We decided pretty last minute to finish off our trip with a bang! We don't usually take the time or spend the money for the touristy excursions, but wanted to give the girls a chance to see the island of Lanai up close and have one last memorable adventure before heading home. We booked a trip with Maui Adventure Cruises and it was wonderful from start to finish!
We boarded a 30-passenger pontoon or rigid inflatable boat (depends on who you ask) and just seemed to glide across the water to Lanai. Jill was our captain and Rob was the best deckhand…a snowboarder from Colorado who wasn't ready for college 8 years ago so moved to Maui and never went home! I can understand that! Our first snorkel stop was Lopa Beach off of the east side of the island.
It is known as a "turtle cleaning station" and it was some of the best snorkeling we have ever seen. Turtles everywhere! We swam face to face with them, watched them sleep in crevices and
appear out of different reefs.
The water was so clear and turquoise blue. We were all in heaven!
We several species of fish we haven't seen before and took advantage of all of the time they gave us at this stop. Magical!
Lanai has such a distinct landscape and is so untouched compared to Maui. I would love to go back and rent a car one day to explore it further!
Our 2nd stop was Fish Rock. The waves were a little bigger and the water was a lot deeper. Allison and I were a little intimidated by it, but Taylor and Matt guided us to the very cool rock structure that houses so many species of fish.
We were more comfortable staying close to the boat, but I'm glad we ventured out to see it!
Jill promised dolphin sightings, so while we ate lunch on boat, we sailed further out in search of them. It took quite a while, but then they just appeared in huge numbers. We watched them jump and spin and play in the wake of our boat's waves.
The trip just kept getting better and better,
but Jill and Rob weren't done. On the way back to Lahaina, they stopped the boat for a quick dip in the bluest, clearest water I have ever seen. It was so eerie because it seemed like the perfect home for sharks (I get that they could have been anywhere, but this just seemed like the perfect spot!), but we had so much fun jumping off and staring into the water. It was 108 feet deep!
The best part about it was hearing the girls talk about how awesome it was. Taylor said it was in the top 5 of the coolest things she's ever done and they've done and seen some pretty cool stuff! A fantastic adventure for sure!
The kids felt like we lived in bathing suits and workout clothes most of the trip, so we "cleaned up" a bit for our last dinner at Kobe…
and caught one last sunset!
