Great snorkling - Experienced crew. Water safety, boat cleanliness, customer service and fun were priorities. Crew provided drinks, chilled fresh fruit, yummy snacks and nice lunch. Made sure we had everything we needed to have fun in the sun and ocean in addition to good snorkle equipment. I liked that we were able to get to the snorkle sites quickly to see the awesome turtles and tropical fish.

A much more personal experience - My wife and I have been on numerous snorkel tours, all of which have been on the bigger boats with 40, 50 or more people. I decided we'd try The Magic Merman after reading all of the reviews to see if a smaller group and boat might be a better experience. Captain Derek and crew Shasta were there to warmly meet us on Kaanapali Beach and let us know only 6 people had booked for the day and we going to have a great time. I was so surprised and very very happy they didn't cancel as the tour can take up to 20 people. We loaded up on to a rubber raft and were shuttled out to the boat. The boat is very stable and comfortable with each seat having storage underneath for your personal items. The wind has been blowing hard all week and the surf was up from a storm out in the Pacific so many of the normal spots were not suitable for snorkeling. We started off at Mala Sunken Wharf and Shasta was right there with us directing us to numerous turtles, an eel and telling us about the different fish we were seeing. It truly was a very personal experience and we all enjoyed being in "turtle soup" as six turtles all surfaced around us. We did one more snorkel spot then did a "blue swim", which I had never heard of. We were quite a ways out in a little over 100 feet of water. The water was actually warmer than close to shore and felt different than close to shore, kind of silky. Can't say enough great things about Captain Derek and Shasta. We are looking forward to our next trip with the The Magic Merman.

An amazing experience! - I was very skeptical of the fact that their reviews are all 5 starts, but booked it anyways. Now having done the tour I fully understand and agree with their deserving rate! Not only we had to deal with rescheduling the tour, but I got very seasick during the snorkeling trip. And all of them were absolutely helpful, friendly, prepared and very good at what they do. When rescheduling, I was surprised by their professionalism and commitment to helping find a solution. During the tour, Derek was absolutely ready to assist (had all tips and tricks to make me feel better and it worked!) And Emma, was amazing! Her customer service and assistance (in and out of the water), as well as her knowledge of the all the fish and dolphins we got to see A well deserved 5 out of 5 starts!

Best snorkel boat - This far exceeded any snorkel boat I've been on. The smaller group, attention to detail by Derek and Emma was worth every penny. They gave us local banana bread and fresh fruit for breakfast, and a great local lunch of wraps , chips and drinks. Emma joined us in the water to answer questions about fish or to provide any assistance you may need. They provided fish books and answered questions about what we had just seen underwater. The boat was clean and efficient as was the equipment. We were able to go to two different harbors this time. Because of the rougher waters we weren't able to go to any other areas. The highlight was on our boat ride home we were able to be amongst pods of spinner dolphins! They were amazing!! Because of the smaller boat and the type of boat we were up close to them. The canopy on the boat is a bonus from the winds and sun bearing down on you. The owners Derek and Austin run a great local operation. I am glad I chose them over the catamaran type boats. Less people, less blaring sun and wind and very personalized service. They knew us all by name by the end of the trip. I highly recommend this tour. I will be a return customer next year.

Great Snorkeling Trip - Small boat is the way to go, very friendly and knowledgeable crew. Would definitely do it again when in Maui next.

Another beautiful day on Maui - This was an outstanding snorkel trip. Well run, efficient and friendly. Fresh fruit, banana bread and delicious wraps during the breaks. Derek and Emma made this a very personable experience. I would highly recommend this small company over the big commercial ventures.

An Exceptional Snorkel Tour!! - My wife and I chose the deluxe snorkel tour based on the reviews on Trip Advisor and we were glad we did!! We lucked out and had Makai, Emma and Derek on the tour that day and the trip was awesome!! We started out at the "Mother Reef" which they explained was some of the oldest reef in Hawaii, over 600 years old!! The reef is source of all of the coral reefs in the area and was very cool. We saw many varieties of fish and some sea turtles at this location. Overall a great start to the tour. The next spot, Mala Pier, was the highlight of the day if you like sea turtles. The pier was sunk by hurricane Iniki back in the 90's and it has turned into the meeting spot for green sea turtles. At one point we had 9 sea turtles swimming in our area!! We were literally surrounded by turtles!! Derek was swimming around finding interesting things for us to see and found a white tip reef shark hiding under a section of collapsed pier. He offered to swim my go pro down to the shark and record video of it, which was awesome and an amazing video!! I have attached some still shots from the video below. We had a little time left over after Mala Pier, so the crew took us to find dolphins and ended up finding a pod of possibly 300 spinner dolphins, which the crew indicated might have been one of the larger gatherings they had seen!! As the name suggests, the dolphins were jumping and spinning all over!! From beginning to end the experience was excellent and we will definitely choose The Magic Merman the next time we are in Maui. As others have mentioned, it's a smaller, more private boat, not a giant catamaran with 40 people. Makai, Emma and Derek were more than helpful the entire time and made sure that trip was both fun and informative!!

Great snorkel option for all everyone - Had an amazing time! The crew were fantastic and it was a great experience. They tool us to some amazing spots and we saw so many fish and coral reefs. This is a great option if you want to see lots of life. It was nice to have a smaller group as well and there were sole novice swimmers in our group but the crew did so well helping them and giving them what they needed to enjoy the experience.

Great Experience - A private-feel snorkeling experience with the Magic Mermen! Meeting place at Whaler's Village can be tricky in terms of parking. Since this is one of the highest rated & more expensive snorkel options in West Maui, I'm sure others will be like my husband and I that we didn't want to pay $50 day rate at Whaler's Village (even with validation, I think it'd be around $35-40). Parking Tip: if you get to the Kaanapali Beach area around 8am or earlier, you can try to get a spot at the "free public beach parking" that all the hotels near Whaler's Village are supposed to offer. Hyatt has the most free public parking spaces, but is the furthest walk (~20 mins.). The closest would be the Westin (right behind Leilani's restaurant), but they have about 20 spaces only. You can also try Sheraton. I just pulled into Westin and asked their Valet where to find the free beach parking because Google Maps took me to them, and they were kind enough to direct me to the free area where we nabbed one of the last few spots around 8am. Now, onto the actual experience with Magic Mermen: check-in with green T-shirt owners was smooth. I was a little worried about being cold in the water, and one of the guys mentioned I could ask Emma (guide on boat) for a coworkers water-jacket, which worked out great for me! Mahalo! Emma and Malokai (I'm so sorry if I'm butchering the spelling!) were great guides. We got lucky that we saw Spinner Dolphins on our way out & on our way back (twice)! That was a wonderful sight. Our first couple of snorkel spots didn't work out due to the weather conditions, so we went to our original intended second spot first for the Sea Turtles that they stated were at the end of the Mala Wharf pier going through a "sea turtle car wash", where the pier was destroyed during a 1991 hurricane. Second spot we went to was actually really close to the first spot, but with more natural coral reefs. Then we had lunch (yummy bacon-turkey wraps with two sauce choices; Hawaiian chips), and they offered beverages throughout (water, sodas, some light seltzers another party left from a couple days before, lol), and breakfast included some fruits (pineapples & grapes), and banana bread w/ chocolate chips. At first you think the raft will be rough, but it was actually a really smooth ride through & through. Emma & Malokai were really informative if we ever had any questions. I would recommend Magic Mermen if you're looking for a more private snorkeling experience (it was just 7 couples with our group), so that was nice. They also offer floater belts & noodles if you want to be in "vacation mode" while you snorkel, and Emma was great with finding the right sizes flippers and masks for everyone. They de-fog for your prior to use and make sure everyone knows how to properly use the gear and can swim.

Great excursion on smaller Rigid Hull Inflatable - Excellent and fun trip. Smaller boar experience was a lot more personal and fun than the bigger boats. It was great going to Lanai for our first snorkel stop- was not expecting that. Boat was fast and comfortable. Seas were a bit choppy but felt completely safe. Crew very personable, skilled, and willing to help. Banana bread and fresh fruit for breakfast and delicious wrap for lunch. Highly recommended.