Whale watching in February

Aloha All: We have just finalized plans for a vacation in Lahaina in Mid-Feb. Just in time for whale watching!! We would love your advice on best whale watching tips: boats, beaches, %26amp; kayak trips. Any thoughts?

Happy Holidays from Anne %26amp; Arthur

Whale watching in February

The only boats I%26#39;ve had experience with are Paragon and Trilogy. Lots of whales spotted on trips over to Lana%26#39;i. Food on Trilogy is better, but I love the Paragon crew. Paragon also does an afternoon performance sail, which might be good. The last time I tried to book it was low season and they didn%26#39;t have enough passengers, but February ought not to be a problem.

Whale watching in February

You will likely see whales on just about any trip, from any beach.

I%26#39;ve been on Trilogy, Four Winds II with a twofer-snorkeling Molokini and whale watching, and on the Kapalua Kai (which goes north from Ka%26#39;anapali Beach to Honolua bay most trips. Whales abound, and you%26#39;re practically guaranteed to see them. The whales seem closer (to me) from Ka%26#39;anapali beach. It%26#39;s great fun to sit on your lanai with a cup of coffee and just gaze out toward Lana%26#39;i for a couple of hours...

Aloha,

Every boat trip in February will be a whale watch. We like the Pacific Whale Foundation for whale watches. They have a store in Lahaina across from the Banyan tree.

Enjoy.

I agree with the other posters. We%26#39;ve seen whales on every boat trip we%26#39;ve taken in January and February. Our favorite was the Trilogy trip over to Lanai. The food was great, snorkeling great, trip over great. No complaints at all. The captain would stop anytime there were whale spotted and watch from a distance. They aren%26#39;t allowed to approach them anymore. It became a fun game to see who could spot one. Also, I especially like the comment from Banker about sitting on your lanai with a cup of coffee in the morning watching. I hope you have found a great oceanfront place to stay so you will be able to enjoy this glorious pleasure. If not, there are many recommendation on this board.

I%26#39;ll share our favorite whale story. Once we were on the Big Island in late January and were kayaking over to Captain Cook%26#39;s monument when a pod of dolphin came over to check us out. We basically joined their pod for the remainder of the trip over. On the way back, we were surprised to hear a rather loud ';whooshing'; sound from behind our kayaks. We turned around just in time to see the whale tail going under. It was probably 25 feet away from us. Oh my gosh....our hearts started pounding, our one daughter who is a little spooky started screaming, our other daughter who is adventurous wanted to get in and snorkel with them, mom and dad just kept paddling. It was an awesome experience.

Pacific Whale Foundation!

just want to say - bring binoculars. we were there last feb off lahaina harbor on a big boat - and they don%26#39;t allow to get closer then 300 feet. but i don%26#39;t think we were that close ever. they%26#39;re mostly at a distance and hard to see. we were videotaping - so it was much better to watch them on tv later.

Pacific Whale Foundation is excellent and was our choice for a few reasons:

1. Your money is put to good use for whale preservation, study, and education.

2. The ships have trained staff that answer questions about the whales and related topics. (Note: They use to use biologists.)

If you tend to get motion sickness go with the bigger boats.

We have tried all of the boats that leave from Kaanapali and like the Gemini best (geminicharters.com). Go on the morning whale watch or the picnic snorkel if you are worried about getting seasick. You will definitely see whales from the beaches. Bring a telephoto lens for the camera if you have one. If your cruise has a videographer aboard, get the DVD - well worth it.

The huge size and loud sounds from the whales make the most impact the closer your are to the whales. And the way to get closer to the whales is from a boat. There are a wide variety of whale watching charters and tour boats - large and small boats, sailboats and motorized boats. We have used Pacific Whale Foundation Eco Tour (big boat - departs from south Maui), and also got to see several whales on a sunset sailing cruise on one of the sailing boats (Scotch Mist - another boat there is the America II) that sails right out of the dock at Lahaina harbor.

Humpback whales can be also viewed from a distance from several viewing areas on the Maui beach . Their spout (spray from their exhalations) can be easily viewed from miles away. Binoculars may be required to see the details of the whales. You miss the impact of size and sounds of the whales, but this provides a very economical way to watch whales. We also just sit out on our lanai at our hotel in Lahaina and can often see whales at a distance.

We have several pages of additional impressions on Lahaina (where it seems you will be staying - don%26#39;t miss Cheeseburger in Paradise!) and whale watching at lahaina-family-vacation.com/hawaii-whale-wat鈥?/a>

Lahaina Dad