Ahihi Bay Reserve

  Maximum depth is about 35 feet. One of the best places to find friendly fish. This is a reserve, so the fish are unafraid of snorkelers and divers. The entrance and  exits are rocky but easy to deal with. There is little current in the bay. There are lots of fish of all sizes, Eagle rays are fairly common, and there are lots of turtles. There are no facilities here and very little parking, get here early. Ahihi Bay is located about 5 miles  outside of Kihei and about a mile from Big Beach (Makena Beach) along Makena Alanui Road. Traveling along  Wailea Alanui Road until it becomes Makena  Alanui Road, drive past Big Beach. On the right, about a mile from Big Beach, is a large brown and yellow sign with 'AHIHI-KIANA'U, natural area reserve printed on it. The main parking is along the road or in a gravel lot past the last of the residential houses, a few yards after the end of the stone wall. This is a reserve, NO PETS, NO FISHING, NO POWER BOATING, OR TAKING OF SHELLS, CORAL, OR ROCKS.  The most popular place to enter is the small bay with several houses surrounding it. The road passes very close to the water, with a stone wall about 10 feet high on the seaward side of the road. Boulders line the road, keeping the sea from washing the road out. Park where you can and enter the water on the west side of the bay. This is really the best place to enter. There is a concrete slab at the western end of the bay that makes entering the water a bit easier than on the east side of the bay. The snorkeling is excellent and usually calm enough for beginners. There is easy access to the water for snorkeling, swimming, scuba diving, and kayaking. The Bay is relatively shallow, less than 15 feet, or about 100 feet from shore, the bay gradually gets deeper, 25 to 35 feet. Snorkeling off to the left (east) shows off the extensive coral formations. There are sand trenches and shallow caves in convoluted canyons near the shore. A little further out, where the coral has fewer deep cuts, are numerous Hawaiian Green Sea turtles. Large tarpon have been seen, often being mistaken for a small shark. Snorkeling off to the right (west) shows more sand, but also more of the larger fish like Ulua. The larger fish hang around the bay for it's abundance and protection. There are a few shallow "bubble caves" near shore, they should be avoided if there is any serious wave action. When the waves come directly into the bay it is to dangerous to snorkel.

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Turtle Reef Divers
PO Box 13085
Lahaina, Hawaii 96761
Toll Free 1-877-873-4837