Humpback Whale Watching In Maui

Humpback Whale Season on Maui

Every winter, when storms sweep through the North Pacific and the ocean gets particularly chilly, humpback whales head south—specifically to the warm waters of Hawaii’s Au’Au Channel alongside Maui. And if you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of these graceful behemoths, January through mid-March is the best time of year to see them!

There are a number of great certainties in life; the sun will set each night, Old Faithful will continue to blow, the humpback whales will return to Maui every year And people will go to see them! As cliché as it sounds, it’s absolutely true. Year after year, thousands of whales frequent the Hawaiian Islands to mate and give birth in the warm tropical waters. There’s something so amazing and majestic about watching a 40 ft long, 40 ton whale as it launches itself out of the water, putting on an aerial show for tens of thousands of onlookers every year.

The waters of Maui  have long been the favored vacation spot of these massive marine mammals. During Whale season,we are one of the few companies that combine a snorkeling excursion with the exciting experience of viewing whales! enjoy all the fun of a snorkeling trip with the awe- inspiring show of the humpback whales!  Our crew grills up the best burgers and chicken on Maui and serves you your choice of beverages while you spend a lazy afternoon snorkeling and enjoying the  water slide!Viewing these majestic creatures from our whale watching boats is one of the most exciting things you will ever do! While on board,our Marine Naturalists  and knowledgeable crew will enlighten and educate you about these wonderful creatures.

Every year from December through March the North Pacific Humpback Whales migrate to the warm tropical waters of Hawaii. The  coastal waters of Maui by far, enjoys the largest concentration of these amazing animals and  is some of the best in the world ,and as good as it gets!      .

Sightings of these playful creatures, which grow as large as 50 feet and weigh about one ton per foot,  on our  afternoon snorkeling trip are quite regular!

Witness a mother whale frolic with her calf, or a full-grown adult breach out of the water. During your whale watch cruise these amazing animals will often display themselves in full glory, giving you the ultimate whale watching on Maui experience.

Some common behavior displayed on a whale watching trip includes blowing and spy hopping. They’ll also slap their tails, believed to be an act of communication and to demonstrate their individual strength. Spy hopping is when the humpback whales come high out of the water to literally have a look around at the world above.

A mature North Pacific Humpback Whale averages about 40ft in length & weighs about 40 tons, although can grow up to 16 meters or 52ft long. Their heavy bodies can weigh up to 50 tons. The heart alone is about 400lbs or more. The size of these whales makes them hard to miss, especially when they swim in groups. Female whales are slightly larger, in order to defend themselves and their nursing calves from the more aggressive males.

 It is common during the Maui whale watching season to find large competitive groups (pods) of male humpback whales jousting for the opportunity to mate with a single female. Watching them is an exciting experience, as they wrestle with each other for the position to mate.

The female humpback whales with new born calves are particularly vulnerable to the advances of the males during the Maui whale watching season. Sometimes during our whale watch we are mugged (an affectionate term), by the female and her calf as she uses our large yacht to hide under in an attempt to ditch the hopeful males. Other times curiosity causes them to come closer to us.  It’s the  ultimate whale watching experience where photo opportunities create cherished memories. Join us for the best Maui whale watching for the memories of a lifetime! The North Pacific Humpback Whale is a baleen whale (toothless), declared as an endangered and protected species.

Humpback whales migrate in the thousands from the Gulf of Alaska to and around the Hawaiian Islands, and in particular the island of Maui, creating the perfect Maui whale watching experience. The island of Maui offers sheltered water, where the females can more safely give birth and raise their young.

Whales are mammals and the calves are fed with their mother’s milk. While suckling, it is believed they may be safer from predators in the sheltered Maui waters, as opposed to the open ocean or less protected seas.

Whale watching in Maui is as good as it gets, with the opportunity on any given trip to see numerous animals displaying a variety of interesting and memorable behaviors.

Newborn calves in addition to being adorable are curious and often bring mom close to the boat for a close encounter. As a protected animal, it is unlawful to approach closer than 100 yards from these majestic animals during a Maui whale watch, and we adhere strictly to these regulations.

It is not uncommon for the whales to approach us as we sit idle in the water. Close encounters initiated by the whales are common on a whale watching tour in Maui.During the Maui whale watching tour, you might  see a young calf swimming beside its mother. The newborn calves are about 14 feet long. When you see them, you have definitely experienced some of the best whale watching. They are not small, even when newborn.The mother stays with her offspring for about one year, feeding it with up to 100 gallons of milk every day.   Life span has been discussed and not agreed upon by most researchers.  No one knows how long humpbacks live, but bowhead whales (a cousin) have been proven to live well beyond 200 years!

To make your whale watch cruise in Maui even better, we’re going to take you on a snorkel adventure where you will enjoy snorkeling at one of Maui’s beautiful coral reefs. Whale Watching and snorkeling on the same cruise is the perfect pairing of the two most popular ocean adventures on Maui.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Humpback Whale Behaviors To Look For

December through March on Maui is purely magical. Whale season is one of the best times of the year to visit Maui.  Experience the Humpback Whales and view them in their natural habitat. During their annual migration to Maui’s coastal waters, they come to calve, mate, and rear their young.

With the large pods of Humpback Whales concentrated in the Maui waters, you can see them up close for yourself! Brace yourself and expect to have some amazing encounters with these beautiful creatures. See the whales in action performing aerobatics, breaches, tail slaps, spy hopping, and more!

HUMPBACK WHALE BEHAVIORS

Spy Hop: When a whale rises with just its head sticking up out of the water. It is believed that they do this to look around and see what is happening around them.

Blow: Blowholes are like a whales nostrils and are located on top of their heads. The blowhole expels air as a cloud of condensation. This condensation helps us spot and find whales on the open ocean.

Pec Slap (Pectoral Slapping): Humpback whales will slap the surface of the water with one or both of their fins, over and over, to communicate with other whales.

Tail Slapping: Humpbacks raise their tail out of the water and slap the surface of the water with great force. Tail slapping is believed to be a form of communication with other whales nearby.

Peduncle Throw (Tail Throw): A whale throws its tail out of the water energetically and slaps its peduncle (rear part of its torso) onto the water.

Breach: Breaching is the most exciting whale behaviors to witness. In this circumstance, the whale jumps clear out of the water by using its tail. The massive splash it creates is quite a sight!

Whales History

Whale season on Maui is a fantastic time of year. Normally, we start to see whales migrate to the Hawaiian waters around late November – early December.

Approximately 12,000 humpback whales make their way towards Hawaii every year, and possibly even more! The trip from Alaska to Hawaii is approximately 3,000 miles each way. Humpback whales usually swim at a pace of 3-5 mph and it can take the whales approximately 6-8 weeks to reach their destination. The whales travel from Alaska where they feed and then arrive to Hawaii to mate, rear their young, and to give birth. At birth, they weigh an average of 1.5 tons and are usually 10-16 ft. in length. They grow very fast and nearly double their length during their first year. Baby humpbacks nurse for nearly 6 months on their mother’s milk (consisting of about 50% fat), drinking as much as 600 liters of milk per day to help prepare them for the trip towards colder waters. The lifespan of a whale is said to average around 50 years. The number of humpbacks in Hawaiian waters is increasing significantly every year. Up until 1986, they were hunted into near extinction, with the count thought to be less than 1,500. In 1986, the International Whaling Commission introduced a ban on commercial humpback whaling.

One of the reasons Maui is so popular is due to its radiant beauty. You can choose to snorkel, surf, stand up paddle board, watch sunrise and/or sunset on top of a 10,000 foot volcano, whale watching, drive the Road to Hana, snorkel Molokini crater, or just relax on the beach. Maui has a ton to offer! Some of the best whale watching in the world is located on our beautiful island of Maui. The waters surrounding Maui become a whales playground every winter. Maui has a front seat in witnessing these magnificent creatures, due to the shallow waters within the Auau Channel (located between Maui, Molokai and Lanai).

History on Whaling and Hawaii

Not only was Lahaina the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 to 1845, but it was also the center of whaling in Hawaii. In 1845, the capital moved to Honolulu. During 1820 to 1845, Lahaina was known as the the Pacific’s top whaling port. Whaling ships (responsible for hunting the sperm whales for whalebone, but mainly for the oil from the whale blubber) anchored in Honolulu and Lahaina. The impact of whaling vessels within Hawaii shaped the Hawaiian economy and was the primary source of income for the islands until about 1854. Whalers were hunting thousands of whales each year and was headed towards extinction. Luckily today we have laws that protect the whales, which has helped increase the population in Hawaii.

While you are out whale watching, you’ll see many different behaviors performed by the humpbacks, a lot of them involving the tail. The flukes (tail), which can be 18 feet wide, is serrated and pointed at the tips. The shape and color, mostly black and white, on the humpback whale’s flukes are as individual in each animal as fingerprints in humans. The fluke up dive will be the most witnessed behavior. Unfortunately, that also usually means goodbye because the he/she is diving deep. The tail of the whale will appear from out of the water in an upward arch and slowly roll underwater in conjunction with a dive. This is also called sounding.

Another common whale behavior is a tail slap. This is when the whale lifts it’s fluke out of the water and slaps it down forcefully, sometimes over and over. This could be a form of communication with the other whales. The 3rd tail behavior is called a tail slash. This energetic display is when the whale throws it’s entire back end out of the water and slaps it on the surface. It’s almost looks like it’s doing a cartwheel in the water! This action is mostly an act of aggression or defense.

A Review From Our Guest Steve S. from January 2016

“Very well run tour. I was really impressed with the staff, they called me by name from the time I checked in until we got off the boat – – I wish I was that good at remembering names! Due to sea conditions beyond their control, we only got to snorkel at one location but it was beautiful! We also got to see awesome whale activity. In fact the tour would have been worth the money even without the snorkeling based on the whale watching. They dropped an underwater microphone into the water and let us listen to the whales for a few minutes, very cool! By the way, as an added bonus we had one of the best burgers i had all week, grilled on the boat for us at lunchtime. We found this tour to be an excellent value – – snorkeling, whale watching, and 2 meals (breakfast and lunch) all rolled  into the cost.”

***The Four Winds II and the Maui Magic are proud to assist in conservation and protection of the coral reefs surrounding Maui, Hawaii. We strive to help educate everyone we take snorkeling. We encourage guests to use Reef Safe Sunscreen (also offered onboard all our vessels) and ask you to not touch marine life as it can be damaging to the fragile coral and ecosystem.