rocky shore at Ahihi Bay:

As soon as I entered the water I was surrounded by so many fish. This is in just a foot or two of water, right at the shore:

From the entry point we swam out a little ways from the shore (40 meters or so), and then headed to the right towards Ahihi Cove. The depth of the water we were swimming in varied between about 10-40 feet, and the visibility was always excellent.

Marine Life we Saw at Ahihi-Kinau Marine reserve

Snorkeling at Ahihi Bay we saw: Threadfin Butterfly fish, Moorish Idol, Unicorn Fish (which have a funny, horn-like extension that looked like a giant, pointy nose), Yellowfin Goatfish, Parrotfish, Boxfish, a variety of urchins, Convict Tang (Convict Surgeonfish), Bluestripe Snapper, and Saddleback Wrass. We even spotted my personal favorite–Porcupine Fish.

I loved watching these black triggerfish. The way their fins undulated in the ocean as they swam was quite a sight. I’ve heard them compared to the flowing skirts of Flamenco dancers which seems like a good way to describe it:

Banded Sea Urchin:

Eel:

Trumpetfish:

Ahihi Bay Shore Snorkeling : Overall Thoughts

Of all the places we snorkeled in Maui, Ahihi Kinau Natural Area Reserve was my favorite. We started at the shore in Ahihi Bay, swam out about 40 meters, then swam towards the right into Ahihi Cove before looping back around, finishing where we started in Ahihi Bay. I had read online that Ahihi Cove was the best place to snorkel in Maui, but I personally enjoyed the swim to Ahihi Cove more than the cove itself. Both were great, but there just seemed to be more fish (and a greater variety of fish), in the bay outside Ahihi Cove.

Some of the other spots we visited in Maui had a nice sandy beach. Ahihi-Kinau Marine Reserve was not one of them–the shore is rocks, rocks, and more rocks. If you’ve got people in your group that aren’t interested in snorkeling, or young kids that just want to spend some time building sand castles and running around on the beach, this is probably not the place to visit (try Maluaka Beach, Olowalu Beach, Makena Landing, or Kamaole III). But if you’re looking for the best shore snorkeling in Maui, Ahihi Bay has my vote!