Dive Site Map

South Maui

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Hellcat Fighter Plane - A World War II F-6-F Hellcat lies off Kihei in 30 ft. of water. This vintage fighter craft is upside-down with its engine approximately 20 yds. from the fuselage. Hellcat is usually tacked on as a short third dive when weather permits and divers are interested.
St. Anthony Wreck - A 65' fishing trawler was purposely placed as an artificial reef. It has been on the bottom since 1997 and has become the home of green sea turtles, schools of snapper and goatfish and occasionally the camouflaged frogfish. Surrounding the wreck is an older "tire" reef that spreads out into the erie distance. Depth in this area is about 60'.
Wailea Point - This is an shallow, easy dive that is filled with lots of surprises. It is a good second dive since the bottom ranges from only 25' to 50'. Some of the prettiest inshore reef can be found here. Lots of Green Sea Turtles, and an abundance of unique invertebrates and inshore fish make this area an excellent exploration dive.
Marty's Reef - At the north end of Makena lies a secluded spot just beyond shore diving reach. In 60 ft. of water you'll find a healthy coral reef topped by picturesque antler coral heads. There is a high density of fish life, such as schooling snapper and goat fish, as well as tame and curious trumpet fish that like to dangle in front of your mask. This is a good place to find camouflage fish, like scorpion fish, leaf fish, and flounder. Around the reef in the sand and rubble outskirts are rare puffer fish.
5 Caves - Although frequently made as a shore dive, Five Caves (often called "Five Graves" by shore divers) is more conveniently accessed from a boat, and we often use it as an alternate site when the weather is rough and we need to tuck away from the winds. Five Caves are shallow, 30-40 ft., so it's an excellent spot for any skill level. The area is composed mainly of lava ridges and small pinnacles. Among the animals that make this area their home are a colony of turtles, angler fish, tame conger eels, and white tipped sharks.
Apartments & Battleship - This site, which is named after a formation resembling a ship, is an extension on the in-shore Hawaiian Reef and is reserved for the experienced, adventuresome diver because of the depth. A series of 110-ft. lava ridges excite the imagination. Black coral and bright red sponges cover the ridges and pinnacles. Often pelagic fish skirt the area. The Apartments are not frequently dived, so it's less disturbed than other sites, meaning you can see things in their natural habitat.
HAWAIIAN REEF - We gave this area the name "Hawaiian Reef" because of it hosts a good cross section of topography and animal life typical of Hawaiian waters. Diving to depth of 85 ft., you'll see everything from lava formations to coral reef, to sand and rubble, plus a diverse range of invertebrate and fish life, both shallow and deep-water creatures. Commonly seen are large helmet shells, a healthy garden of large antler coral heads, and large schools of snapper. Divers can see for themselves why this area was so popular with ancient Hawaiian fishermen.

Taape Reef is about fifty yards inshore of Hawaiian Reef. it has many of the characteristics of it's deeper neighbor, and an additional (large) school of Taape, or Blue-lined snapper.
Jody's Backyard - One of our great explore and photography dives is "Jody's Back Yard." Depth is 55' and it encompasses an area ringed by lava ridges, living hard coral mounds and large antler coral trees on three sides. It is not a large area, but we find many unique fish and invertebrates hiding in the coral trees and throughout the area. We slow the pace down on our tours here, so we don't miss any of the tiny critters. Photo subjects range from Pigmy anglerfish the size of a thumb nail to large turtles.
Tank & Landing Craft - During WWII, the military lost a number of armored vehicles off the Maui coast. A quarter mile off Makena Landing sit two water borne landing craft. We believed for years one of the vehicles was a Sherman tank. We now know that it is actually an amtrac (amphibious tractor) mounted with a mortar turret which gives it the appearance of a tank. For military buffs, Navy records indicate this is a LVT-4 or 5.

The other vehicle is an amtrac fitted as an armored personnel carrier. Both sit in 60 ft. of water on a sand bottom and act as a magnet to attract fish and animals in the area. Commonly seen are tame butterfly, damsel fish, and eagle rays. This site is full of nostalgia for old-timers.
Halo Point - This area is situated inshore, along the Makena coastline. Scenery is low lying lava ridges covered with hard corals, and interspersed sand channels. It is a great exploration dive, with long bottom times due to the shallow (30') depth.
Red Hill - At the base of Pu'u Ola'i cinder cone lies a "sleeper" site at a depth of approximately 30-40 ft. It's a good area to explore and find seldom seen animals, such as zebra eels and angler fish. On this "hunt and peck" excursion you can find as many unique animals on your own as our well-trained guides would find in other places.
THIRD TANK - Located off Makena Beach at eighty feet, this is one of the most picturesque artificial reefs you are likely to see around Maui. This WWII mortar mounted amtrac acts like a fish magnet. Because it is the only large solid object in the area, any fish or invertebrate looking for a safe home will be found here! Surrounding the vehicle is a cloak of schooling snapper and goatfish just waiting for a photographer with a wide angle lens. For it's small size, the Third Tank has more animal life per square inch than any other site we dive.
Pokearound - Pokearound is probably the shallowest dive me make from our boats. It is located at the south end of Makena Beach and is extraordinarily abundant in reef life. We sometimes combine this site with the "Third Tank" site, on the same tank of air! Because it is very shallow (15' - 25') there is often too surge to make this dive, so it is a treat when we can.
La Perouse Pinnacle - In the middle of scenic La Perouse Bay, sit of Haleakala's most recent lava flow (about 200 years ago) is a pinnacle rising from the 60 ft. bottom to about 10 ft. below the surface. In this case the scenery above water is as exciting as that below the surface, getting to the dive site is half the fun. Underwater you'll enjoy a very diversified dive Clouds of damsel fish and trigger fish will greet you on the surface. Divers can approach even the timid bird wrasse. We find more porcupine puffers here than anywhere else, as well as schools of goat fish and fields of healthy finger coral. La Perouse is good for snorkeling and those long, shallow second dives.
Split Reef - Split Reef is an extension of Maui's last (we hope) lava flow. As molten lava poured into the ocean, it cooled and split. There are lots of lava ridges and valleys with meandering sand channels. We dive here between 10 and 50 ft.. You'll see dolphins occasionally and formidable looking canine eels. This area is remote and so less dived than others.
Pinnacle Point - Pinnacle Point has some of the most dramatic shallow lava formations Maui has to offer: arches, valleys, canyons.... It's shallow enough for new divers (10 - 60 ft.), but will intrigue those who are advanced. If you're lucky, there may be turtles and the Queen (Golden) Enenue about. This is a great place for Photographers and divers looking for new places to explore.
River Run - This is a large area located off the South Maui coast, and averages 85 to 100 plus feet deep. Interspersed through the area are a number of large lava formations and ridges. Scattered throughout "River Run" are large antler coral heads and many schools of surgeon, snapper and goat fish. The dive can be done as an anchored dive, but is most fun when the current is running and can be experienced as a drift dive.
Golden Arches - Golden Arches is so named because the undersides of these three arches are carpeted with gold and orange tube coral and bright red and yellow sponges, a photographer's delight. Depth is moderate: shallow to 70 ft. Lobsters live in the cracks and crevices of the arches. Golden Arches is far enough from civilization that parrot fish and other commonly speared fish aren't afraid of divers. (Our conservation policy assures it stays this way.)
Dragon Reef - Just down coast from Golden Arches is another arch shaped like a dragon's back. Its slopes are covered with white silver dollar-sized leather coral resembling dragon scales. At the end of the arch is a rock formation shaped like the silhouette of a dragon's head with the mouth open. This is truly a fantasy land, and there are lots of interesting critters between 20 and 70 ft.. in this virgin dive site.
Photo-Zoom Images by Randsco